EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Late in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 98-93 loss to the Rockets, the referees signaled a tech against the Nets. On Yi.

Yi Jianlian, the third-year forward who had spent two years too tentative for most NBA observers to take seriously, swung on the IZOD Center rim after a driving baseline dunk and was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct. Having cut the Rockets' lead to 90-88 with 2 1/2 minutes to go, Yi was merely attempting to ride out the momentum generated by his outside-the-lane liftoff.

"I think (that's my) first one," Yi said. "I still don't know why he called it. I was at the rim. My body was swinging; I had to hold it to save myself."

The explosive flush was perhaps his most dramatic drive of the game, though solely for its timing. Yi attacked the basket nine times for 15 of his 17 points, converting 5-of-6 field goals and 5-of-6 free-throws. Overall, Yi shot 6-of-13, missing both his three-pointers, one a crucial airball that would've put the Nets up three with a minute to play.

In the two games since returning from a seven-week layoff due to knee and lip injuries, Yi has averaged 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds on .520 shooting (13-25 FGs). He's done so with aggressiveness that first manifested during August's FIBA Asia Championship and carried over to training camp and the first three games of the season, when he averaged 11.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. There's been no dropoff; the dunk that earned the tech was Yi's third attempt at posterization, coming less than a minute after it took Carl Landry (26 points, 9 rebounds) fouling him to avoid a rim-rattler.

"He’s athletic," said point guard Devin Harris, who led the team with 19 points and six assists. "He’s one of the most athletic players we have on the team and when he’s attacking like that, he’s tough to guard, along with his range and how he shoots the ball. It’s good to see – it shows he’s back from his injury and he’s being aggressive."

That mindset, combined with the threat of Yi's smooth outside shooting (he was 4-of-6 from three in Wednesday's loss), has helped to better open up the floor for the Nets. With defenders spread wider and more hesitant, shooters are gaining crucial split-seconds to fire away from outside, which should allow the Nets to gradually improve their league-worst three-point percentage of .278.

And Yi's not the only one who's benefiting from slashing his jumpers into drives. Rookie Terrence Williams provided a noticeable second-quarter spark, scoring six of his nine points in the quarter, including a fallaway pull-up and a running floater.

He also threw down two highlight-reel dunks, one a forceful fast-break windmill earlier in the second, the other a one-handed tomahawk toward the end of the third. The latter dunk showed off Williams body control, as he subtly switched hands to avoid a defender's arm and remained able to cock the ball back before throwing down.

Though the results ultimately weren't enough to offset a 16-6 deficit on the offensive boards, the looming integration of still more healthy players has to be encouraging. Starting small forward Chris Douglas-Roberts sprained an ankle two games ago, but seems to be improving steadily, and reserve swingman Jarvis Hayes has been steadily increasing his practice workload as he works to return from a severely strained hamstring he suffered in the season's second game. Both could be available Monday against the Thunder (Buy Tickets), as should be Rafer Alston, who's missed a pair of games with a sore back. All will likely help the Nets' offense remain well-rounded.

"I think (opponents) are keying on Devin and Brook," said Nets coach and GM Kiki Vandeweghe. "Brook has been a very good facilitator for us. He draws a lot of attention. That means they got to leave something open. They’ve got to close the middle on Devin. That means it’s open on other guys: Courtney (Lee), Yi, Terrence, Keyon (Dooling). The middle was wide open for us tonight. It’s something to build on. We recognize it and we need do a better job of capitalizing on it."

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