After completing seven games without experiencing the sweet taste of victory even once, the Nets could only cite sheer desperation as the force behind their third-quarter rally from a double-digit deficit and their steely resolve down the stretch of the fourth.
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After dropping their opening seven games of the season, the Nets picked up their first victory in stunning fashion Wednesday night, claiming a 106-98 win over the Rockets in front of a sellout crowd of 18,155 at the Toyota Center.
It looked like the Nets were going to be easy prey for the Rockets, who entered the game with a four-game winning streak, after Houston went on a 13-0 run in the first to erase an early Nets lead and go up 28-16.
“When you get a win it validates all the preaching and all the working that you’re doing”, Hollins said. “With more people in foul trouble, the fewer people you have to play their bigs, the fewer people we have to play him”. They also had 20 offensive rebounds, and they got a ton of second chance opportunities.
Kevin McHale saw it and called it before anyone else. “We had too much penetration drawing our big guys over”. Nets forward Thomas Robinson added four offensive boards.
James Harden led Houston with 23 points, cooling off after scoring 43 and 46 in the last two games.
Rockets: The Houston Rockets are starting to fly after a rocky start to the season.
Brooklyn scored six straight points to turn a tie game into a 99-93 lead with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.
The Rockets bench let them down tonight, as they didn’t compare to the production to what the Nets bench gave them. With two transition baskets from Bogdanovic to close the frame, the Nets took a 55-49 lead into the break.
“That’s something they do so well”, Lopez said of the Rockets playing small. “We knew Dwight is huge on the help side (of the defense) – he’s always going to go – so we had to try and do our part and get the offensive rebound when he tried to help”.
James Harden: James Harden is one of the most prolific scorers in the National Basketball Association, averaging 29 points-per-game (38.5 in wins), good for third in the league. Those numbers will look a bit better after Wednesday night, where the Nets went 8-for-17 – including 6-for-11 in the second half – with a corner 3-pointer by Bogdanovic with 1:37 left giving them a 102-96 lead.
“It wasn’t a good game for us offensively and defensively”, Harden said. We were just slow. Harden, Ariza, Thornton and Patrick Beverley all made 3-pointers for Houston in that span.
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Patrick Beverley missed shoot-around this morning to resolve issues related to his vehicle registration and E-Z tag pass. Those issues have been resolved and the team considers the matter closed.
