Jeremy Lin and C.J. Watson

The Houston Rockets snapped the Brooklyn Nets’ 4-game winning streak tonight as the Nets fell at home, 106-96. The Nets were down big early in this game, but worked their way back into it late. They got close, but were not able to get over the hump, partially because this was the first missed game of the season for Joe Johnson, Brooklyn’s closer. Carlos Delfino and James Harden each scored 22 for Houston. Brook Lopez finished with 27 for Brooklyn. Deron Williams had 15 points and 13 assists.

This game was between the team with the fastest pace in the league, Houston, and the slowest pace in the league, Brooklyn. Unfortunately for the Nets, the fast pace won out tonight and Houston was able to get this win. There was lots of scoring in the first quarter, which is dangerous for the Nets, but they only trailed by 3 heading into the second quarter. The Rockets expanded their lead in the quarter, mainly led by their bench. Greg Smith, Donatas Monteijunas, and Patrick Beverley combined to score 28 points in the game, and these players did lots of damage in the second quarter. The Nets trailed by 8 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Nets made a comeback and tied the game multiple times, but never were able to take the lead. However, they collapsed at the end of the quarter, and Houston took a 9-point lead heading into the fourth. The Rockets expanded their lead to as much as 15 in the fourth, but Brooklyn clawed their way back, mostly lead by Mirza Teletovic off the bench. The Nets got within 3 points with about 2 minutes to go, but Carlos Delfino and James Harden each had a couple of dagger 3′s to put the game out of reach.

There are definitely some positives we can take away from this game. First of all, the Nets were playing without Joe Johnson, arguably the MVP of the team this season, and they really could have used him in the fourth quarter tonight. Despite Johnson missing the game, the Nets did a great job guarding James Harden for 2 1/2 quarters before he caught fire at the end of the third. He really struggled for most of the game and shot a couple of airballs. Although he only had 3 turnovers, it seemed like more. Jeremy Lin also only had 9 points in the game.

The Nets had a pretty good game plan coming into this contest; they just didn’t execute well enough. Their biggest flaw was 3-point shooting. Houston always wants to have a 3-point shootout, and they baited the Nets into participating tonight. The Rockets shot 16-30 (53%) from 3 while Brooklyn only shot 10-30 (33%). If each team had just been 13-30 from 3, the Nets would have won this game by 8 points instead of losing by 10.

Although the Nets lost tonight, the Manhattan Knicks also lost, meaning the Nets didn’t lose any ground in the Atlantic division standings. Brooklyn is still only 1 game back and the Knicks have really fallen apart recently. If the Nets can continue playing the way they had been playing on their recent 4-game win streak, they will win the division.

For a box score of this game, click here. 

Player grades and notes: 

Gerald Wallace: C-

The only shot that Gerald Wallace can make consistently is the corner 3. He took too many non-corner 3 shots tonight, and because of that he shot 3-10 from the field. He made some good defensive plays with 5 steals, but he was atrocious on offense.

Brook Lopez: B+

Lopez had one of his best offensive games of the season but looked lost on defense for most of the night. Greg Smith and Donatas Montiejunas abused Brook and got many easy dunks. Still, Lopez finished with 27 points, a very good number.

Deron Williams: B+

Deron’s passing tonight was as good as we have seen this season. If only his shots were falling. He finished the game with 13 assists, but only shot 5-17 from the field. Deron does not like taking big shots with the game on the line. Instead, Keith Bogans and Mirza Teletovic were taking 3′s during the Nets’ comeback attempt. Deron needs to be more aggressive with the game on the line.

C.J. Watson: B+

Watson filled in nicely for Joe Johnson, who missed his first game of the season. C.J. finished with 17 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds, which is right on Johnson’s averages. He shot the ball pretty well and his defense was good. He can’t be blamed for the loss.

Mirza Teletovic: A-

Welcome back Mirza Teletovic! Mirza made his first shots in a very long time tonight and finally broke out of his extended slump. Teletovic played crunch time tonight and made a few big shots for the Nets. He finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds in only 7 minutes. He did miss a big 3 which would have kept the Nets in the game a little bit longer, but he can only do so much.

Keith Bogans: D

Bogans shot 2-9 from the field and 2-8 from 3 tonight, and that’s all you really need to know. He has hit some big shots for Brooklyn this year, but they were not falling tonight. He missed quite a few open looks and that hurt the team.

The Nets will be off tomorrow and then return to Barclays Center on Sunday night to face the Memphis Grizzlies, another team they were blown out by earlier this year. That game will be on ESPN and FRWD will have full coverage.

James Harden

The Brooklyn Nets (33-22) will take put their modest 4-game winning streak, all against playoff teams, on the line Friday night as they host the 8 seed in the west, the Houston Rockets (30-26). With a win tonight and a loss by the Manhattan Knicks in Toronto, the two teams will be in a virtual tie atop the Atlantic Division standings. The Nets have been playing well recently after sweeping a home-and-home from the Milwaukee Bucks. The Rockets have only played once since the all-star break, a thrilling home-win over Oklahoma City where James Harden dropped 46 points.

The first time these teams met, Brooklyn was blown out in Houston. The Nets were unable to slow down the pace the Rockets wanted to play at and the Nets gave up a season high 119 points. James Harden and Omer Asik each had dominating games and the Nets couldn’t stop them. This game will be in Brooklyn, where the Nets have played well, so we may see a different result tonight.

Now that the trade deadline has come and went with the Nets making no moves, some of their trade pieces, namely Kris Humphries and Marshon Brooks, can heave a sigh of relief. Although both players would say that the rumors had not effected their games, perhaps they will be more focused now that they know they will be in the black and white for the rest of the season. Both played a role in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s victory in Milwaukee.

Injuries: Both teams are healthy. Deron Williams had another shot in his ankle yesterday, but is not expected to miss any time because of it. The Rockets have no injuries.

Key Matchups: 

Deron Williams vs. Jeremy Lin. Advantage: Williams

Lin has not lived up to expectations in Houston averaging under 13 ppg, but is coming off of a 29-point performance Wednesday. He is quicker than Deron Williams, who may be even more slowed down than usual after getting a shot yesterday. Still, Deron is not a fan of Lin, especially Lin’s defense and I expect D-Will to have a 20-point game against this bad defensive team.

Joe Johnson vs. James Harden. Advantage: Harden

Harden has been great this year and is coming off a career high 46 points in his last game. Although he won’t score that many tonight, expect him to have around 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. He really hurt the Nets the last time these teams played and they didn’t have an answer for him on defense. Maybe Gerald Wallace will step up tonight to try and contain him, but Wallace has not done a great job guarding the best players in the league this season, and Harden falls into that category.

Gerald Wallace vs. Chandler Parsons. Advantage: Parsons

Parsons has been a nice surprise for Houston and is averaging nearly 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. He fits well into the Rockets’ system and is benefiting from that. At 6’9, he is pretty explosive and can cause some matchup problems. Houston has a very tall team and this will be one of the rare occasions when the Nets don’t have a height advantage.

Reggie Evans vs. Thomas Robinson. Advantage: Robinson

Thomas Robinson was the main piece the Rockets acquired in yesterday’s trade deadline. In the trade, they lost Patrick Patterson, Jeremy Lin, and others and acquired Robinson, who had been under-used by Sacramento. Robinson was the 5th pick in last season’s draft and was still only playing 15 minutes per game on the worst team in the western conference. He is now expected to start on Houston, a likely playoff team. I liked Robinson before the draft, and although he has been disappointing so far, he hasn’t really been given a chance. I would not be surprised to see him have a huge game tonight.

Brook Lopez vs. Omer Asik. Advantage: Lopez

Asik outplayed Lopez the last time these teams played by bullying him on the boards and not giving up easy looks. Lopez is also coming off one of his worst games of the year in Milwaukee and hasn’t played in either of the past 2 Nets fourth quarters. P.J. Carlesimo is calling it a post-all-star slump. Hopefully Lopez gets out of that slump tonight.

Prediction: Nets 115, Rockets 111. 

The Nets have beaten 4 likely playoff teams in a row, so why not make it 5. They are playing at home where they are 20-10 this season while Houston is only 11-18 on the road. Although the Rockets are a bad matchup for the Nets, I expect them to handle this team better the second time they face them, and even if Brooklyn can’t win, this game will be close.