HOUSTON _ When it was the Nets and Jeremy Lin against the powerful Rockets, the Nets were plus-17 on the scoreboard. When Lin was on the bench, the Nets were minus-21 points.
The math didn't quite add up for the Nets in a 122-118 loss to the Rockets on Monday night at Toyota center, but it was powerful evidence of the impact Lin might make after returning from a 17-game absence because of a right hamstring strain.
The fourth quarter was a microcosm of the game. Lin entered for the final 4:56 with the Nets trailing by six points, and he led a 12-5 surge in which he scored four points as the Nets took a 114-113 lead on a three-point play by Trevor Booker with 2:20 left to play. The game was tied two more times, but a series of Nets miscues in the final minute, including a Lin air ball, allowed the Rockets to close it out.
Lin shook off the rust with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and had seven assists. Brook Lopez led the Nets (6-17) with 26 points, Sean Kilpatrick added 17, and Trevor Booker contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds. But the Rockets (18-7) had James harden to fill the stats line with 36 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, and Eric Gordon came off the bench to add 24 points.
Lin returned after just one full practice. "It's been hard," Lin said. "I feel that if we had more opportunities to practice, I probably would have done more practices, but it's the middle of the season and we're traveling on road trips. I'll have to make it work."
In Lin's absence, Atkinson was relied heavily on rookie Isaiah Whitehead as his starter, and he often used natural two-guard Kilpatrick to run the point. The coach was looking forward to a return to normalcy.
"We'll start moving toward getting guys into their correct rotations, putting guys in more comfortable spots," Atkinson said. "We've had to move around a lot of pieces. I just think it's going to help our consistency, give us a little more stability in our lineups and, of course, leadership."
It was clear Lin's teammates were looking forward to his return. Center Brook Lopez described him as "the guiding light."
Lin, who played 20 minutes, did not start, but got into the game with 4:14 left in the first quarter after the Rockets had built an early 26-15 lead with the benefit of eight Harden points. The Nets cut it to five on a Lin layup that ended the first period. Lin returned to the bench, and the Rockets opened the second quarter with a 14-3 run that pushed their lead to 43-28 when Clint Capela converted an alley-oop from Harden.
It was clear Lin was struggling to find his offensive rhythm, but again, when he was on the floor for the final 4:56 of the second quarter, the Nets cut a 13-point deficit to 10 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Lin entered with 5:01 left and the Nets facing a nine-point deficit, and when he left nearly six minutes later at 11:03 of the final period, they had cut it to two at 90-88 on a three-point play by Lopez.
