HOUSTON _ When the Nets get healthy, gain control of their rightful first-round picks and eventually grow up, they aspire to be the Houston Rockets. But Monday night at the Toyota Center could do little more than watch in awe as the real Rockets lit them up.
The great James Harden had a brilliant 20-point first quarter on his way to scoring 37 points, and the Rockets made 20 of 50 3-point attempts as they ran away from the Nets, 117-103. Of course, the Nets played the same uptempo game emphasizing 3-pointers, but without the same arsenal of shooters as their 10-for-39 3-point marksmanship showed.
Of course, the outmanned Nets (7-13) were missing three starters because of injury or illness and were forced to recall Isaiah Whitehead from the G League Long Island Nets. Whitehead flew in during the day and gave them a superb game, scoring 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting. They also got 14 points and seven assists from Spencer Dinwiddie, 13 points and six assists from Caris LeVert, 12 points from Sean Kilpatrick and 10 points from Tyler Zeller.
Harden fell just short of a triple-double as he finished with 10 rebounds and eight assists, and he was 13 of 20 from the field, including an 8-for-13 effort from 3-point range. The Rockets (16-4), who won their fifth straight game, also got 20 points in the paint from center Clint Capela, 13 from Ryan Anderson, 12 from Eric Gordon and 11 from Trevor Ariza.
The two teams shot a combined 89 3-pointers, eclipsing by one the number of treys they put up the final time they met last season.
On Sunday in Memphis, the Nets lost starters Allen Crabbe (sore lower back) and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (sprained right ankle) and still managed to handle the lowly Grizzlies their eighth straight loss, leading to the firing on Monday of coach David Fizdale. But their manpower shortage worsened when another starter, DeMarre Carroll, developed a respiratory infection and was declared out against the Rockets.
Coach Kenny Atkinson said Crabbe and Hollis-Jefferson are day-to-day and swore the Nets aren't simply resting players for Wednesday's game in Dallas against the much weaker Mavs. "Bad luck," Atkinson said. "We have to move forward. It's a good opportunity for our bench to step up, a good opportunity for our young guys."
It figured to be a high-scoring contest between two teams that are among the NBA leaders in pace and 3-point attempts, but with the Nets missing two of their best defenders in Caroll and Hollis-Jefferson, the Rockets wasted no time setting a dominant tone in the first quarter.
Harden had 20 points on 7-for-7 shooting in the period, including five 3-pointers. The Rockets finished the quarter with a 43-26 lead, shooting 8-for-13 from 3-point range, and in one stretch, they scored on 13 of 16 possessions. Toward the end of the quarter, their lead reached a high of 21 points.
But the Nets crept within striking distance early in the second quarter and then put together an 11-2 burst, including eight points from LeVert to get within seven before settling for a 66-55 halftime deficit. Coming off a great third-quarter effort in the win over the Grizzlies, the Nets came out of the locker room with similar energy, opening the period with a 10-3 burst to cut the Rockets' lead to 69-65.
That's where former Knick Ariza delivered five straight points to trigger a 9-0 Rockets run for an 80-67 cushion. The Nets got within 10, but Harden powered a 12-2 Rockets run with eight points to push the lead back to 20 before it settled at 96-80 going to the fourth quarter.
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