Nets Blow Lead, Lose To Rockets 112-106
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Goran Dragic had 23 points and eight assists,. Luis Scola scored a go-ahead tip-in with 62 seconds remaining and the Houston Rockets beat the New Jersey Nets 112-106 on Saturday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Courtney Lee scored 17 points, Chandler Parsons had 16 points and six assists and Chase Budinger and Samuel Dalembert added 15 points each to help Houston beat New Jersey for the 11th straight time since the 2005-06 season. Scola finished with 12 points for the Rockets.
Gerald Green had a career-high 26 points on 10-for-15 shooting in just his seventh game for the Nets since being signed from the NBA D-League, and MarShon Brooks added 23 points.
Both teams were without their starting point guard, as the Nets' Deron Williams missed his second game of the season while nursing a strain of his right calf and the Rockets' Kyle Lowry was recovering from a high fever. Williams was listed as day-to-day, while Lowry's status was unclear as he was monitored at a New York hospital.
Trailing by 13 points four minutes into the third quarter, the Nets used a 23-11 run to get back into it heading into the fourth. New Jersey led 106-105 following Shelden Williams' layup with 2:07 remaining, but Scola tipped in a basket a minute later to give the Rockets the lead for good.
Down 108-106, the Nets had three chances to tie or take the lead but Brooks missed an off-balance jumper, Kris Humpries missed a putback and Green missed a 3-pointer with 30 seconds to play.
Dragic sealed the victory with two free throws as Houston closed on a 7-0 run to remain in eighth place in the Western Conference.
In an offensive affair that saw Houston shoot 56.1 percent and New Jersey convert 53.1 percent, both teams featured six players in double figures.
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