Lin and Rockets Run Past the Nets
The Nets' Mirza Teletovic on a loose ball with the Rockets' Jeremy Lin, left.
By TIM ROHAN
Published: February 22, 2013
P. J. Carlesimo so respected the Rockets’ James Harden and Jeremy Lin that before Friday’s game, he compared trying to stop them to the fable of the Little Dutch Boy. As the story goes, the boy discovered a leak in a dike, and used his finger to plug the hole and stop the water’s flow.
¶ In Carlesimo’s analogy, his Nets were the boy, and the Rockets were the unrelenting North Sea.
¶ With Lin back in New York about a year after his brief but inspiring run with the Knicks, the Rockets led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter. But Mirza Teletovic and C. J. Watson brought the Nets back, and the Barclays Center crowd to its feet.
¶ The Nets were within three, with less than two minutes left, when Carlos Delfino hit a 3-pointer. Delfino then made another jumper, Harden added one of his own, and the crowd sat down.
¶ With 9 points and 6 assists, Lin was not spectacular, but he did not have to be, as the Rockets beat the Nets, 106-96. The game was a sprint, all the way to the end. According to the NBA.com advanced statistics tool, the Rockets play at the league’s fastest pace, while the Nets play at the slowest. Quicker teams have bothered the Nets this season, but in their last three games they had beaten Denver and Milwaukee (twice), who play at the second- and third-fastest paces.
¶ The Nets (33-23) were trying to keep up without Joe Johnson, who missed the game with a sore left heel. Deron Williams missed 12 of his 17 shots, one day after receiving cortisone shots in his bothersome ankles. The Nets relied mostly on Brook Lopez, who scored 27 points and was effective from all over the court. Watson, Johnson’s replacement, added 17 points and two key fourth-quarter jumpers. Teletovic had 9 points as part of the Nets’ 19-7 run in the fourth quarter that brought them close.
¶ The Rockets (31-26) pushed the ball and even Omer Asik, the big Turkish center, ran well. In the half court, the dribblers, screeners and shooters all blended together, and Lin, Harden, Asik, Delfino and Chandler Parsons shared the scoring. Harden and Delfino led the Rockets with 22 points apiece.
¶ The crowd clearly noticed, though, when Lin had the ball. His first shot clanged off the rim, and the fans groaned. When he bounced a pass between a defender’s legs, they oohed. And when he made a hanging layup, they ahhed.
¶ He was mostly guarded by Watson, not Williams, whom Lin had his breakout game against when he played for the Knicks last season.
¶ The Nets clearly missed Johnson, who reported soreness in his heel after scoring just eight points in 38 minutes Wednesday night. The injury is not considered serious, and General Manager Billy King said Johnson would most likely be ready to play Sunday against the Grizzlies.
¶ But King indicated the Nets would be more aware of Johnson’s playing time. Entering Friday, only Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant had played more minutes than Johnson this season.
¶ Before the game, King did not seem overly worried about Johnson’s heel or Williams’ ankles. He said he was content having not made a deal at the trade deadline, because, as he noted, playoff games are generally played at a slower pace, which should benefit the Nets.
¶ “I think I like our depth, I like our size, I like our playoff experience with some of our guys,” King said. “I think everything looks good on paper. We just got to play the 27 games left and see how it unfolds.”
¶ REBOUNDS
¶ At Friday’s shootaround, Deron Williams said he had received three rounds of cortisone shots in his ankles since training camp. The latest came Thursday, and Williams said he expected to have another round before the playoffs.
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