A night after playing respectably well against the best team in the league, the Nets got smoked by the 11th place Rockets, dropping to 0-2 in the Deron Williams era with a 123-108 defeat in Houston on Saturday.
In a fast-paced game, the Rockets scored 71 points on 57 percent shooting in the first half, and went up 18 early in the third. The Nets got to within nine midway through the period, but a 12-0 Houston run turned the fourth into nothing but garbage time.
For the game, the Rockets, led by 57 combined points from Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger, shot 52 percent from the field and got to the line 40 times.
The Nets had five players in double-figures, but shot just 40 percent. Brook Lopez led them with 21 points, Ben Uzoh scored a career-high 18, and both Kris Humphries (13 points and 11 rebounds) and Deron Williams (15 points and a season-high 17 assists) recorded double-doubles. Dan Gadzuric saw his first action as a Net, scoring two points and grabbing a rebound in nine minutes. Brandan Wright has yet to play.
Jordan Farmar left late in the first quarter turning his left ankle. That was after Quinton Ross hurt his back in warm-ups and before Anthony Morrow hurt his knee near the end of the game. Farmar said it felt like a sprain with a lot of swelling. He's unlikely to be back on Monday. Meanwhile, Williams said his sore right wrist prevents him from "doing things I want to do" and has hurt his shooting. So he may return to wearing a brace on it "even though I don't like it."
- Boxscore - NBA.com
- Game Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- Martin scores 30 in Rockets' 123-108 win over Nets - Chris Duncan - AP
- Deron Williams posts another double-double, but Nets lose again, 123-108 - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
- Nets' Deron Williams plagued by wrist injury - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
- Nets no match for Rockets - Fred Kerber - New York Post
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Williams says he won't need wrist surgery - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Rockets rout defenseless Nets despite Deron Williams' 15 points, 17 assists - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- Terrence Williams still admires Avery Johnson, jokes about lost gas money on his way out the door - Stefan Bondy - The InterNets
- Deron Williams can't save Nets from a 123-108 loss to Rockets - Al Iannazzone - The Record
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Deron Williams' wrist still an issue - Al Iannazzone - The Record
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Deron dishes 17 assists, but defense doesn't deliver - Al Iannazzone - The Nets Insider
- Post Game Plus: (Video) - Nancy Newman - YES Network
- Avery Johnson Press Conference (Video) - YES Network
- Deron Williams Interview (Video) - Jessica Taff - YES Network
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Brook Lopez Interview (Video) - Jessica Taff - YES Network
- Pre-Game: Avery Johnson Interview (Video) - Jessica Taff - YES Network
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All eyes on Kardashian in Houston - Moisekapenda Bower - FOX Sports Houston
- Retooled Rockets roll past new-look Nets 123-108 - Jonathan Feigen - Houston Chronicle
- Rockets' trio of new faces gets acclimated in home win - Jonathan Feigen - Houston Chronicle
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Rockets notes: Dragic faces rival Vujacic in debut - Jonathan Feigen - Houston Chronicle
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D-Will’s defeat another victory for Jazz - Kurt Kragthorpe - Salt Lake Tribune
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