When the Pacers beat the Celtics on Monday, the Nets were finally eliminated from the playoffs. So, with their draft pick belonging to Utah, the Nets were officially playing a game that was meaningless to them for the first time. And it showed.
"I don’t know what happened," said Sasha Vujacic. "I don’t know what the purpose was of us playing like that. We tried, we wanted to win, obviously, but we’ve got to flush that one down the toilet."
The Houston Rockets, still fighting for the final playoff spot in the West, blew out the Nets at the Prudential Center on Tuesday. They used a 14-0 run in the first quarter to take control, led by as many as 26 points, and cruised to a 25-point victory to stay within two games of the Memphis Grizzlies for eighth place.
The Rockets shot 46 percent from the field and 11-for-23 from 3-point range, while outrebounding the Nets 56-42. Brook Lopez led all scorers with 22 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Kris Humphries grabbed 13 rebounds and Jordan Farmar dished out seven assists.
Avery Johnson chose to start the second half with Ben Uzoh and Travis Outlaw, replacing Farmar and Vujacic.
- Boxscore - NBA.com
- Game Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- Rockets-Nets notebook - Jake Appleman - NBA.com
-
Assist of the Night - Courtney Lee (Video) - NBA.com
- Lowry, Martin help Rockets roll over Nets - Tom Canavan - AP
- Nets pummeled by Rockets heading into Knicks showdown - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
-
Nets get off to another poor start - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Rockets embarrass Nets at the Rock, 112-87 - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- Rapid Reaction: Rockets 112, Nets 87 - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Slow start dooms Nets once again - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Johnson, Farmar getting used to losing - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
-
Nets ripped by Rockets, turn attention to Knicks - Al Iannazzone - The Record
-
Nets have come too far to flop now - Al Iannazzone - The Nets Insider
- Post Game Plus (Video) - Nancy Newman - YES Network
- From the Booth (Video) - Ian Eagle & Mike Fratello - YES Network
- Avery Johnson Press Conference (Video) - YES Network
- Sasha Vujacic Interview (Video) - Jessica Taff - YES Network
- Pre-Game: Avery Johnson Interview (Video) - Jessica Taff - YES Network
-
Courtney Lee, Houston Rockets discard Nets (with Post-game Video) - Greg Hrinya - Examiner
- Lopez Piles Up Points, Can't Offset Nets' Early Struggles - Ben Couch - New Jersey Nets
- Rockets cruise past lowly Nets in 112-87 victory - Jonathan Feigen - Houston Chronicle
-
Rockets notes: Lowry looks to get win in hometown - Jonathan Feigen - Houston Chronicle