The New Jersey Nets haven’t beaten the Houston Rockets in their last nine attempts. They will have a chance to end that streak Tuesday night when they host the Rockets at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Houston (38-35, 16-21 away) moved up to ninth place in the Western Conference thanks to a five-game winning streak March 14-23. The Rockets weren’t able to extend that streak to a season-best six, however, after Sunday’s 125-119 loss to Miami. They are currently 2 ½ games behind eighth-place Memphis with nine games left on the schedule.
The Rockets lost Sunday’s game despite their superb play on the offensive end. Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry each had at least 20 points and they connected on 48.3 percent of their field goals and 85.7 percent of their free throws. In the end, the Heat’s All-Star trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh was too much for them as each of them scored at least 30 points.
New Jersey (23-49, 18-18 home) doesn’t represent the same challenge as Miami, but the Nets have a decent home record and are determined to end their nine-game skid to the Rockets. They come into Tuesday’s game having lost six of their last seven overall, but they have won five of their last seven home games.
The Nets trailed by as many as 30 points in Saturday’s 98-87 loss to Atlanta. They outscored Atlanta 26-16 in the final quarter and Anthony Morrow had 10 of his 25 points in the fourth, but the deficit was ultimately too big to overcome as Atlanta pulled out the victory.
I'm a basketball fan from Vancouver, Canada. Losing the Grizzlies was bitter-sweet. They sucked balls, so I never really started supporting them, but now I only get to catch games on TV.