{"id":348691,"date":"2011-03-30T02:20:26","date_gmt":"2011-03-30T02:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/30\/rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-03-30T02:20:26","modified_gmt":"2011-03-30T02:20:26","slug":"rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/30\/rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockets move closer to 8th, rout Nets (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)\u2014Battling for the final playoff spot in the Western
\nConference and facing back-to-back games, the Houston Rockets<\/a> got just what they
\nneeded against the New Jersey Nets<\/a>\u2014a laugher, courtesy of Kyle Lowry<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lowry had 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and the Rockets moved
\nwithin two games of eighth-place Memphis in the West by cruising to a 112-87 win
\nover New Jersey on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just playing. We\u2019re happy, we\u2019re having fun,\u201d Lowry said after the
\nRockets (39-35) won for the sixth time in seven games. \u201cWe just go out there
\nand we\u2019re flowing. We know who is going to get the ball and how we\u2019re going to
\nscore. We\u2019re confident and we\u2019re finally getting something going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rockets have made an amazing run, posting a 17-7 record since Feb. 2 to
\ninch within striking distance of the idle Grizzlies (41-33) with eight games
\nleft in the regular season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a good win for us. I thought we came out with a lot of energy,\u201d
\nHouston coach Rick Adelman said. \u201cWe played very well offensively. We had the
\nball movement and we pushed it at them from the very start. That\u2019s what we
\nwanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin Martin<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 20 points for the Rockets, who make up for the lack of a
\nsuperstar by playing a team game. They had 30 assists on their 46 baskets and
\ncontrolled the boards with 56 rebounds, including a game-high 14 by Chuck Hayes<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Against the struggling Nets, the game was over by halftime as Houston built
\nan 18-point lead.<\/p>\n

That allowed Adelman to rest his starters for long stretches in the second
\nhalf with a game in Philadelphia on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was important to get guys some rest,\u201d Lowry said. \u201cIt\u2019s still a back
\nto back, it\u2019s still hard. We\u2019ve got to go out there and concentrate and play.
\nWe\u2019re going into a hostile situation against a good team playing for a better
\nseed in their conference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brook Lopez<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 22 points for the Nets, who lost their third in a row and
\nseventh in eight games. Deron Williams<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> missed his sixth straight game for New
\nJersey (23-50), which has lost 50 games for the second straight season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m disappointed,\u201d Nets coach Avery Johnson said. \u201cWe can\u2019t keep writing
\nthese off as bad games. I am a competitor. We expect more. I don\u2019t make excuses.
\nWe just didn\u2019t get it done tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick Patterson<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Goran Dragic<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 13 points apiece for Houston.<\/p>\n

Jordan Farmar<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 12 points and seven assists for New Jersey, while Kris
\nHumphries<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 13 rebounds.<\/p>\n

Lowry, who came in with a sore left foot, made sure Houston had no problem
\nposting its 10th straight win over the Nets.<\/p>\n

The fourth-year point guard who was making a strong run at being the
\nleague\u2019s most improved player, single-handedly did in the Nets in the first
\nquarter. He scored 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field, hitting all
\nthree of his 3-pointers in helping the Rockets take a 34-21 lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s tough,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI live in the area and know him and have
\nwatched his maturation. When they matched the offer sheet that Cleveland gave
\nhim in the summer, you know why. He has really turned out to be a fine guard,
\nimproved 3-point shooter, good defensively and a hard-nosed player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houston put the game away in the final four minutes of the quarter, scoring
\n14 straight points in a 17-2 run. Lowry hit a three-point play and a 3-point
\nbasket in the run that also featured four point from Patterson and a 3-point
\nbasket by Chase Budinger<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> one of 11 in the game for the Rockets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a culmination of defensive errors and poor offense,\u201d Johnson said.
\n\u201cRight now with the state of our team, we\u2019re not good enough to survive poor
\nstarts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houston built the lead to 18 at the half and expanded the margin to 26
\npoints in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

Notes: Lowry extended his career-best streak of double-figure scoring games
\nto 15. \u2026 The Rockets\u2019 61 points in the first half marked the 31st time this
\nseason that Houston has scored at least 60 points in a half. \u2026 The 10 straight
\nlosses to Houston are the Nets\u2019 longest current losing streak against any NBA
\nopponent. \u2026 The last time the Nets had consecutive 50-loss seasons was
\n1999-2000 and 00-01.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Read More:
\nRockets move closer to 8th, rout Nets (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWARK, N.J. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-348691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nRockets move closer to 8th, rout Nets (AP) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/30\/rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Rockets move closer to 8th, rout Nets (AP) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"NEWARK, N.J.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/bb3bf1f0d75ed815d8b.jpg-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/30\/rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/30\/rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Rockets move closer to 8th, rout Nets (AP)\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-30T02:20:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/30\/rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap\/\"},\"wordCount\":756,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/30\/rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/bb3bf1f0d75ed815d8b.jpg-150x150.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/30\/rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/30\/rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/30\/rockets-move-closer-to-8th-rout-nets-ap\/\",\"name\":\"Rockets move closer to 8th, rout Nets (AP) - 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