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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – The Houston Rockets can just about
kiss the playoffs good-bye, and they have no one to blame but
themselves after losing to the lowly New Jersey Nets.
Lucious Harris gave New Jersey the lead with an off-balance
tip-in with 1:11 to play and the injury-riddled Nets beat the
Rockets 101-98 Sunday night.
"This game tonight hurt us," said Rockets guard Steve Francis,
whose game-tying 3-point attempt from the left wing bounced off the
back of the rim, spoiling a 28-point performance. "We really
needed this game going back home."
Houston (40-34) is now 3½ games behind Minnesota (43-30) in the
race for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western
Conference. The Timberwolves beat Portland 99-95 earlier Sunday.
"It was desperate before tonight," said Houston forward Matt
Bullard. "This loss makes it even more desperate, especially with
Minnesota winning.
"The teams that make the playoffs win the big games," Bullard
added. "Minnesota went to Portland and won today. We were in New
Jersey and we didn't. Maybe we don't deserve to make the playoffs,
if we can't win a game like this."
Keith Van Horn had 19 points to lead the Nets, including two
free throws with 6.1 seconds to play that forced Francis to take a
3-pointer. Johnny Newman added 17 points, Doug Overton had 16,
Aaron Williams 15 and Harris 13, including two big baskets in the
final 1:38.
"I really thought that at the beginning of the game that
Houston, for whatever reason, was taking us a little lightly and
probably should have been up by 15 points or so because we weren't
playing well at all," Nets coach Byron Scott said.
Cuttino Mobley had 19 points, Shandon Anderson 14 and Hakeem
Olajuwon 10 for the Rockets, who made only one of their final 10
shots from the field while turning the ball over three times. Nine
of the Rockets' final 11 points came from the foul line, six
courtesy of some questionable foul calls after apparent blocks by
Williams.
"We should have -- no disrespect to them -- beat them by a nice
margin," added Mobley. "We came out like it was a walk in the
park. We were not aggressive at all."
Mobley's two free throws after one of those foul calls and his
driving layup with 1:26 to go gave the Rockets their last two ties,
the final one at 95 with 1:26 to play.
Newman missed a drive from the left wing, but Harris jumped over
Anderson and made a left-handed tip-in to give the Nets a 97-95
lead.
"We're always trying to crash the boards," Williams said of
Harris' big play. "He got a hand on it and tipped it in. We needed
that, the way things were going down the stretch with some of those
calls."
Harris stripped Mobley on a drive to the basket on the Rockets'
next trip up court and Newman made two more free throws for a 99-95
lead with 37.7 seconds left.
After Mobley made one of two free throws with 32.4 seconds left,
Francis got the Rockets to one down by adding two more free throws
after being fouled on a drive with 7.5 seconds to play following a
Newman turnover.
However, Van Horn hit his two free throws and Francis missed his
chance to tie the game.
Game notes
The Rockets are now 7-25 trailing after three. ... The defeat was only the fifth for Houston in 29 games against Eastern
Conference teams. ... Houston missed 11 free throws in the game,
making 29. New Jersey was 21-23 from the foul line. ... Harris was
called for a technical with 1:14 left in the third quarter and he
complained so much he was close to getting a second. ... The Nets' victory was only their fourth in the last 17 games against Houston
dating to the 1992-93 season. ... Van Horn and Williams both had 10
rebounds for New Jersey and each finished with a double-double. Van
Horn has seven this season and Williams 12.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
New Jersey Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 104
Indiana 93
Charlotte 80
Boston 79
Minnesota 99
Portland 95
Utah 92
Vancouver 73
New York 79
LA Lakers 78
Orlando 104
Toronto 101
Detroit 104
Golden State 87
New Jersey 101
Houston 98
Phoenix 106
Milwaukee 99
Dallas 119
Sacramento 107
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