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Nets can't solve Rockets

Feb 23, 2013 - 6:07 AM Brooklyn, NY (Sports Network) - James Harden and Carlos Delfino paced the Rockets with 22 points apiece and Houston continued its recent dominance over the Nets with a 106-96 victory at Barclays Center on Friday.

The Rockets were deadly from 3-point range, especially Harden and Delfino, who combined for 10 of Houston's 16 makes from long distance and each nailed one down the stretch to seal the victory.

"Guys moved the ball, got easy shots, and defensively we played pretty well, but our offense got a lot of big shots, a lot of threes," Harden said.

Omer Asik compiled a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the triumph.

Brooklyn had its four-game winning streak halted as they dropped a 13th consecutive game to the Rockets. Brook Lopez tallied a game-high 27 points for the Nets, while Deron Williams added 15 points with 13 assists in the setback.

C.J. Watson scored 17 points in a starting role for Brooklyn, as Joe Johnson missed his first game of the season while battling plantar fasciitis in his heel.

The Rockets buried the Nets from 3-point range, knocking down five triples during a 6 1/2-minute stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters to build a 90-75 lead.

Brooklyn roared back with a 17-5 push to come within three points on Mirza Teletovic's 3-pointer with 3:55 left. However, they couldn't capitalize on chances to reduce the deficit further.

After Teletovic's triple, Houston's Greg Smith was called for an offensive foul, but the Nets were called for a shot clock violation on their ensuing touch.

Again down three nearly two minutes later, Keith Bogans missed an open attempt from 3-point range for Brooklyn before Houston ran away with it.

"We made a few runs and just didn't get over the hump," said Lopez. "We were right there."

Delfino, who made 6-of-9 from long distance, buried a huge triple before knocking down a 20-footer to put the Rockets ahead 102-96. After a Teletovic missed 3-pointer, Harden buried a trey to create a nine-point spread with 39 seconds left to clinch the win.

Houston got going from deep early, knocking down 6-of-12 from long distance in the first quarter to take a 34-31 lead. The Rockets led throughout the rest of the first half and were up by as many as 10 points before taking a 61-53 lead into halftime.

Brooklyn came out of the locker room to knot the score at 64-64 thanks to an 11-3 push, but could never jump back in front.

Delfino canned a triple to break another tie shortly after, and back-to-back three's from Harden late in the third helped the Rockets to a 84-75 edge heading into the final stanza.

Game Notes

The Rockets were without Thomas Robinson, Tyler Honeycutt and Francisco Garcia, who were all acquired from the Sacramento Kings prior to Thursday's trade deadline ... Jeremy Lin had nine points and six assists for Houston ... Teletovic scored 12 points for the Nets, who shot 44 percent for the game ... Houston scored 20 points off 14 Nets turnovers.