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Rockets finish strong to beat Nets

Mar 11, 2012 - 7:41 AM Newark, NJ (Sports Network) - The Nets' Gerald Green inadvertently tipped the ball into his own basket with 1:03 remaining, giving the Rockets a lead they would not relinquish in Saturday's 112-106 win.

New Jersey held a 106-105 lead when Green, who finished with a season-high 26 points, tipped a Courtney Lee miss into the basket. Louis Scola was credited with the bucket and the Rockets scored the game's final seven points to halt a season-long five-game losing streak.

Goran Dragic had 23 points and eight assists in place of Houston's starting point guard Kyle Lowry, who checked into a hospital Thursday due to illness. Lee added 17 points and Chandler Parsons finished with 16 points, six assists and five rebounds.

"I was so tired in the third and fourth quarters that my legs were really heavy," said Dragic. "But in the end we were battling and we won the game and tomorrow is the next game against the Cleveland Cavaliers."

The Nets were also without their starting point guard, Deron Williams. He was out with a sore right calf. MarShon Brooks had 23 points, a career-high seven assists and five rebounds in the setback, which halted a two-game win streak.

After Green's misplay, Brooks drove the lane, but was blocked by Parsons. He then fouled Patrick Patterson, who made 1-of-2 free throws for a 108-106 lead with 53 seconds left.

The Nets had several opportunities to tie it on their next possession. Kris Humphries grabbed an offensive rebound off a Green miss but was blocked on the put-back attempt. He then found Morrow, who was off on a three-point attempt.

Dragic grabbed the rebound and made two foul shots with 17 seconds left to make it 110-106. Lee made two more free throws after another Morrow miss to seal the Houston win.

New Jersey had fought with vigor to make it competitive.

"We weren't into it defensively in the first half but we stepped it up and a lot of guys contributed," said Nets guard Jordan Farmar. "It was good to see, just would have loved to come out with the win."

The Rockets were up 29-21 after the first and 59-49 at the break. The advantage reached 13 in the third when Scola's hook made it 73-60, but the Nets scored 10 straight to pull within three and later scored six straight to end the quarter down 84-83.

Green opened the final frame with a three, giving the Nets an 86-84 lead and triggering the back-and-forth finish.

Game Notes

Lowry checked into a New York-area hospital with a fever and abdominal distress and said on Twitter that he would be "out of commission for a while." He is second on the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game...Green signed a second 10-day contract on Thursday. He has averaged 5.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in five games since first signing with the team in late February.