The Houston Rockets are one of the NBA’s most exciting teams to watch. They are a fast paced team that likes to shoot early and often. They average over 106 points per game and give up an average of over 103 per game. They appear to be the kind of team Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni wants the Lakers to become. They are a throwback to 1970s and ’80s basketball when both teams would break the century mark every night, even during the playoffs. Coach D’Antoni likes that kind of up-tempo style of play, unfortunately he doesn’t have the players to run it.
The Lakers got off to a fast start on the Rockets home floor, racing out to an 18-6 lead. But by the end of the first quarter, the Rockets had raced back to within four points. The Lakers hung tough for three quarters on Tuesday night, but eventually just ran out of gas as the Rockets pulled away late to win 125-112. James Harden repeatedly took the ball to the basket and the Lakers could not stop it as he ended up with 31 points. Chandler Parsons added 20 points and Carlos Delfino and Jeremy Lin chipped in 19 points each. Delfino hit five of seven of his three point attempts. The Rockets are now 21-14 while the Lakers fell to 15-19.
The Brooklyn Nets won their fourth straight with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers 109-89. Deron Williams led the Nets with 22 points and Andray Blatche chipped in 20 points as they improved to 20-15. The Nets are 6-1 since firing coach Avery Johnson and replacing him with P.J. Carlesimo. The Sixers continue to struggle and are now 15-21. Reggie Evans had 23 rebounds in the game for the Nets.
The Milwaukee Bucks won their first game after firing coach Scott Skiles. They snapped a four game losing streak by beating the Phoenix Suns 108-99. Brandon Jennings scored 29 points and six other Bucks finished in double figures in the games as they improved to 17-16. Goran Dragic led the Suns with 21 points. Marcin Gortat had 16 points and 14 rebounds as well for Phoenix as they dipped to 12-24.
The Indiana Pacers whipped the Miami Heat 87-77. The Heat is now a mediocre 7-7 on the road this season and have lost four of the last seven games. They have been repeatedly beaten on the backboards and the Pacers out-rebounded them 55-36. The Heat is now 23-10 and the Pacers are 21-14. They were led by Paul George with 29 points.
The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Atlanta Hawks 108-103. The news was not all good for the Wolves however as star forward Kevin Love is on the shelf again after re-fracturing his hand. Love will likely be out six to eight weeks. Nikola Pekovic led the T-Wolves with 25 points and Andre Kirilenko chipped in 21 points.
