Not much help for James Harden as Nets fall in Houston

HOUSTON — On Tuesday, the Nets overcame a 17-point deficit with a dramatic fourth-quarter rally led by superstars Kevin Durant and James Harden. But after falling behind again by 20 Wednesday night at Toyota Center, the Nets faced a much stiffer climb with Durant and starting center LaMarcus Aldridge sitting out to avoid playing three games in four nights on this road trip.

Instead, the Rockets took advantage of the Nets’ load maintenance scheme to score a 114-104 victory that was their seventh straight win. The loss left the Nets 1-1 on their four-game trip that continues Friday night in Atlanta.

"At halftime, we talked about getting into them more, getting more physical, being more confrontational defensively," Nets coach Steve Nash said. "We gave up 67 points in the first half, dug ourselves too big a hole. It was 17 [starting] the fourth, we cut it to four. So proud of the effort there, but too many stretches where we weren’t physical enough and didn’t have the fight."

Despite their manpower disadvantage, the Nets found a way to rally again in the fourth period, cutting their deficit to 95-91 on a four-point play by Harden with 7:21 left. Harden later hit a technical foul shot with 6:17 left to keep it a 98-94 ball game, but moments later when he put up a three-pointer with a chance to make it a one-point game, he misfired.

"If I hit any of those shots, it’s definitely a different story, especially that one being down four," said Harden who shot 1-for-5 in the final period. "The game gets a little tighter, and we were already on a run. It’s just a couple misses, lapses by myself, a couple missed shots by myself that just didn’t go in. Obviously, if I make those shots, it’s a different ballgame."

Harden topped the Nets (17-7) with 25 points on a laborious 4-for-16 shooting effort, but he added 11 rebounds and eight assists plus eight turnovers. Cam Thomas had 18 points off the bench, Patty Mills contributed 12 points, and even rookie David Duke Jr. saw his first significant action and scored nine points.

But the Nets shot only 39.3% while allowing the Rockets (7-16) to hit 49.4%. They were led by Eric Gordon’s 21 points, got 19 points from Garrison Mathews, 18 from Josh Christopher and 12 points and 15 rebounds from Christian Wood.

Harden returned to Houston for only the second time since the trade that sent him to the Nets last Jan. 14, but there only were 3,615 fans permitted in the building because of COVID-19 restrictions. But 15,834 fans showed up for Harden’s second visit.

He received mainly cheers when he was introduced and during a first-quarter video board presentation but was booed every time he was at the free-throw line. "It’s very special obviously when I’m here in Houston," Harden said, "a lot of love, a lot of support from my family."

Still, Harden faced a major problem without his usual complement of offensive weapons. Although the Rockets got off to a horrendous 1-16 start this season, they were riding a six-game winning streak coming into the game. They sustained that momentum against the Nets, leading by 20 in the third period and by 17 going to the fourth quarter.

"Yeah, it’s frustrating," Harden said of the manpower shortage. "We got down early. We know how well they’ve been playing this last week or two. But it’s frustrating when you are short-handed so many guys and you’re trying to make up for it in so many games, especially on a back-to-back and after playing 42 minutes [Tuesday night]. It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing you can do. It’s out of your control. You’ve just got to keep pushing."

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.