Scolas hair was held scoreless!! NBAE via Getty Images
Saturdays matchup between the Rockets-Nets, and Mavericks-Knicks, was sort of New York against Texas. Nets are a couple years from playing in Brooklyn but New Jersey is about the same distance Houston is to Dallas. The Rockets had a three day rest before hosting the 7 and 58 New Jersey Nets. Luis Scola had tweeted earlier in the week that he was was ready for this game. Scola finished with a career-high 44 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and the Houston Rockets beat the Nets 116-108 to keep their fading playoff hopes alive. “Luis was awesome,” Battier said. “They’re erecting statues of him in Buenos Aires as we speak.” Scola hit 20 of 25 shots, many of them open layups, and reached the highest point total by a Rockets player since Tracy McGrady scored 47 against Utah in November 2007. The Rockets lead the NBA in offensive fouls drawn with 197, and since acquiring Kevin Martin have moved from 17th in the league in free throw shooting % to 13th. Aaron Brooks tied a Rockets franchise record by hitting a 3 for the 37th consecutive game. Brooks’ streak of games with a 3-pointer is the longest active one in the NBA.
Tony Douglas cant believe it either! NBAE via Getty Images
The Mavericks embarrassed the Knicks a couple weeks ago. The Mavs beat the Knicks by 50 points and put the city of New York to shame. The Knicks rolled into Dallas seeking revenge, and the Mavs slow offense early at home contributed to the end of their 13 game winning streak. The Knicks celebrated a rare highlight in an otherwise forgettable season, shooting 56 percent from the floor (50 for 89) and 16 of 30 from 3-point range. Dallas hadn’t been beaten by the Knicks at home since Dec. 16, 1999. “Revenge is sweet sometimes. That’s a really good team over there but we caught them at the right time. They were ripe for the picking,” said New York reserve Al Harrington, who had 20 points. “When you’re rolling along and the Knicks are coming in, you figure you can score 150 points on ‘em in your sleep. But that Knick team didn’t show up today. We caught ‘em by surprise.”
