Dwight Howard’s face might have been stinging from Kevin Garnett ramming his head into it, and now his ears were ringing as fans directed loud boos toward him.
Howard wasn’t tempted to silence them by demanding the ball at the expense of Houston’s offence. He was after a win, not revenge.
“As long as we win the game, that’s all that matters,” Howard said. “We’ve got 82 games and the play-offs. I’ll do my damage when it’s time.”
James Harden scored 30 points, carrying Houston on a night when Howard did little after fighting with Garnett, and the Rockets beat the slumping Brooklyn Nets 113-99 on Monday.
Garnett was ejected in the first quarter after head-butting Howard in the face and throwing the ball at him, while Howard received a technical foul after appearing to punch or slap Garnett in the neck.
Howard finished with eight points and five rebounds, but the Rockets didn’t need much in the middle while dominating from the outside with 16 three-pointers in 40 attempts.
The only time they really were stopped is when referees halted the action to review video of the scuffle.
“I think we’ve been locked in these last few games and so a little hesitation wasn’t going to stop us from our goal, and that was to win the game,” Harden said.
Mason Plumlee scored a career-high 24 points for the Nets, who lost their sixth straight.
“Kevin did a lot for us, got us going,” Plumlee said of Garnett, who didn’t speak to reporters. “Those are the kind of games as a team you want to win and we didn’t do that.”
Houston have won four in a row, all by double digits, and blew away a Nets team that had held their previous eight opponents under 100 points, the longest streak in the NBA this season.
The Nets consistently lost Houston's shooters on the perimeter, and the Rockets easily surpassed their NBA-best average of 11.8 three-pointers per game.
They already had 17 points before Garnett became angry after he was called for a foul against Howard with 7:53 left in the first quarter. The players lightly shoved each other before Garnett threw the ball into Howard’s back, and as the players went face-to-face, Garnett rammed his head into the area near Howard’s mouth.
Howard responded with his right hand, and even after the players were separated, Garnett tried to get at Howard again before being escorted toward the locker room.
“In the good old days that was a play-on, now they throw people out,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “I don’t think it was that big of a deal.”
Howard received only a technical foul, with Nets coach Lionel Hollins saying officials told him it didn’t look like Howard threw a punch. If the NBA decides otherwise after a review, he could be suspended Wednesday when the Rockets return to Orlando, his longtime NBA home.
“That’s not up to me,” Howard said.
The Rockets broke a tie atop the Southwest Division with the Memphis Grizzlies, whom the Nets host on Wednesday as Hollins faces his former team.
AROUND THE NBA
Pistons 114 (14-24), Raptors 111 (25-12)
Brandon Jennings had 34 points and 10 assists, and Detroit won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Greg Monroe had 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Pistons snapped a four-game losing streak against Toronto. Jodie Meeks scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Jonas Jerebko had eight of his 10 in the final period.
Jonas Valanciunas scored a career-best 31 points and had 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Kyle Lowry had 10 points and 12 assists, Greivis Vasquez scored 16 and Lou Williams had 15.
Andre Drummond also had a double-double in Detroit’s sixth consecutive road win, finishing with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Magic 121 (14-27), Bulls 114 (26-13)
Nikola Vucevic had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and the Magic snapped a six-game losing streak.
Orlando shot a season-high 59 per cent from the field in their first win in Chicago since an 83-82 victory on December 16, 2013. The Magic had lost three in a row and 12 of 15 against the Bulls since the start of the 2010/11 season.
Victor Oladipo also scored 33 points for the Magic. Vucevic was 16-for-24 from the field in his NBA-best 23rd double-double of the season.
Pau Gasol paced Chicago with 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Derrick Rose had 18 points and seven assists.
Celtics 108 (13-23), Pelicans 100 (18-19)
Jared Sullinger had 27 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, and rookie Marcus Smart nailed a key three-pointer in the closing minute.
The Celtics won for the third time in their last 12 games. Jae Crowder scored 22 points, Marcus Thornton had 13 and Brandon Bass finished with 12.
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 34 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Eric Gordon scored 21 points, and Tyreke Evans had 19 points and eight boards.
Clinging to a 101-100 lead, Avery Bradley’s shot was blocked by Davis in the lane, before Smart nailed a 3 from the left corner, falling into the seats as the shot swished through the basket with 39.7 seconds left.
Boston beat New Orleans on the same night they completed a three-team trade, with Memphis also involved.
The Celtics dealt Jeff Green, a starter for the team this season, to Memphis in a trade that brought back a future protected first-round draft pick to Boston, along with Austin Rivers and Tayshaun Prince.
Quincy Pondexter goes from Memphis to New Orleans with a 2015 second-round pick, and Russ Smith moves from New Orleans to Memphis.
The Celtics also traded Brandan Wright, acquired earlier this season in the trade that sent Rajon Rondo to Dallas, to the Phoenix Suns for a conditional future first-rounder.
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