EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Jason Kidd's return tothe lineup on Friday could not ignite the New Jersey Nets'struggling offense.
Yao Ming had 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Houston Rocketsled from start to finish en route to a 96-89 victory over theNets at the Izod Center.
Tracy McGrady scored 19 of his 24 points in the first half forthe Rockets, who opened up a 15-point halftime lead and led byat least seven points over the final three quarters of thecontest.
"We played really well in the first half," Houston coach RickAdelman said. "They made a run at the start of the second half,and we responded. We just kind of kept them at bay. Afterthey made the first three shots of the second half, we respondedand got it back to double figures."
Kidd's return after a one-game absence could not help the NewJersey attack, which came into the game with the third-worstscoring offense in the league at 90.7 points per contest.
Kidd, who missed Wednesday's loss to the New York Knicks due toa migraine headache, had just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting,with seven rebounds and seven assists as the Nets have lostseven of its last eight home games.
Reports had surfaced that Kidd was using his "illness" as a ployto demand a trade or contract extension, which he then denied.The eight-time All-Star had just two points, two rebounds andthree assists at the half, as Houston won for the fifth straighttime in New Jersey.
"I feel better," Kidd said. "I think getting back out there wasgood. I tried everything I could tonight, but we ran intoMcGrady, who was on fire. Our guys kept playing hard, but wecouldn't get over the hump."
McGrady scored 13 points in the opening period as the Rocketsheld a 28-18 lead after the first.
"Any time a team is struggling, you don't want to let them getcaught up in the game and get confident," McGrady said. "JasonKidd controls everything, and we didn't want that to happen, sowe went at him right away. Our defense was pretty solidtonight, especially in the first half."
Houston ended the second quarter on a 9-2 run over the final5:17 to take its largest lead of the first half, 48-33, at thebreak.
New Jersey shot just 35 percent (15-of-43) in the opening half,while Houston connected on 19-of-35 (54 percent) attempts fromthe field over that span.
"I won't question the effort," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said."In the first half, we didn't do a great job of third and fourthdefender help. I thought our guys were active. In the secondhalf, we had a good attack on both ends.
"When you play good teams, you have to play at a higher level."
The Nets opened the second half on an 8-0 run as they closedwithin seven points, but the Rockets answered with a 13-4 run totake a 61-45 lead with 7:03 left in the third quarter.
Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson combined to score 26 of theNets' 27 third-quarter points, but New Jersey still trailed,72-60, entering the fourth.
The Nets trailed by nine midway through the fourth quarter, butHouston went on a 9-3 spurt to push its advantage up to 86-71with 3:14 to play.
Carter scored a season-high 32 points and Jefferson added 29 forthe Nets.
"We already know our offense is one of the worst in the league,"Jefferson said. "It isn't necessarily the plays that we arerunning, but just our shooting percentages. I don't know why.Hopefully, this will be something we can figure out and move onfrom quickly.
"Maybe then we could go on a run, win some games in a row andstart feeling good about ourselves."