For all the points James Harden piled up, all the 3s they fired up, the Rockets fell a minute short. Twice.

With eight-point leads in the final minute of regulation and then again in overtime, the Rockets could not close out the Nets, combining several mistakes, missed free throws and a scoring burst from Spencer Dinwiddie to give the Nets a stunning, 145-142 win on Wednesday.

The Rockets fell when the Nets' Treveon Graham hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to four before Jarrett Allen put in a layup to reduce the lead to two with 40.9 seconds left. Gerald Green fouled Allen on the play, but though he missed, the Nets pulled in the rebound with Dinwiddie driving to a three-point play and the lead.

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When Austin Rivers missed a 3, the Rockets were about out of time, but down three with 1.5 seconds left, they inbounded for one last 3-pointer.

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Green, however, missed the 70th trey the Rockets put up in the game, ending the Rockets' last chance.

The Rockets could be every bit as disappointed by the finish in regulation.

With an eight-point lead in the final half minute, they watched Dinwiddie knock down three straight from deep, the last with 8.4 seconds left to rush the Nets back into a tie. When Harden missed at the buzzer, the Rockets and Nets headed to overtime.

By then, the shorthanded Rockets seemed to be running on fumes. Eric Gordon had returned from his bruised knee, but left the game early in the fourth quarter. James Nunnally, signed to a 10-day contract hours earlier, was playing long minutes. With Clint Capela out, the Rockets were in a small lineup that kept nearly every healthy guard on the floor.

Yet, the Rockets had seemed to find enough offense. In a matchup of the only teams Harden had not scored 40 points against, Harden spent the second half attacking the Nets defense, piling up 58 points, two shy of his franchise record.

As the Rockets put up 3-pointers beyond even their norm, on a pace that would have shattered their record for 3s attempted in a game, Harden drew fouls and finished drives to score 39 second-half points, topping the 36 he had in the first half on Monday, and breaking Calvin Murphy's franchise record.

When Harden began attacking off the dribble, he put up 22 third-quarter points to turn the game around after an early 15-point deficit.

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The Rockets had built their largest lead, 115-101, with 5 ½ minutes remaining, but could not close out the win.

The Rockets opened in their small lineup, the combination they often use when they bog down and need the spacing that comes with having shooters spread the floor.

They broke down badly early, with the Nets moving without the ball to pile up points in the lane and build a 15-point lead. But the real trouble came when the Nets gave up two Harden drives and switched into their zone.

The Nets often play in a zone the Rockets had to know was coming. But the offense became almost entirely about making one or two passes on the perimeter and putting up a 3-pointer. They were mostly good looks and at first that worked well enough to erase the Nets' lead and briefly go in front. But the Rockets did almost nothing but launch 3s in the first half, falling behind 62-54 heading into the second half when they missed a staggering number of their shots from deep.

Against a team that allows 27.4 3-point attempts per game, the Rockets put up 35 in the first half. They made just 10 of them. They began the second half launching 3-pointers on each of their first three possessions, indicating they were not about to back off from what they do, though Harden mixed in a few drives.

When Green hit from the corner, the Rockets had put up 40 3-pointers less than 3 ½ minutes into the second half, and had regained the lead. The Rockets kept putting up their 3s, but Harden also found crevices in the zone to exploit, driving to the rim, drawing fouls and taking the Rockets to a lead that reached 12.

Along the way, the Rockets seemed to have found a way to score more than enough. They just could not defend long enough to shut the door.

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