There are infinite ways to look at a basketball game. One is as a game of spatial attrition: maximize the potential for scoring by finding the most high-efficiency shots, and that can trump a team with more talent. That’s basically the “MoreyBall” model: take close shots, shoot a ton of threes, and draw as much contact as possible to get to the free throw line.

That’s precisely what the Rockets did: almost all of their points came at the rim, beyond the arc, or at the line. Add in their superior talent, and it looked like the 0-7 Nets might fall to 0-8.

And yet… the Nets won. Even with all their mid-range shots and talent dearths, they actually won, against a tough road team built to devour teams like Brooklyn.

Behind a big defensive effort down the stretch and a suddenly-solid three-point shooting team, the Nets snuck a road victory against a healthy team widely considered a top threat in the notoriously Western Conference.

You could see the recipe for a victory. The Nets got to loose balls — particularly on the glass — and hit their open three-pointers. It didn’t look like a different team, but it looked a little more like one that has a chance of winning more than, well, one game every eight tries.

I credit Lionel Hollins shaving his beard.