Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka is renowned for his blunt, direct style in interactions with his players, referees and the media. On Monday night, Udoka didn't hold back in his assessment of his team’s performance after a 124-118 loss at the New York Knicks.

We are over halfway through now, and our record is what it is,” Ime Udoka says of the Rockets (32-14). “It is not just a fluke or anything.”

The Brooklyn Nets ' front office would probably prefer its players not win games right now, but the scrappy bunch led by first-year coach Jordi Fernandez doesn't care about lottery odds. Nothing proved that as much as their stunning 99-97 come-from-behind victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.