The Rockets go for their season-high fourth straight win - and sixth straight in New Jersey - on Monday night when they meet the Nets, who hope to avoid their fifth loss in six home games.

Houston (18-9) had six players score in double figures and led Minnesota by as many as 18 points Saturday night. The Rockets, though, saw their lead cut to three in the final minute before finally closing out a 109-102 victory and sending the lowly Timberwolves to their 12th straight defeat.

After the game, Rockets forward Shane Battier said the close call was a reality check.

"Listen, the Boston Celtics are not giving that lead back. The Lakers are not giving that lead back. And Cleveland is not giving that lead back," Battier said. "Those are the three teams we're chasing right now and if we ever want to get on their level, we need to do what they do."

The Rockets hope a trip to New Jersey can help them look more like one of the top teams in the league. They've won five straight road games against the Nets (13-13), and seven of the clubs' last eight meetings overall.

That doesn't bode well for a New Jersey team that's lost four of five at the IZOD Center to fall to 5-9 there this season. The Nets snapped a three-game home skid by routing Dallas 121-97 on Friday night before falling 106-103 to Miami the next day.

The Nets' latest loss at home overshadowed a strong outing from rookie center Brook Lopez, who led the team with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots. He's averaging 12.5 points and 8.5 boards in 19 games since getting plugged into the starting lineup Nov. 14.

"It makes it so much easier when he's a threat," Nets point guard Devin Harris told the team's official Web site. "When he's rolling to the basket the way he has, it creates so much space for everybody else. We'll continue to work with him. His post moves are getting better, he's gaining more confidence and we need him to play like that more."

That could be tough against Houston's Yao Ming, who's averaging 24.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks while shooting 60.8 percent over his last six games. He's averaging 28.3 points and 11.0 rebounds in his last three games against the Nets.

Yao's inside presence has helped open up the perimeter for Houston, which made 3-pointers on three straight possessions in the fourth quarter Saturday, and finished 12-for-23 (52.2 percent) from behind the arc.

"We're a pretty good 3-point shooting team," said Rockets coach Rick Adelman, whose team is fifth in the league in 3-point percentage at 38.5. "We get our feet set and move the ball around, and we've got a lot of guys who are capable of making them."

This will be the third meeting between Yao and Nets forward Yi Jianlian, who are teammates on the Chinese national team and the two biggest names to make the leap from China to the NBA. Yao and the Rockets won both of the players' head-to-head matchups last season, when Yi played for Milwaukee.