As Kyrie Irving continues to remain out of the Nets lineup, Spencer Dinwiddie has continued to see more and more usage on offense.

With that comes different looks on defense, and following Saturday's 108-98 loss to the Rockets, Dinwiddie took the blame for not being able to adjust to what Houston was throwing at him.

"We boxed-and-1 [James] Harden and Harden had 40. He still found a way to manufacture points for his team," Dinwiddie said. "There are no excuses. … If I do my job, we win this game. That's kind of what it is at the end of the day."

The Nets trailed by 22 after the first quarter, but battled back to cut it to within nine at halftime. The Nets even led by one with seven minutes to play, but the Rockets ended the game on a 17-6 run to pull away late and finish with a 10-point victory.

Head coach Kenny Atkinson is confident that despite the setback on Saturday, better days are ahead for his 26-year-old guard.

"He's gotta have some 15-assist, 20-assist [nights]," Atkinson said. "I think that's the next step for him. … He can do better."

Irving, meanwhile, is not currently traveling with the team and has not played since Nov. 14.

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