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HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets recently have developed a knack for playing great in the third quarter. Coach Kevin McHale loves what his team has been doing after the break and wishes they could find that intensity early in games. James Harden tied a season high with 38 points, Dwight Howard added 20 points and 13 rebounds and the Rockets used a big third-quarter run to earn a 113-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. Howard got his first win against his former team as the Rockets sent the injury-riddled Lakers to their third straight loss. "We did a better job in the second half of defending," McHale said. "It was a big difference in the game." The Rockets trailed by a basket in the third quarter before going on a 17-2 run to take an 80-67 lead and roll to victory. Harden hopes they can find a way to play better early when they leave Houston for a long road trip on Thursday. "At the beginning of the game ... we have to come out with a sense of urgency," he said. "We cant put ourselves in situations like that because on the road these four games anything is possible and if we do that, some games we might not be able to come back." Harden continued his recent torrid scoring with his third straight 30-point game. He has piled up 113 points in the last three games combined. Nick Young scored 25 points to lead Los Angeles and Pau Gasol and Jodie Meeks scored 21 each. Ronnie Brewer started for the first time this season in place of the injured Chandler Parsons, who was out with a sore right knee. Howard made a season-high four steals, Harden collected a season-best five steals, and Terrence Jones had 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Lakers had a two-point lead midway through the third quarter when Houston got rolling, scoring seven straight points thanks to a 3-pointer by Harden and back-to-back buckets by Howard to take a 70-65 lead. The second one brought the crowd to its feet when Harden swiped a bad pass from Kendall Marshall and tossed up an alley-oop that Howard finished with a monster two-handed slam. That spurt was the beginning of the 17-2 burst that extended Houstons lead to 80-67 with about two minutes left in the quarter. Harden was on fire in that span, scoring nine points and drawing a collective "ooh" from the crowd when he crossed up rookie Ryan Kelly on a layup to cap it. Los Angeles was as cold as Harden was hot, missing five shots and committing three turnovers while the Rockets built the lead. "We seem to run out of energy," Los Angeles coach Mike DAntoni said. "I dont know if they are getting tired or its just the other team turns on the burners." Howard spurned the Lakers to sign an $88 million deal with Houston, joining Harden and a team that made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2009. He admitted after practice Tuesday that he was ticked off that Los Angeles came out on top in the first meeting earlier this season. The centre missed several key free throws down the stretch in that one, a one-point win by the Lakers in November when they employed the Hack-A-Howard strategy. They were down by 14 points when they used that approach again Wednesday night, fouling him every time Houston got the ball for a two-minute span ending with about two minutes left. "Its nothing I like," DAntoni said. "It makes an ugly game, but were trying to get a win." Howard made just six of 14, but Houstons lead was so big this time it didnt matter. He finished 10 of 24 from the free throw line. "I was upset at myself for missing all those," Howard said. "I just have to get better at it." He wouldnt acknowledge that this win meant any more than beating any other team. But said it was important for the team to win in general to get going for the road trip. The Lakers, who are missing Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Jordan Farmar and Steve Blake with various injuries, lost for the ninth time in 10 games. Houston opened the second half with a 9-3 run to take a 61-60 lead with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. Jones scored the last four points of that run. The Lakers led 57-52 at halftime. NOTES: Houston C Omer Asik missed his 17th straight game right thigh and knee injuries. ... Houstons Greg Smith sat out with a sprained right knee. ... New Houston Texans coach Bill OBrien watched the game from a courtside seat. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Arsenal Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Lucas Leiva Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. http://www.soccerauthentic.com/liverpool-fc-divock...gi-jers ey/ . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. Nacho Monreal Arsenal Jersey . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Eliaquim Mangala Manchester City Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side.VAL DISERE, France -- Canadas Julien Cousineau put the finishing touches on a long and difficult road back from injury in Sundays World Cup slalom qualifying for his first second run -- and secured his first top-30 finish -- since 2011. The 32-year-old from Lachute, Que., attacked from the back to jump from 56th to ninth after the first run and then finish 18th overall, with his teammate Mike Janyk of Whistler, B.C., close behind him in 21st. Cousineaus standout performance represented a huge personal victory after two difficult years in which he first battled back from injury and then was unable to qualify for a second run in a World Cup race. "Its been a long time. Its good for my head and its good for the team," said Cousineau, who clocked a two-run combined time of one minute 46.30 seconds. "I just skied like Ive been doing all summer and ended up with a great time. "Its fun to finally be able to show what Ive been doing in training instead of just talking about it." Starting 56th on a course that was deteriorating as the race went on, Cousineau finished in the top 10 in his first run. "I didnt think it was that good. It felt rough and I was fighting all the way down," Cousineau said of his first run. "When I crossed the line aand saw the position I was like, Wow.dddddddddddd I was pretty excited. A lot of stress lifted with that. "I havent made a second run since December 21 in 2011. I hurt my knee after that." Janyk needed a top-12 result to earn a spot at the Sochi Games, but struggled with a stomach bug. "I was pretty green this morning," said Janyk, who had a two-run combined time of 1:46.49 and was the second-fastest racer in the top section of the second run. "In my runs I had no power at the bottom. "First run I was touch and go but made it down. Second run I found some energy. There were good top sections on both runs but for me personally it was a mixed bag." With Austrian superstar Marcel Hirscher failing to qualify for the second run, veteran Mario Matt, also of Austria, took the win in 1:44.59. Swedens Mattias Hargin was second (1:45.12) and Italys Patrick Thaler was third (1:45.37). Calgarys Brad Spence was 36th after the first run -- less than four-tenths of a second out of qualifying for the second run -- as he continues his comeback from a long-term injury. Torontos Phil Brown, and Paul Stutz, of Banff, Alta., did not finish their first runs. Stutz, in particular, looked set for a good race after he was 20th in the top split. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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