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HOUSTON -- Coach Kevin McHale said it first and then player after player echoed his sentiment: Early in the season Houston wouldnt have won the type of game they did Sunday night. James Harden scored 41 points, Jeremy Lin had 26 and the Rockets rallied for a 118-113 overtime win against the Portland Trail Blazers. "Theres no way we win this game early on in the year," Chandler Parsons said. "So I think that shows a lot about our growth and maturity and just how much were coming together and how well were playing right now." The Trail Blazers led by 3 in overtime after two free throws by Wesley Matthews. Houston took over from there, using an 8-2 run with a 3 from Harden and four points from Lin to make it 116-113 with 35.4 seconds left. Lin added two free throws after that to help the Rockets secure their fifth straight win. "We didnt have a lot of zip in us tonight ... but the guys just kept battling and kept fighting," McHale said. "Sometimes you just have to go out there and gut your way through a win." Houston trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter before using a big spurt to close the gap. Portland regained the lead 106-103 before Harden hit a 3-pointer with seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime. "The first three quarters we were basically just out there running around," Harden said. "The last quarter we got more physical and created some opportunities for our defence." LaMarcus Aldridge led the Trail Blazers with 28 points and 12 rebounds, but managed just two points in OT. Its the second straight loss for Portland, following a 103-98 defeat at Dallas on Friday. "There are a lot of angry faces because we shouldve had that game," Aldridge said. "Weve had two tough losses on the road and we definitely felt like we didnt do everything we could tonight, so of course guys are angry right now." Dwight Howard added 17 points with 12 rebounds and Chandler Parsons had 16 points for Houston. Harden also had 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals. After the win, a couple of Rockets said they feel like they are as good as any team in the league right now. But Howard, who at 28 is one of the teams oldest players, cautioned against getting too confident. "You just want to hold up that trophy come June," he said. "Youve just got to stay humble. Thats the message. Stay humble and stay hungry and continue to do the small things to help us win games." Damian Lillard opened overtime with a 3-pointer for Portland, but picked up his sixth foul on a charge a few seconds later. A basket by Chandler Parsons cut the lead to 1 before Patrick Beverley fouled out, too, leaving both teams without their starting point guards. Harden knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner off the inbounds pass with 8 seconds left in the fourth and Matthews in his face to tie it. A turnover by Nicolas Batum gave Houston a chance to win it in regulation, but Beverleys jump shot clanged off the rim at the buzzer. Matthews had 26 points for Portland and Lillard 21. Houston trailed by 11 points with about eight minutes left in the fourth before going on a 12-3 run, powered by nine points from Harden, to get within 97-95 with about 3 1/2 minutes left. The only thing that slowed Harden during that span was an offensive foul that erased one his buckets. Lin got Houston within 1 on a layup with two minutes left in the fourth before a free throw by Robin Lopez. Lin gave Houston its first lead of the game -- 102-101 -- with a 3-pointer with 1:25 remaining. Lillards basket put Portland on top after that and Hardens turnover led to a pair of free throws by Matthews on the other end. Lin made one of two free throws to make it 105-103 before another free throw by Matthews. Portland was up by 12 points in the third quarter before a 5-1 spurt, with a 3-pointer by Matthews, extended the lead to 77-61. Houston got its offence going a little bit after that, scoring five straight points. But Aldridge made four quick points to push the lead up to 81-66. Portland got off to a quick start, building a 10-0 lead with five points from Lillard. Houston missed four shots and had two turnovers as the Trail Blazers built the lead. NOTES: McHale received a technical for arguing a foul call in the second quarter, and Williams and Hamilton also received technical fouls later in the second. ... Aldridge, who is from Dallas and played at the University of Texas, has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 12 regular-season trips to Houston. Austin Hooper Jersey . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. Authentic Ryan Schraeder Jersey . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. http://www.atlantafalconsnflstore.com/authentic-br...ns-jers ey/ .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Custom Falcons Jersey .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Ricardo Allen Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner.IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Michigan State had every reason to fold. The seventh-ranked Spartans were coming off a draining loss to rival Michigan and again were down two starters to surging Iowa -- which was hosting its biggest game in years. Michigan State responded with the toughness it has shown so often under coach Tom Izzo and emerged from Iowa City with a season-defining win. Keith Appling scored 16 points and the Spartans outlasted No. 15 Iowa 71-69 in overtime Tuesday night, handing the Hawkeyes their first home loss. "I was concerned coming in whether we could get back up off the can. Not physically, we were going to be beat up. I was worried about mentally," said Izzo, whose team fell to the Wolverines 80-75 on Saturday. "We didnt have time to be tired." Matt Costello had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Spartans (19-2, 8-1 Big Ten), who avoided consecutive defeats despite the absence of injured starters Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson. But it took 5 extra minutes -- and an Iowa shooting drought that lasted nearly 15 minutes -- to pull it off. Costellos tip-in with 1:14 left gave Michigan State a 67-64 lead, and Russell Byrds 3 with 34 seconds put Michigan State up by six. Iowa still had a chance to force a second overtime, but Mike Gesell missed a driving layup at the buzzer. Devyn Marble had 21 points for Iowa (16-5, 5-3), including a layup with 6 seconds left in overtime that snapped the Hawkeyes streak of 14:50 without a field goal. "I just didnt think we were tough enough. We werent tough at all," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "I think they were being nice." The Hawkeyes boast one of the nations deepest benches, and they kept threatening to run away from the undermanned Spartans early in the second half. Michigan State wouldnt let it happen. The tough-minded Spartans had an answer for nearly every basket that could have swung the momentum back in Iowas favour. Iowa led 57-51 with 5:58 left, and its crowd began to sense the win.dddddddddddd But Appling -- with his shooting wrist heavily taped -- hit a 3, and a layup and dunk by Costello made it 58-57 Spartans. "We have guys that want to win," Appling said. "I feel like this win speaks volumes of the character of our team. We have a lot of guys that are able to dig down and compete. And at the end of the day I feel like thats what gave us the victory." The Hawkeyes had a chance to win in regulation, but Marble missed a runner just before the buzzer. That was a theme that doomed the Hawkeyes. Aaron White had 10 points for Iowa, which lost despite hitting 19 more free throws than Michigan State. "I felt like we were moving the ball well. We had some really good looks at it and just didnt make any," McCaffery said. What made the loss even tougher for Iowa was it had been nearly a decade since Iowa City had seen a game this big. Iowa hadnt hosted a Top 25 opponent as a ranked team since 2006, when it last went to the NCAA tournament. Even Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad made the 2-hour drive from Des Moines to see the programs biggest home game in years. The Hawkeyes looked like the tighter team early. But the Hawkeyes hung close by building what would end up being a 43-20 edge in free throw attempts. The second half and overtime proved to be a physical, back-and-forth affair between two teams with serious aspirations of a Big Ten title. In the end, it was the Spartans who pulled out a game with 16 lead changes, 11 ties and one seemingly inexplicable shooting drought from the typically high-scoring Hawkeyes. In victory, Michigan State also showed Iowa how slim the margin between contending for a Big Ten title and winning it can be. "Weve had games where we could have (showed resolve), but we didnt. This is the first game where weve had the opportunity and weve carried through," Costello said. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '
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