Subject :HOUSTON -- James Harden was out with a thumb injury, and then Dwight Howard got off to a slow start.
HOUSTON -- James Harden was out with a thumb injury, and then Dwight Howard got off to a slow start. Dede Westbrook Womens Jersey . It sure looked as if it was going to be a long night for the Houston Rockets. Then everything changed in the third quarter. Howard got back on track and a pair of role players stepped up to help Houston rally for a 97-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Rockets trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before scoring 33 in the third to go on top. San Antonio used an 11-3 spurt to pull within two in the final minutes, but Howard and Jeremy Lin helped Houston hold on for the win. "We just kept grinding it out," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We changed a couple of things defensively and the guys kind of dug in and got stops." Howard had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Houston, which enjoyed a 55-39 advantage on the glass. Terrence Jones scored 21 points and Lin added 18 points and eight assists while starting in Hardens spot. Harden, who leads the team with 23.7 points a game, was out with a bruised left thumb. "I know I missed a lot of shots early," Howard said. "I didnt lose focus. I got a little frustrated because I wanted to make those shots, especially against Tim (Duncan). But I just tried to stick with it and show the team that no matter what Im going to battle." Boris Diaw scored a season-high 22 points for the Spurs, and he also had 11 rebounds. Tony Parker added 17 points and Duncan had 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Houston was clinging to a 90-88 lead with less than two minutes left when Howard had a dunk and Lin made a jumper. Duncan had a layup on the other end, but Lin sunk a pair of free throws to secure the victory. Houston has won all three meetings with the Southwest Division-leading Spurs to secure the season series for the first time since 1996-97. They have one scheduled game left on April 14 in Houston. San Antonios 90-point performance ended a streak of 15 straight games with at least 100 points and sent the Spurs to consecutive losses for the first time this season. The last time they were held below 100 was a 111-98 loss to Houston on Christmas Day. The Spurs got within six on a hook shot by Diaw early in the fourth quarter. Lin then scored five quick points to extend Houstons lead to 81-70. Houston was up by four points with four minutes left in the third quarter when San Antonio resorted to the "Hack-a-Howard" defence, fouling the centre every time the Rockets got the ball. Howard made 13 of 25 foul shots on the night, leaving him at 52.2 per cent from the line for the season. "I figured they were going to do it," he said. "Im just glad I made most of them." Duncan lamented that the tactic backfired for the Spurs. "Thats what he had to do to get us out of it," Duncan said. "He made free throws and he hurt us with them." The Spurs employed the strategy on eight straight possessions, with Howard making 10 foul shots while they had six points as Houston extended its lead to 70-62. Diaw made a jump shot at the end of the third quarter to cut Houstons lead to 72-64 entering the fourth. The Rockets opened the second half with an 11-2 run, capped by a two-handed dunk by Howard, to take their first lead of the game at 50-48. Lin started the run with a 3-pointer and also had two free throws in the surge. Manu Ginobili made four free throws for San Antonio before Houston scored six straight points to take a 56-52 lead. Ginobili and Chandler Parsons then exchanged rim-rattling dunks in rapid succession. The 36-year-old Ginobili injured himself on his jam and was soon limping and holding his upper left leg. He remained in the game for a bit before walking off the court and into the locker room at the next timeout. The team said he had tightness in his left hamstring. He missed time earlier this month with the same problem. San Antonio led by 10 points in the second quarter before Howard made his first basket of the night after starting the game 0 for 8. The bucket was the first of five straight points for Howard with San Antonios only points in that stretch coming on a layup by Marco Belinelli, helping Houston close to 46-39 at halftime. Houston struggled early without Harden and San Antonio jumped to a 9-0 lead thanks to five points from Diaw. The Spurs pushed the lead to 21-6 with about five minutes left in the first. NOTES: Harden injured his thumb in Houstons last game at Memphis on Saturday. ... Diaw has scored at least 10 points 20 times this season. Dede Westbrook Youth Jersey .Y. - OK, it is done. Dawuane Smoot Jersey . Mike Ribeiro had a goal and an assist as Phoenix held on to snap a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.Roger Federer will open Switzerlands Davis Cup first-round match against Serbia by playing Ilija Bozoljac on Friday, while Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka faces Dusan Lajovic. Switzerland is an overwhelming favourite against Serbia, last years finalist and the 2010 Davis Cup champion, which will be without Novak Djokovic and two other of its top players. The second-ranked Djokovic decided to rest after losing to Wawrinka in the Australian Open quarterfinals, while Janko Tipsarevic is nursing a heel injury and Viktor Troicki is serving a 12-month doping suspension for failing to appear at a test. That means Lajovic at No. 102 is Serbias highest-ranked team member. Federer was a surprising inclusion in the Swiss team, having played only one first-round match since 2004. He last represented Switzerland in September 2012, helping win a relegation playoff against the Netherlands. "I always kept a tiny door open, Im just happy to be here," Federer said. "Spending a week with some of my best friends, playing here was something I was excited about when I left Australia." He said he felt in shape after the Australian Openn, where he lost in the semifinals against Rafael Nadal. Cam Robinson Jersey. "We talked about it and the decision was made pretty quickly," Federer said. "I am really excited seeing Stan playing here after his amazing victory in Australia." Wawrinka jumped to a career-best ranking at No. 3, and now finds himself in the unusual position of being the highest-ranked Swiss player. "I just think in Melbourne all the pieces came together. I was really 100 per cent playing Novak," Wawrinka said. "When I am there and play my best game, I can beat all those players." Serbias doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic said he was surprised that both Wawrinka and Federer came for the first-round match. "Naturally, it does not work to our advantage because they are stronger," Zimonjic said. "But it will be a fantastic experience for both our team and the audience." The series opens Friday on indoor hard court in Novi Sad. Doubles are Saturday and reverse singles Sunday. The winner plays Belgium or Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals in April. AP writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this report. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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