HOUSTON -- Houston is starting to make a habit of 40-point first quarters.
Kyle Clifford Jersey . After not scoring 40 points in the opening quarter in the last five seasons, the Rockets have done it five times this season and twice in the last three games. Terrence Jones had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Rockets opened a big early lead and beat the Detroit Pistons 118-110 on Saturday night for their third win in four games. Jones finished 10 of 15 from the floor as Houston shot 50 per cent for the game, including 61 per cent in the first half. Houston scored 41 points in the first quarter and finished 11 of 33 from behind the arc. "We got a big halftime lead and didnt play well in the second half," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We came out and really moved the ball. We had it going up and down and just did a nice job of doing what weve been talking about doing, which is attacking early, getting inside to Dwight (Howard) and making some nice passes." James Harden added 20 points and 12 assists, Patrick Beverley had 19 points and Howard chipped in 17 points and eight rebounds. Reserve Omri Casspi scored 16 points and Jordan Hamilton had 13. While saying it was an important win before the Rockets begin a stretch against some of the top teams in the NBA on Tuesday against Miami, Howard did not like the way Houston came out in the second half. "I thought we should have really put the foot on the gas," Howard said. "We didnt. We allowed them to get back into the game, and that is not what we need to do if we want to be a championship team." Rodney Stuckey had 23 points on 10 of 17 shooting off the bench, and Josh Smith added 21 points for the Pistons, who dropped their fourth straight and seventh in eight games. Andre Drummond had 16 points and 17 rebounds, Greg Monroe had 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Brandon Jennings chipped in 11 points and eight assists for Detroit, which shot 45 per cent from the field. "In the first half, we didnt play with the energy, enthusiasm or desire you have to play at to play against any NBA team, let alone a high-level team like Houston," Detroit interim coach John Loyer said. "We came in here, and I told our guys we played harder in practice than the first 24 minutes. We had more juice, energy running a three-man weave than we did in the first half. There are two halves to a game, and fortunately, we played a much better second half." Detroit fell four games out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Drummond said the Pistons have enough time to make the playoffs. "We have enough time to do anything, and were four games out, so it comes to what we do as a team," Drummond said. "It cant be one or two people. We have to be as a collective group to want to buckle down and try to win games." Trailing 102-84 with 10:33 remaining, Detroit outscored the Rockets 13-5 over the next 4:22 to cut the lead to 10 on Smiths free throws, but Beverley nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to 16 with four minutes remaining. The Pistons closed within seven once more with a 10-1 run, capped by consecutive layups by Stuckey, but got no closer. "I think guys stopped playing a little bit because of the lead," Jones said. "We just tried to make sure that we got back to it on the defensive end to make sure we got the win. I think we did that late in the fourth." The Rockets, who never trailed, moved to 40-19. Only the 1993-94 team that started 40-15 got to 40 wins faster. Houston used a 16-2 run over a three-minute stretch of the first quarter to open a 23-6 lead on Howards two free throws 5 minutes into the game. "We did a good job of coming out with some aggression and getting some defensive stops and getting out in transition," Harden said. Houston expanded its lead to 58-33 on Howards free throw with 4:58 remaining in the first half. The Rockets led 69-46 at the break. NOTES: Houston forward Chandler Parsons missed the game with an illness. . Rockets centre Greg Smith underwent an exploratory arthroscopic knee surgery Wednesday to repair a medial meniscus tear and to examine changes to ligament structures in his right knee. Smith, who has missed 36 games this season, is out indefinitely. . Drummond leads the Eastern Conference with 43 double-doubles this season
Jeff Carter Jersey . A larger-than-life personality known for his intimidating style in the 18-yard box, Schmeichels career spanned some 20 years -- including a memorable tenure at Manchester United.
Custom Los Angeles Kings Jersey . The three Calgary natives will compete after the sport was skipped by the Vancouver Games in 2010 but later included on the program for Sochi, Russia. The fight to include womens ski jumping prior to Vancouver went to the courts only to have the Supreme Court of Canada rule against the athletes appeal in 2009.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Diego Valeri scored in the final minute of stoppage time to pull the Portland Timbers into a 1-1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday. The equalizer came after Robbie Keanes header two minutes into stoppage time appeared to give the Galaxy the win. Los Angeles peppered Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts with shots all game, but couldnt break through until Keanes fifth goal of the season. Valeris goal was his second of the year. "We fell asleep at the end of the game," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. "A bunch of guys can do better on the play. But we played very well today, should have walked away with three points." Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan remained at 134 career MLS goals, tied with Jeff Cunningham for the league record. Neither team was satisfied with the draw. Portland, which finished with the best regular season record in the Western Conference last season, has only one victory so far this year, last weekends late 3-2 win over D.C. United. "Bottom line is, weve not been good enough," Timbers coach Caleb Porter said. Arena and Keane were upset that Portlands Donovan Nagbe wasnt called for a foul on Juninho on a breakaway before Valeris game-tying goal. "Some poor decisions we have to accept, and take responsibility ourselves as well, because the last minute of the game you shouldnt be conceding a goal," Keane said. The Galaxy were coming off a 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids last weekend, snapping a four-match unbeaten streak. Los Angeles was without centre back Omar Gonzalez, who hurt his left knee in the first half of the loss at Colorado. Hes being held out as a precaution so that he can take part in the U.S. national teams training for the World Cup. GGonzalez and Donovan are expected to report Wednesday to the U.
Alec Martinez Kings Jersey. S. teams training camp at Stanford. Portland was hurt early when defender Michael Harrington left the match with an apparent right ankle injury. The ankle had bothered him early this week. Later in the game Portland midfielder Diego Chara came off after what appeared to be a left hand injury, replaced by Ben Zemanski. "For me its just disappointing," Timbers defender Jack Jewsbury said. "Were better than we showed today." The Timbers looked to have a chance in the 34th minute but Valeri couldnt get a shot off as he charged Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo. Most eyes were on Donovan, who looked to have a shot in the box in the 39th minute before Chara stole the ball. Donovan is scoreless in all seven league games hes played this season. Hes had four goals and three assists in seven career matches against the Timbers dating back to 2011 when Portland joined MLS. "Landon was the best player on the field today," Arena said. "Played very well. Good to see." Futty Dansos header for Portland in the 59th minute hit the far post as the sellout crowd at Providence Park gasped. Ricketts tipped a hard shot from Galaxy forward Keane in the 82nd minute, but couldnt stop Keanes second shot in stoppage time. There were five total minutes of extra time at the end of the match. "We certainly deserved to win today, theres no question about that," Keane said. The Galaxy finished with 21 shots to Portlands 10. "We can fault the referee as much as we want, but we were still the team in control at the end of the game where we could have denied a goal-scoring opportunity and didnt get that done," Arena said.
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