HOUSTON - James Harden and the Houston Rockets got a lift from two unlikely sources on Wednesday night.Harden scored 26 points on 10-for-31 shooting in Houstons 102-89 victory over the Sacramento Kings, and Donatas Motiejunas and Isaiah Canaan each stepped up for the Rockets.We kept breathing, our defence just kept grinding away and grinded out some stops, Houston coach Kevin McHale said.Harden also had eight assists and seven rebounds in Houstons third straight win, and Motiejunas and Canaan each set a career high for points.Canaan made six 3-pointers and scored 24 points, and Motiejunas had 21 points. Canaan was averaging 8.1 points coming into the night, and Motiejunas was averaging 6.6 points.The Rockets, who committed just four turnovers, scored 32 points off of Sacramentos 21 turnovers.You cant beat good teams and yourself in the same game, and we did that tonight, which is too bad, Kings coach Michael Malone said.DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points and 17 rebounds for the Kings (9-6), and Ben McLemore and Omri Casspi each scored 14.Houston played without centre Dwight Howard (knee) and point guard Patrick Beverley (hamstring), while Sacramento was without Rudy Gay (right Achilles injury) and Darren Collison (quad contusion).Sacramento had a scary moment late in the third quarter when Cousins went down, grabbing at a knee in apparent pain. The entire Kings bench, staff and players, walked onto the court toward the far corner where Cousins was located, but he slowly got up with a slight limp and remained in the game.To see him go down and grab his knee was very disconcerting, Malone said. Hes a load and we cant afford to lose him.The Rockets held Sacramento to just 39 points in the second half.Thats hard to do because Cousins is a handful, McHale said.Lacking its main inside presence in Howard, Houston went 12 for 35 from 3-point range. The Rockets reached double-digits in made 3-pointers in all but three of their games this season, including four straight.The Rockets out together a strong start, leading 37-19 at the end of the first quarter. Harden had 12 points and five assists in the opening period.The Kings stepped up their defence in the second, allowing just 20 points and closing to 57-50 at the break.Sacramento went 22 for 28 at the free-throw line, while Houston was just 6 for 15. The Kings and Rockets began the night ranked first and fourth in free-throw attempts per game, respectively.The Rockets have won six of eight since a loss to Golden State ended a 6-0 run to open the season.___TIP-INSKings: Jason Thompson had 11 boards, and Sacramento outrebounded the undersized Rockets 48-41. The Kings entered the game ranked third in the league in rebounds per game.Rockets: Howard missed his fourth straight game with a sprained knee. Beverley has missed four games with the lingering hamstring injury. ... F Terrence Jones missed his 11th straight game with nerve damage in his left leg. McHale hinted before the game that all three starters would remain sidelined Friday.UP NEXTKings: Visit San Antonio on Friday.Rockets: Host the Clippers on Friday for the finale of a five-game homestand.CANAAN FROM 3Canaan went 6 for 10 from 3-point range and is 25 for 59 from long range on the season.Once you see a couple go down, you believe the next one is going to fall and if it does, the next one, you got to take that one, too, Canaan said.CASSPIS RETURNCasspi returned to Houston, where he played last season before being traded in July. Before the game, McHale spoke glowingly of Casspis brief tenure in Houston, and Casspis admiration was mutual.It was a life-changing experience from a basketball perspective to play for coach McHale, Casspi said. He taught me how to play the game the right way. I learned a lot. . The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., defeated Germanys Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in the fourth round of the Sony Open in just 89 minutes. . Not sure yet. #livetweetingthegreatuntangle — Strombone (@strombone1) April 17, 2014 Stage three, coping: I feel like I could use a cigarette or something.
http://www.officialbullsfanstore.com/ki ... ls-jersey/. The All-Pro left tackle agreed to a five-year contract with the Eagles on Wednesday. Peters was signed for 2014, and his new deal adds four years through 2018. . As TSN reported Thursday, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is under intense pressure from the federal government to focus drug testing on athletes who compete in international events representing Canada. Since funding for the tests has been frozen and the cost of testing can eclipse $1,000 per test, university athletes in a number of sports are being tested less often. . Blatter also told reporters Saturday after meeting with Qatars emir that the decision to award the tournament to the desert nation is "not reversible." There have been calls to move the tournament because of Qatars intense heat. LAS VEGAS -- A veteran Nevada boxing judge who drew widespread criticism after scoring a weekend title fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez a draw is giving up her ringside job, at least temporarily. "Im taking time away," Cynthia C.J. Ross told The Associated Press on Wednesday in a brief telephone interview from her home outside Las Vegas. The 64-year-old Ross said she wont judge any fights "in the immediate future," and hadnt made a decision whether to quit. Ross scored the world 152-pound title fight a 114-114 draw on Saturday night, but Mayweather won a majority decision after two other judges scored Mayweather the clear winner. Those scorecards had the fight 116-112 and 117-111 for Mayweather, who remained an undefeated 45-0. Alvarez fell to 42-1-1 before a big crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and a large pay-per-view audience. Nevada boxing regulators generally backed Ross, although Nevada Athletic Commission Chairman Bill Brady told reporters the panel could have looked more closely at her selection for the Mayweather fight. Brady promised changes to protect fighters, fans and bettors. He didnt immediately respond Wednesday to messages. Ross also drew attention as one of two judges who scored Timothy Bradley the winner in a controversial split-decision welterweight title bout over Manny Pacquiao in June 2012 in Las Vegas. The decision spurred a call by the manager of both fighters, Bob Arum, for a review by Nevada state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto. She said she found nothing illegal or criminal in the scoring. State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer said Wednesday he respected Ross decision to takee time off and appreciated her more than 20 years of service to boxing.dddddddddddd Ross, a retired casino surveillance official and mechanical designer, said she has been scoring fights for 22 years and estimated that she had judged more than 30 previous championship bouts. She defended her scoring of the 12-round Mayweather-Alvarez fight. "I had six rounds for each fighter," she said. "Every round was close. I no idea of the controversy until the next day." Ross said she thought second-guessing on social media has changed boxing. "Controversy happens in a lot of fights. With the help of social media, people expressing opinions, it brings things to a different light," she said. "Im taking the brunt of it." Immediately after Saturdays fight, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer called Ross scorecard "a disgrace" and said she shouldnt have been hired after the controversy of the Bradley-Pacquiao fight. Mayweather, who was seen on pay-per-view television expressing shock that the fight had been scored a majority decision, was diplomatic in interviews. "Things happen," he told reporters. "The best commission in the world is the Nevada commission, so Ill leave it in their hands." Kizer said all three ringside judges said Mayweather outperformed Alvarez overall. But the athletic commission executive noted the fight was scored as 12 individual rounds. "Obviously, this fight was one of the most watched in history, so youre going to be under a bigger microscope," Kizer said. "Hopefully, the story by the time Mayweather fights again is what a great fighter he is and how well he fought." ' ' '
