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Mar 14 '18
DALLAS -- Chandler Parsons and the Houston Rockets made it two straight over a Texas rival without James Harden. Trent Alexander-Arnold Jersey . Parsons scored 26 points, and the Rockets almost blew a 12-point lead in the final 4 minutes before hanging on for a 117-115 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. Seven Rockets scored in double figures on a night when they had just 10 players in uniform. Dwight Howard had 21 points, and Jeremy Lin added 18 and seven assists. "When hes out, we have a more balanced attack," Parsons said of Harden. "We run our sets and get the best shot available. When hes not there, we dont go one-on-one as much." The Mavericks cut a 12-point deficit with 4:08 remaining to just two and had a chance to win, but Jose Calderon missed a pair of 3-point tries in the final seconds. Dirk Nowitzki had 38 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, but was the only Dallas starter in double figures. "We shouldnt be putting ourselves in those situations where were fighting back the whole game," Calderon said. Harden was out again with a bruised left thumb a night after Houston beat San Antonio to answer consecutive losses to Memphis. The win over the Spurs came in a season-high third straight game with fewer than 100 points, but the Rockets broke that streak on a pair of free throws by Parsons with 7:08 remaining. "They were two big games for us, especially after losing two to Memphis," Parsons said. The Rockets, who were also without centres Omer Asik and Greg Smith and forward Francisco Rodriguez, took a double-digit lead with a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter. Lin, who also grabbed seven rebounds, had a pair of layups to get the run going. Patrick Beverley finished it with a 3-pointer that made him the seventh double-figure scorer and put Houston up 107-95. Dallas was still down seven with 1:20 remaining when Vince Carter hit a 3-pointer, and Nowitzki made two free throws with 22 seconds left. Calderon knocked away the inbound pass, and the ball went off Houstons Aaron Brooks after he chased it down. With a chance to tie or win, Nowitzki was working for a shot before deciding to pass to Calderon. His first try from 3 was short and he missed again just before the buzzer after running down the rebound. "We came over to double-team Dirk to make sure Dirk didnt beat us," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "Calderon had a look, but fortunately he missed." Donatas Motiejunas had his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the Rockets. Houstons win split the four-game series between the teams and put the Rockets 4 1/2 games ahead of the Mavericks for second place in the Southwest Division. The Spurs are in front. Five days after scoring a career-high 34 points against Memphis, Parsons also had five assists, including an inbound pass for a layup by Brooks with just 0.9 seconds on the shot clock in the third quarter. Howard had a season-low five rebounds but made seven of eight free throws in the last five minutes, most of those with the Mavericks fouling him on purpose to try to get back in the game. He was 9 of 11 from the line. "I dont know how many times they blew by us, but Im glad we started fouling Howard because I was starting to get the chills over there from all of the blow-bys," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "It saved our guys the embarrassment of getting blown by two or three times in a row." Calderon and Monta Ellis combined for 14 points and made just 5 of 22 from the field for Dallas, which got 22 points from Carter and a season-high 14 for the third straight game from Devin Harris. "In true Houston form, we let them come back," Lin said. "Were happy to sneak away with a win. We always seem to let it go down to the wire." Notes: Nowitzki became the 13th player in NBA history with 26,000 points. John Havlicek is next on the scoring list at 26,395. ... Second-year Rockets F Terrence Jones was selected to the Rising Stars challenge over All-Star weekend. The 22-year-old has started 38 games and more than doubled the scoring and rebounding averages from his rookie season. Jordan Henderson Jersey . - On the night Dirk Nowitzki overtook Dominique Wilkins on the career scoring list, Brandan Wright was a human highlight film all by himself. Divock Origi Jersey . Hicham Khalouas late goal improved Almerias chances of avoiding relegation in a match dominated by contentious calls, including three penalties. One day after Barcelonas 4-3 win at Real Madrid featured three penalties, referees again dominated a wide-open game that saw Almeria ultimately move out of the relegation zone and one point ahead of Getafe which took its place. TORONTO -- Canadas Milos Raonic boasts one of the strongest power games on the mens tennis tour. On Friday night, his game was undone by an unseeded opponent who picked his style apart. Spains Feliciano Lopez eliminated Raonic from the Rogers Cup with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 quarter-final victory in front of a surprised crowd at Rexall Centre. Raonic, the No. 6 seed from Thornhill, Ont., struggled early and was hampered by unforced errors on the stadium showcourt. Raonic hung in there despite his inconsistency but couldnt convert one of the nine break point opportunities he had in a pivotal 12-minute game midway through the deciding set. Lopez later picked up a break before closing out the win. "I just need to show in a few situations more courage and go for it a little bit more," Raonic said. "Not just that third set but all throughout the match." Raonics trademark rocket serve was still a weapon but his rhythm on the baseline was affected by Lopezs unique style. The crafty left-handed Spaniard mixed things up with cut shots, chip-and-chase strokes and a nice variety of drops and lobs. The change in pace seemed to handcuff Raonic at times. His ground strokes were still powerful but they were weakened when Lopez forced the Canadian wider on court or made him change his approach. The Spaniard said he went heavy on his second serves and was fortunate to hang in there in the third set. "I mean to save nine break points in the same game -- even though I played great (for) most of them -- I have to get a little bit lucky," Lopez said. He completed the victory in one hour 57 minutes to quiet the vocal near-capacity crowd. "Two mistakes, one break and thats it. This is tennis," Lopez said. Lopez will play Roger Federer of Switzerland in the semifinals on Saturday. The second-seeded Swiss star defeated No. 5 David Ferrer of Spain 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the late quarter-final. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France also reached the final four with a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Britains Andy Murray. Tsonga will meet seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who outlasted South Africas Kevin Anderson 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (6). Raonic relied on his powerful ground strokes but the results were mixed as he sprayed a number of shots and had several mishits. The 23-year-old right-hander didnt hide his frustration. At 2-2 and with serve in the opening set, Raonic shouted out in frustration after dropping the first two points of the game. His next shot went long and another mishit gave Lopez the first service break of the match. Raonic threw an exasperated look at his coach at the changeover and couldnt pull even, with Lopez sealing the set with an overhead smash. The Canadian came out strong in the second set by taking the first five points. He was still having trouble with the spin on some of Lopezs shots but the pace of the match started to open up with longer rallies. The players went back and forth with mini-breaks in the tiebreaker. Raonic convertedd his first set point when Lopez fired a ball long as he tripped while approaching the net. Georginio Wijnaldum Jersey. The Spaniard landed awkwardly on his wrist and could be seen trying to loosen it up before the third set. It apparently wasnt a bother as Lopez was steady on serve and consistent down the stretch. "He did a good job," Raonic said. "He stepped up and played well in the important moments, especially on his service game." Earlier, the 13th-seeded Tsonga picked up his second straight upset victory by knocking off the eighth-seeded Murray, who had won nine of 10 previous meetings against the Frenchman. Tsonga was coming off a convincing win over top-seeded Novak Djokovic. "This week is kind of rewards for me," Tsonga said. "To play like this, to beat two guys in the top 10. Its good and I hope it will continue." Tsonga, who had an 18-7 edge in aces over Murray, won 83 per cent of points when his first serve was in. "I was able to serve maybe 220 (km/h) all match and for me its something great when Im serving like this," Tsonga said. "Im able to play good tennis." Murray said it was a much faster-paced match than his tournament opener against Nick Kyrgios. The two-time Rogers Cup champ had reached the quarter-finals on a walkover when Richard Gasquet withdrew due to an abdominal injury. "Jo is a top player, hes a fantastic athlete," Murray said. "When his game is on, hes very tough to beat." In mens doubles play, the third-seeded team of Torontos Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia advanced with a 2-6, 6-3, 14-12 win over No. 5 Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France. No. 4 Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil beat seventh-seeded Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. The second-seeded duo of Alexander Peya of Austria and Bruno Soares of Brazil defeated Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Romanias Horia Tecau 7-6 (4), 6-4. Federer was the highest-seeded player left in the singles draw after three of the top four seeds were eliminated Thursday. He improved to 15-0 lifetime against Ferrer. Raonic, meanwhile, was coming off a tournament victory last weekend in Washington and fell to 2-2 against Lopez. He has six career wins on the ATP Tour but is still looking for his first Masters 1000 title. All three of his matches were three-set affairs at the US$3.78-million tournament. His focus now turns to the next hardcourt warmup event in Ohio ahead of the U.S. Open. "Im competing well and fighting well and I know I can play much better tennis," Raonic said. "The goal has always been get better each week to be playing my best tennis in New York, and thats what Im most looking forward to. "Cincinnati is the next step to getting better." Raonic reached the final at last years Rogers Cup in Montreal before losing to Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard is not back to defend his title due to a wrist injury. 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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