|  Wys³any: 2019-01-24 08:39:20 Temat postu: way to do that was with the "Ha
HOUSTON -- Los Angeles coach Mike DAntoni paid a lot of attention to former Lakers centre Dwight Howard down the stretch. He needed to get the ball out of the hands of Houston Rockets guard James Harden and figured the best way to do that was with the "Hack-a-Howard" defence. The strategy worked perfectly with Howard missing seven late free throws to allow the Lakers to keep it close before Steve Blake hit a wide-open 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to lift them to a 99-98 victory Thursday night. "I think it went real well because we took Harden out of the game," DAntoni said. Howard spurned the Lakers to sign an $88 million deal with Houston, joining Harden and a team that made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2009. A sombre Howard called his free throw shooting "terrible," but wouldnt concede that this loss was more difficult because it was against his former team. "Every loss hurts," said Howard, who had 15 points and 14 rebounds. "Nobody likes to lose. Its very upsetting that we lost the way we did." DAntonis decision to foul Howard was surprising because last season he said that the hack-a-whoever defence was bad for the game. "That doesnt mean youre not going to use it, if its out there," he said. "Im not crazy." Houston led by two points before Blake took the inbounds pass from Jodie Meeks and made the game-winning shot. The Rockets were disappointed they let Blake get free for the winning basket. "Guys just kind of messed up on the play," Howard said. "It happens." The Rockets had a chance to win it, but Patrick Beverleys 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the backboard. "I was in a rhythm and then they started fouling Dwight," said Harden, who scored 35 points. "It kind of slows us down. It slows our pace down and what we like to do. Good coaching." The Rockets took their first lead since the first quarter on a dunk by Chandler Parsons following a steal by Harden that made it 93-91 with about 4 minutes left. Parsons left his arms outstretched as he came down from the dunk to wild applause from the home crowd. Harden had tied it up about a minute earlier on a 3-pointer. The Lakers started fouling Howard every time he touched the ball after that, sending him to the line 12 times, but he made just five. Meeks, who led the Lakers with 18 points, made a 3-pointer with less than 2 minutes remaining to cut the lead to two. The Lakers struggled all last season amid reports that Howard and Kobe Bryant didnt get along, and were swept in the first round of the playoffs. Los Angeles could have offered him a 5-year contract worth $118 million, but he chose to make the move to Houston with a four-year deal. "He made his choice, which is good," DAntoni said of Howard. "Youve got to respect that. Hes fine and theyre going to have a great team. Youre just happy for everybody because we won." The Lakers extended their lead to 14 points on a jump shot by Chris Kaman with about 8 minutes left in the third quarter. Houston finally got its offence going after that, going on a 15-3 run to get within 74-72 with 3 minutes left in the quarter. A highlight in that span came when Howard bobbled a bad pass from Harden before getting a handle on it and spinning around to finish with a dunk. The Rockets got eight points from Jeremy Lin during that run and the Lakers had three turnovers. Wesley Johnson made a 3-pointer to cool off the Rockets, but a 3-pointer by Harden just near the end of the quarter cut the lead to 81-77. Houston shot just under 35 per cent and made just two of 13 3-point attempts in the first half. But the Rockets stayed in the game by making 18 of 27 free throws -- 25 in the second quarter alone -- before halftime. The Lakers didnt share in Houstons long-range shooting woes in the first half, hitting 11 of 14 3-point attempts. The Lakers led by 17 points early in the second quarter before Houston used a 13-5 spurt capped by seven points from Harden to cut the lead to 45-36 about 7 1-2 minutes before halftime. Hardens seven points came in just 35 seconds. He made the second of two free throws before hitting a 3-pointer seconds later. Howard got a rebound on the other end and Harden made a layup. He was fouled on the shot and made the free throw. Harden made five more free throws in the last 1:19 of the first half, but 3-pointers by Steve Nash and Meeks extended the Lakers lead to 64-50 at halftime. NOTES: Former Rockets star Tracy McGrady and current Houston Texans J.J. Watt and Andre Johnson attended the game. ... Meeks made the first four 3-pointers he attempted to tie a career-high for most 3-pointers made without a miss. Lars Lukas Mai Jersey .J. - Percy Harvin is ready to go, and theres no question in his mind hell be playing Sunday. Kingsley Coman Jersey . - Jayden Hart scored once and set up two more as the Prince Albert Raiders downed the host Red Deer Rebels 5-3 on Tuesday to clinch the final Western Hockey League playoff berth. http://www.fcmunichpro.com/Kids-Robert-Lewandowski-Jersey/.That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs. Rafinha Jersey . Mladenovics quick hands at the net made the difference while Bencics inexperience in doubles showed. "We took a lot of pleasure," Mladenovic told Sport Plus television. "Its extremely difficult to play in such conditions, but our doubles team showed a lot of quality. Thomas Muller Jersey .Carla Fontes hadnt cut her hair since intermediate school, but her coach at Waiakea High School, Stan Haraguchi, thought the locks flowing below her waist were interfering with the sport.UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Now that Jaromir Jagr has 700 NHL goals in the bank, the future Hockey Hall of Famer is already setting his sights on his next big milestone. There are only six guys who have ever scored more. So yes, this is a significant marker to reach. "Maybe not for Wayne Gretzky, but for the rest of us its a very big number -- 800 is a little bit better than 700," he said. Jagr scored in the second period of the New Jersey Devils 6-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday. Through bits of laughter, Jagr suggested that 800 goals is attainable, as well as Gretzkys record 894. With tongue firmly in cheek, Jagr said he could get to the first number in two years and Gretzkys mark in four. So far, he has no plans for the special puck that got past goalie Evgeni Nabokov. "I might save the 800th one, but I dont know what I am going to do with the 700th," he said with a smile. Jagrs tally sparked New Jerseys four-goal second period, and Martin Brodeur earned the win in his first start in over a month. Jagr gave the Devils a 2-0 lead early in the second, and Ryane Clowe, Marek Zidlicky, and Mark Fayne followed in rapid succession. The four goals came in a span of 4:36 in the first 8:07 of the second. Adam Henrique opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 5:00 of the first. New Jersey needed only 12 shots to net its first four goals and 16 total to get to five against the beleaguered Nabokov. Clowe and Zidlicky, with a milestone assist from Jagr, also tallied during power plays. "The game went away from us pretty quickly. We deflated after they scored two power-play goals," Nabokov said. "This is part of the business. You got knocked down, but you have to get up again and you have to do the job. "When the penalty kill is good, the goalie makes the saves. Today that wasnt the case." Kyle Okposo cut New Yorks deficit to 3-1 at 6:14 of the second with his team-leading 25th goal, but the Devils quickly answered with two more goals. Anders Nilsson, recalled Saturday from Bridgeport (AHL), made 15 saves in the third period in place of Nabokov, who stopped only 14 shots. Eric Gelinas scored a power-play goal with 38.1 seconds left to make it 6-1. Brodeur, the subject of trade rumours less than a week before the NHL deadline, played for the first time since being pulled from a loss to the New York Rangers on Jan. 26 at Yankee Stadium when he allowed six goals on 21 shots in two periods. Cory Schneider started all seven games since. "I am happy Im back playing. Thats the bottom line," Brodeur said. "I play hockey to play hockey games. Its been a hard month. "I wish every game was like that. It would make it a lot easier on us. I did my job in the first with the chances they had after we scored our goal to keep the game under control. Thhe second and third we just took over.dddddddddddd" Brodeur, who said he did the rare move of tapping his stick to honour Jagrs milestone goal, stopped 10 shots in the first period and 18 overall in earning his 14th win this season and 683rd of his NHL career. "I didnt have a great warmup, so I was kind of really bearing down in the game," Brodeur said. "They got some great chances early on and I was able to make the saves. That makes you feel a little bit good about your game." Brodeur said he had thoughts that this could be his final game with the Devils, the only NHL team for which he has played. He holds the right to refuse any trade. "Its just a little different because my name has been swarming around a little bit," the soon-to-be 42-year-old Brodeur said of trade rumours. "We have a couple of more days to go and we will see what the future will bring for me." The 42-year-old Jagr moved into the elite goal group when he netted his 19th of the season. The Islanders have been Jagrs top target in his 20 NHL seasons. He has 61 goals and 88 assists in 101 career games. "Is it that many? I love this team," Jagr said. "Its my favourite team. Thats a lot of goals. Its almost 10 per cent." Jagr stickhandled from the right wing boards into the slot and then slid a shot along the ice that eluded Nabokov at 3:31 of the second. Jagr was surrounded by his teammates on the ice with him and then skated across the front of the bench, patting gloves along the way. He received a nice ovation from the crowd when his milestone was announced. "Well they knew I scored 61 goals against them," he said with yet another laugh. The Islanders are the only team from the old Patrick Division for which Jagr, a recent Czech Republic Olympian, has never played. This is his first season with New Jersey. Jagr is only eight goals behind Mike Gartner, sixth on the NHL career list. Jagr is seventh in career points with 1,740. Gretzky netted his 700th goal on Long Island on Jan. 3, 1991, while with Los Angeles. Marcel Dionne, then of the Rangers, also reached the mark against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Oct. 31, 1987. Dionne is fourth with 731 goals. Jagr later set up Zidlickys goal that pushed the Devils ahead 4-1. It was Jagrs 1,040th assist, tying him with Dionne for ninth in NHL history. NOTES: Devils captain Bryce Salvador missed the game because of a bruised collarbone. D Anton Volchenkov took his place in the lineup. RW Damien Brunner also sat out because of a charley horse in his left leg. C Jacob Josefson replaced him. ... The Islanders loaned G Kevin Poulin to Bridgeport (AHL). ... Clowe, Henrique and Zidlicky had two-point games. ... New York had killed 21 of 22 penalties over eight games before yielding four power-play goals. 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way to do that was with the "Ha
