HOUSTON -- Houston coach Kevin McHale worried that his team might come out flat Monday night against the struggling Utah Jazz after dropping a close game to the Heat in Miami a day before. Ahmad Brooks Jersey . His fears were completely unwarranted. Terrence Jones scored 30 points and the Rockets ended a three-game skid with their most lopsided victory of the season, a 124-86 win over the Jazz. "Theres got to be an emphasis on how we play and improving," McHale said. "Its really important that we keep improving and getting better." Dwight Howard was out with an ankle strain, leaving the Rockets without him for the first time this season. But they still had no problem handling the Jazz, who have lost five in a row and have one of the worst records in the Western Conference. Houston was up by 19 at halftime and 13 points by Jones in the third quarter helped push the lead to 92-69 entering the fourth. "We just wanted to be aggressive," Jones said. "Coming off three tough ones we wanted to come out and have a lot of energy and just get back to playing ... the way we had been playing." The big lead allowed an overworked James Harden, who had played more than 43 minutes in three of the previous four games, to rest a bit as he watched the fourth quarter from the bench. Harden finished with 15 points. Houston used a 15-0 run starting midway through the fourth quarter with all their starters on the bench except for Jones to push the already lopsided game to a 40-point advantage. Jordan Hamilton had seven points for Houston during the run. Derrick Favours had 15 points for the Jazz a night after scoring a career-high 28. "This is a lesson for the young guys," Jazz coach Ty Corbin said. "They have to learn to get ready every night. Tonight, we just couldnt get it going. It was like we were running in mud and couldnt get ourselves out of it." It was unclear when Howard was injured, but the team announced the mild strain to his left ankle about 40 minutes before tipoff. He had been the only Rockets player to start every game this season before missing Mondays game. Omer Asik started in his place and finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Houston got back on track after an 0-3 road trip for its first three-game losing streak of the season. The losses came at Oklahoma City, Chicago and Miami and followed a great stretch in which the Rockets won five straight over some of the Eastern Conferences best teams. "Weve been playing well and were confident in each and how weve been playing," Harden said. "The last three games have been a slip up, but overall I think were in a good place." Patrick Beverley scored 19 and Jeremy Lin had 17 for the Rockets, who are second to San Antonio in the Southwest Division. Jones opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer and scored the first nine points of the second half for Houston to extend the lead to 69-47. Asik had a dunk for the Rockets before Jones added four more points to leave Houston up 75-51. Favours made two free throws for the Jazz midway through the quarter before Beverley scored four points for the Rockets to stretch the lead to 26 points. Utah finally found some offence after, scoring eight straight points with the first six from Alec Burks to cut the lead to 79-61. The Jazz cut the lead to seven on a 3-pointer by Richard Jefferson with about 9 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Houston used a 13-2 spurt to stretch the lead to 47-29 about 3 1/2 minutes later. Lin and Beverley scored all of Houstons points in that span with Beverley scoring eight and Lin adding the rest. Utah went almost four minutes without scoring before a layup by Favours with four minutes left in the second quarter. Houston led 60-41 at halftime. The Rockets were up by two points with three minutes left in the first quarter before using an 8-2 run to close out the period and extend their lead to 28-20. NOTES: Houston F Omri Casspi missed the game with the flu. ... The Jazz won 109-103 in the last meeting with Houston this season. ... Houstons Francisco Garcia and Utahs John Lucas got into a scuffle as the game ended and pushed each other before they were separated and both led off the court. ... The Rockets shot 58.2 per cent and had 30 fast-break points, which were both season highs. Frank Gore Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. NaVorro Bowman Jersey . He was willing to play on a one-year deal, he was willing to work out a fair price and his only significant requirement was finding another star quarterback who could get him the ball.Brent Johnsons career was on his terms. BC Lions all-star defensive end Brent Johnson called it a career on Monday when he announced his retirement after 11 seasons in the Canadian Football League. The Kingston, Ontario native was named to the CFL all-star team three times, was twice named the leagues Outstanding Canadian - once Outstanding Defensive Player - and has two Grey Cup rings to show for his stellar career. But what is truly remarkable about Johnsons journey in football is not what he accomplished, but how he did it and the example he has provided for all Canadian football players that have followed. Johnson walks away from the game while the game still wants him, which in pro football is a rarity. While his roll on the defensive line in BC has changed over the last couple of years, general manager Wally Buono said at his press conference that had Johnson decided to return for another season, he would have been welcomed back with open arms by the organization. Virtually every athlete that gets the chance to play at the pro level is told by the teams general manager or doctor that it is over. Very few walk away when they are still wanted as Brent Johnson did on Monday. He is healthy. In fact, his consecutive games played streak ended at 184 when he missed a game last year, which was again his choice, to be with his wife Lara for the birth of their son Roman Jake. You can almost envision the discussion that Brent has with his son in a few years when Roman asks about that one game he missed that ended the streak, and Dad will be able to look down and say; I missed a game because your arrival into the world and our family was more important. It is that strength of character that will define Brent Johnsons career, and illustrates once again that being a great player has as much to do with character as it does with athletic ability. Johnson was not always a starter. In fact, he was a backup for the first three years of his pro career, whicch could not have sat well considering his college resume was written at Ohio State University. Michael Crabtree Jersey. . Yet, the three year letterman and Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl champion never complained during those early years in BC. Johnson continued to work hard, waited for his opportunity, and was ready when it was given to him by Wally Buono. Like a lot of Canadian players at that time, the Lions all-time leader in sacks had to fight the bias of some American coaches in the CFL who would predetermine where the imports would play and where the Canadians would play. Historically, defensive end was an American position so despite coming from one of the top college football programs in North America, Johnson had to wait. Players currently playing in the skilled or impact positions like receiver, running back, or defensive end, can thank Brent Johnson for opening the eyes of some American coaches. In his final two years with the Lions, he was asked to become a rotation player on defense, and to relinquish his role as the starter for the good of the team and again, without complaint, he went to work to become the best rotation defensive player in the league. It is not a surprise that Johnson would choose this year to call it a career because it would be impossible to find a better time to ride off into the sunset than after the Lions Grey Cup championship at home, in the newly refurbished BC Place stadium in Vancouver. But hidden in all the great numbers and stats that were accumulated by Brent Johnson over 11 years in the CFL is the fact that through the entire journey, whether it was waiting for his opportunity early on, fighting the prejudice of some coaches, relinquishing his starting job, choosing to break an amazing games played streak for his wife and son, or deciding when to walk away, Brent Johnson has done it all on his terms. Congratulations Brent, it has been a true pleasure to watch you play the game over the years. Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
