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. 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The loss in the Plate final means Canada finished sixth in the rugby sevens tournament. Nike Air Max 1 Leopard Sverige . Workman maintained his pitching rhythm in a batting cage during the second of two rain delays. Upon his return, the right-hander was virtually unhittable.MONTREAL -- The Montreal Alouettes have undergone a rebuild in the off-season but only on one side of the ball -- the defence. Being bounced in the East Division semifinal by Hamilton last fall after winning Grey Cups the previous two seasons prompted general manager Jim Popp to drop some veterans and bring new blood into the defence going into the 2012 campaign. "Weve gone through our 16 seasons (since the club returned to Montreal) making (the team) over a handful of times and what weve been fortunate to do is still win and participate in playoff games," Popp said Wednesday during a conference call. Gone are defensive linemen Anwar Stewart and Eric Wilson and linebacker Ramon Guzman, among others. And free-agent defensive back Mark Estelle has yet to sign. The moves came after the club finished second in the East behind the Winnipeg Blue Bombers with a 10-8 record, which would be considered a decent season by most teams, but not the Alouettes. And the defensive troubles last season were at least partly due to injuries that saw four of the five starters in the backfield as well as middle linebacker Shea Emry all miss a significant part of the season. The offence marched along as ever, with veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo becoming pro footballs career passing leader and Jamel Richardson and Brandon Whitaker leading the league in receiving and rushing yards, respectively. Fullback Kerry Carter was released and receiver Kerry Watkins retired, but Calvillo, who turns 40 in August, has announced hell be back. Most of the offence remains intact. "Football operations has been quite exciting this off-season, and challenging with some tough decisions weve had to make, to say the least," said Popp. "Weve had some coaching departures. "Weve had player changes. Some guys who have been with our club a few years have been let go due to some scheme changes." Coach Marc Trestman has a new offensive co-ordinator in Marcus Brady, replacing Scott Milanovich who is now the head coach in Toronto, and a new defensive co-ordinator in former Winnipeg head coach Jeff Reinebold. Trestman said he has no plans to cut back Calvillos playing time to rest his aging body or give backup Adrian McPherson extra snaps. "Were going to play Anthony as long as he wants to play and itll be up to him if we make any changes," said Trestman, back for a fifth season. "Well monitor his arm as we work through training camp. "Hell have minimal if any playing time in the pre-season and then well see how things go. As far as Anthony goes, hes got to get ready to play a season and this is the only sseason that matters.dddddddddddd Well work together with him to make sure were doing the right things. We dont expect to operate any differently than we have in the past." There are several new defensive players but Trestman said returnees John Bowman, Moton Hopkins, J.P. Bekasiak and Daunte Akra have the starting jobs on the line going into camp. Guzmans work will mostly be handled by Emrys return and Bear Woods, who joined late last season. Jerald Brown, Dwight Anderson, Billy Parker and safety Etienne Boulay return in the secondary. Popp was most optimistic about a new crop of mostly American players he signed. "We have this negotiation list in the league and some years you might get one or two off that list, and other years you might hit the jackpot and get 10 or 15," he said. "We seem to have hit the jackpot this season. It seems to come at the right time with all the movement." They include defensive linemen Ventrell Jenkins and Tremaine Johnson, linebacker Kenny Ingram, running back Noel Devine and receiver Felton Huggins. The team also signed some strong veterans, including defensive lineman Aaron Hunt from British Columbia and linebacker Mark Restelli from Edmonton. They also got six-foot-three defensive back Kyries Hebert, a former CFL player who spent several years in the NFL. "He was a CFL player before he went to the NFL so he knows what its about," Popp said of Hebert. "Kyries contacted us and what attracted us was his versatility. "Hes played halfback, safety, middle linebacker and hes an outstanding special teams player. The first thing I liked is that he wants to be an Alouette." Carters departure may leave an opening for Patrick Lavoie, the Laval University fullback who was Montreals top draft pick, although it is unlikely that a rookie will step into a starting job. "He has the potential to come in and help (mainly) on special teams, in my opinion," said Popp. "Our offensive system is extremely complex. Well see how quick of a learner he is." Popp feels rather than being a former power in decline, the Alouettes were as much of a contender as ever last season despite their injuries on defence. But he felt it was time to make changes anyway. Keeping the club inside the salary cap was likely at least part of the motivation for cutting veterans, although Popp didnt mention that. "Any year we dont win the championship Im not very happy," he said. "We had a team even last year that had a chance to win it, but a lot had to happen. "Hamilton just beat us that day. Thats how I look at it." cheap jerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
