HOUSTON -- James Harden was out with a thumb injury, and then Dwight Howard got off to a slow start. Martin Demichelis Argentina . It sure looked as if it was going to be a long night for the Houston Rockets. Then everything changed in the third quarter. Howard got back on track and a pair of role players stepped up to help Houston rally for a 97-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Rockets trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before scoring 33 in the third to go on top. San Antonio used an 11-3 spurt to pull within two in the final minutes, but Howard and Jeremy Lin helped Houston hold on for the win. "We just kept grinding it out," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We changed a couple of things defensively and the guys kind of dug in and got stops." Howard had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Houston, which enjoyed a 55-39 advantage on the glass. Terrence Jones scored 21 points and Lin added 18 points and eight assists while starting in Hardens spot. Harden, who leads the team with 23.7 points a game, was out with a bruised left thumb. "I know I missed a lot of shots early," Howard said. "I didnt lose focus. I got a little frustrated because I wanted to make those shots, especially against Tim (Duncan). But I just tried to stick with it and show the team that no matter what Im going to battle." Boris Diaw scored a season-high 22 points for the Spurs, and he also had 11 rebounds. Tony Parker added 17 points and Duncan had 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Houston was clinging to a 90-88 lead with less than two minutes left when Howard had a dunk and Lin made a jumper. Duncan had a layup on the other end, but Lin sunk a pair of free throws to secure the victory. Houston has won all three meetings with the Southwest Division-leading Spurs to secure the season series for the first time since 1996-97. They have one scheduled game left on April 14 in Houston. San Antonios 90-point performance ended a streak of 15 straight games with at least 100 points and sent the Spurs to consecutive losses for the first time this season. The last time they were held below 100 was a 111-98 loss to Houston on Christmas Day. The Spurs got within six on a hook shot by Diaw early in the fourth quarter. Lin then scored five quick points to extend Houstons lead to 81-70. Houston was up by four points with four minutes left in the third quarter when San Antonio resorted to the "Hack-a-Howard" defence, fouling the centre every time the Rockets got the ball. Howard made 13 of 25 foul shots on the night, leaving him at 52.2 per cent from the line for the season. "I figured they were going to do it," he said. "Im just glad I made most of them." Duncan lamented that the tactic backfired for the Spurs. "Thats what he had to do to get us out of it," Duncan said. "He made free throws and he hurt us with them." The Spurs employed the strategy on eight straight possessions, with Howard making 10 foul shots while they had six points as Houston extended its lead to 70-62. Diaw made a jump shot at the end of the third quarter to cut Houstons lead to 72-64 entering the fourth. The Rockets opened the second half with an 11-2 run, capped by a two-handed dunk by Howard, to take their first lead of the game at 50-48. Lin started the run with a 3-pointer and also had two free throws in the surge. Manu Ginobili made four free throws for San Antonio before Houston scored six straight points to take a 56-52 lead. Ginobili and Chandler Parsons then exchanged rim-rattling dunks in rapid succession. The 36-year-old Ginobili injured himself on his jam and was soon limping and holding his upper left leg. He remained in the game for a bit before walking off the court and into the locker room at the next timeout. The team said he had tightness in his left hamstring. He missed time earlier this month with the same problem. San Antonio led by 10 points in the second quarter before Howard made his first basket of the night after starting the game 0 for 8. The bucket was the first of five straight points for Howard with San Antonios only points in that stretch coming on a layup by Marco Belinelli, helping Houston close to 46-39 at halftime. Houston struggled early without Harden and San Antonio jumped to a 9-0 lead thanks to five points from Diaw. The Spurs pushed the lead to 21-6 with about five minutes left in the first. NOTES: Harden injured his thumb in Houstons last game at Memphis on Saturday. ... Diaw has scored at least 10 points 20 times this season. Ezequiel Lavezzi Jersey . There were reports Sproles would be released last week before the Saints apparently had a change of heart and decided they would try and trade him, a fact the running back found out about on Twitter. Marcos Rojo Argentina Jersey . KINGS TAKE FREEWAY SERIES The Los Angeles Kings stormed the Anaheim Ducks early in Game Seven, building a 3-0 first-period lead on their way to a 6-2 decision, earning the Kings a rematch with the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Roberto Luongo prevented the San Jose Sharks from moving into sole possession of first place. Luongo made 28 of his 52 saves in a frenzied third period to help the Florida Panthers snap San Joses six-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night. "We gave them the two points there," Sharks defenceman Jason Demers said. "Thats unacceptable." Marty Havlat and Brent Burns scored, but the Sharks were lackadaisical on defence in the second period and came up empty on four power plays in the third period to lose the game. That cost San Jose a chance to move past Anaheim for first place in the Pacific Division. The teams are tied with 97 points heading into Thursdays showdown at the Shark Tank, but the Ducks have a game in hand. The Sharks came in with the best home winning percentage in the NHL, but four of their nine losses at home have come against the bottom four teams in the inferior Eastern Conference -- Carolina, the Islanders, Florida and Buffalo. "Weve talked about this lesson a lot of times this year already with teams that are maybe not in the playoffs and we keep shooting ourselves in the foot," coach Todd McLellan said. "Until we fix that, well probably end up with the same results." Brandon Pirri scored one goal and set up Quinton Howden for another in a 17-second span of the second period and Scottie Upshall also scored for the Panthers, who had lost seven of their previous eight road games. But Luongo was the biggest reason for the win, especially in the third period when Florida was outshot 29-2 had to kill off four power plays, including 51 seconds of a two-man advantage. San Jose had the extra skater for all but 27 seconds in a span of 7:36 during the middle of the period but couldnt get anything by Luongo. "I havent seen a performance like that in a while," Howden said. "That was impressive. It was tough taking those penalties but you have confidence with the guy back there. He was our best penalty killer tonight." Burns finally broke through on San Joses 26th shot of the period when he knocked a puck past Luongo aftter a faceoff win by Joe Thornton with 3:03 remaining. Marcos Rojo Argentina. . But Luongo robbed Joe Pavelski in the final minute to preserve the win. San Jose has failed to score on 34 of its past 35 power plays at home since Feb. 3, with the only goal coming early in the second period when Havlat beat Luongo with a slap shot from the high slot. "Its not good enough, simple as that," Sharks forward Logan Couture said. "Its on us, the players who go out there and play the big power play minutes, myself included. It needs to be better, it needs to help win us games." The Panthers took over the game after Havlats goal and led 3-1 heading into the third. Pirri changed the tenor of the game on one shift. It started when he raced past Jason Demers and put a shot on goal that Niemi initially saved. But the puck popped in the air and landed behind Niemi, hit his skate and trickled into the net. "Its an opportunity here and, when you get those opportunities, you have to make them count," Pirri said. "We created some speed down the wings and maybe they didnt cover the gap as well as they would have liked. I just shot it." Just seconds later, Pirri got another shot on goal that trickled through Niemi and was sitting in the crease where Howden knocked it in for his third goal in four games this season. The Sharks put on heavy pressure in the closing minutes of the period, but Luongo was up to the task and the Panthers added an insurance goal with 14.8 seconds to play when Pavelski lost the puck near the boards and Joey Crabb slid a pass to Upshall, who beat Niemi with a one-timer. "In the second period, I dont think we used our head," Demers said. "We were working hard, but werent working smart." NOTES: F Jonathan Huberdeau (upper body) did not make the trip for the Panthers. ... Sam Tageson, a teenage hockey player with a life-threatening heart condition, practiced with the Sharks, skated through the shark head before the game and was introduced to a loud ovation before the game as part of a day arranged through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Sharks Foundation. wholesale nfl jerseyswholesale jerseys ' ' '
