Sonstiges » held without a single point in the preseas

HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets are heading to the playoffs for the second straight year and believe wins like the one they picked up Friday night will help them when they get there. James Harden scored 39 points and the Rockets ended a three-game skid and clinched a playoff berth with a 111-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder "It was a great win for us ... just to give ourselves confidence, especially going into the playoffs," Harden said. "We might see them. It was a big win for us. It shows the resilience we have." Kevin Durant scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 40th straight game with at least 25 points, the longest streak since Michael Jordan also did it 40 consecutive times in 1986-87. But he was in no mood to talk about matching the feat after the game. "We lost the game thats all Im worried about," he said. "I dont care. We lost." The normally mild-mannered Durant, who leads the NBA with 32.1 points a game, talked a little trash afterward when asked if he was frustrated by the physical defence Houstons Chandler Parsons and Francisco Garcia played on him. "Those dudes cant check me 1-on-1," he said. "They know that. I aint afraid to say it either. They know that. So I was playing the double-teams, triple-teams, but you still got to find a way to do it. Theyre physical just like everybody else and Ive been playing against physical players my whole life, so its nothing different." The Thunder, who had already secured a playoff berth, clinched their fourth consecutive Northwest Division title with a loss by Portland later Friday. Durants 3-pointer cut Houstons lead to one with 1:01 remaining, but Houston answered with four straight free throws. He made another 3 with 16 seconds left, but Harden made two free throws to push the lead to 111-107. Harden was 17 of 20 from the line and had nine rebounds and seven assists. The Rockets were playing without Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, who both missed their fourth straight games. Howard has missed seven games recently because of a left ankle strain and Beverley is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his right knee. "Theres all kind of adversity in playoff games and playoff runs," coach Kevin McHale said. "Youve got to be resilient and thats what Ive been preaching with the guys and the coaching staff. Youve just got to stay in the fight and keep swinging. When we do that, were OK." Serge Ibaka tied a career high with 27 points in a game that Russell Westbrook didnt play because the Thunder were playing the second night of a back-to-back. Parsons added 23 points for Houston and Terrence Jones had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Oklahoma City was up by one before Houston scored seven straight points to take a 104-98 lead with less than three minutes left. The Rockets made four free throws before a 3-pointer by Garcia. The Rockets started the fourth quarter with 3-pointers by Jeremy Lin, Isaiah Canaan and Harden for a 9-2 spurt which gave them a 91-86 lead with about 10 minutes left. Durant scored the next four points to get Oklahoma City within 91-90. Houston scored the last six points of the third quarter to cut the lead to 84-82 entering the fourth quarter. The Thunder scored 39 points in the third quarter to take the lead after trailing the entire game. They opened the second half with a 9-0 run punctuated by a dunk by Ibaka to make it 54-52. Houston went right back on top with a 3-pointer by Parsons, but a 9-2 spurt by the Thunder gave them a 63-57 lead with about seven minutes left in the quarter. The Thunder trailed through the first quarter and cut it to three points early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Caron Butler before an 11-0 run by Houston pushed the lead to 43-29 about five minutes before halftime. Harden scored the last seven points in that span and capped it by making a 3-pointer with Derek Fisher right in his face. Durant scored Oklahoma Citys final five points to get the Thunder within 50-45 at halftime. The first three points of that run came when Durant was fouled on an off-balance layup he made with his back to the basket and then made the free throw. NOTES: The 39 points the Thunder scored in the third quarter were the most anyone has scored against Houston this season in the quarter. ... Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon watched the game from a courtside seat. ... The win was Houstons 50th, giving them the 10th 50-win season in franchise history. Adidas Ultra Boost Sale .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft. Ultra Boost Cheap Real . -- Darrelle Revis says at least 26 teams called after he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. http://www.cheapultraboost.net/. The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to arrive in Boston in time for a workout on Tuesday afternoon. Much of Mondays discussion focused on Bostons lineup considerations as the series progresses, specifically when the venue shifts to St. Cheap Adidas Ultra Boost . The 22-year-old Spanish midfielder recently signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea, and after spending last season on loan with Valencia in La Liga, Romeu will move to the Bundesliga for the 2014-15 campaign. Adidas Ultra Boost Online Sale . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency.TORONTO a€“ The easily erasable whiteboard of the Maple Leafs head coach takes a beating this time of year, but Randy Carlyle has a pretty good idea now of what his final roster will look like for the October 8 opener. In question is whether 26-year-old Matt Frattin will be on it. A a€?mediocrea€? training camp, as Carlyle put it earlier this week, has Frattin lingering nervously on the bubble at the end of the exhibition season, pushed out of a likely job by Brandon Kozun, the small, but feisty winger determined to make the NHL for the first time. Kozun, a former sixth-round draft pick, put a final bullet on that effort with another impressionable performance Friday, which included a highlight-worthy goal, bursts of impressive speed and a couple of assists. a€?Hea€?s playing desperate,a€? said Carlyle of Kozun, who totaled five points in six preseason games. a€?And that is the word to describe it. Hea€?s making life difficult for the opposition and making life easy for coaching staff and management to notice him.a€? Frattin, meanwhile, was held without a single point in the preseason and was unable to distinguish himself much in the preseason finale against Detroit, an open-ice hit on Justin Abdelkader the lone moment of any consequence. He is veering toward the same uncomfortable fate he faced in January 2013 when he was cut at the end of a week-long (lockout-shortened) training camp. Frattin rejoined the Leafs later that winter after a very brief Marlies tour and blazed with seven goals in a 10-game span a€“ though he went the rest of the year without another marker. Now 26, he is coming off a disappointing season. Only two of his 60 shots found twine in 40 games with the Kings and, before long, he found himself in the press box and then eventually shipped to Columbus. He suited up in only four games with the fast-rising Blue Jackets and failed to score before returning to Toronto via trade in the summer. And now a silent preseason has him in danger of failing to make the Leafs roster. Hea€?s had opportunity, including a stint alongside first liners, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, but offered little to secure himself a spot in Torontoaa€?s crowded forward ranks.dddddddddddd a€?[Frattin] has had, I would say, a mediocre camp,a€? Carlyle said earlier this week with some disappointment. a€?[Frattin] needs to find a way to regenerate some enthusiasm. I feel sorry for him right now. The pucka€?s not his friend. Ita€?s going away from him versus bouncing for him. Hea€?s a guy that has to be physical and usually when hea€?s physical goals follow him around.a€? At his best, Frattin can employ his stocky 6-foot frame, decent speed and potent shot to some effect, but hea€?s been quiet in most aspects this fall. He had one of his more noticeable (though still generally quiet) games Friday, his physicality emerging for Carlyle on a night of about 13 minutes. Ita€?s unclear whether that mild final impression will be enough to land him a job on the depths of the roster. a€?Ita€?s building blocks,a€? said Frattin, prior to the 5-1 win. a€?Every day you want to get better and thata€?s something youa€?ve got to do. Just keep working at learning the system and try to get to play your game and reach your potential.a€? One, maybe two, forward jobs are on the line a€“ the Leafs could opt to keep an extra defenceman in light of Cody Fransona€?s injury a€“ amongst a bubble group that likely includes Frattin, Carter Ashton, Frazer McLaren, Colton Orr and William Nylander, the 18-year-old picked eighth overall in June. Orr would seem the likely leader in that race given Carlylea€?s affinity for intimidation, however little used that intimidation may be. Toronto parted with Jerry Da€?Amigo a€“ making a late push for a roster spot in Columbus a€“ and a seventh-round pick to get Frattin back in the offseason and cutting him would mean risk losing him for nothing on waivers. Kozuna€?s spot, meanwhile, is all but locked up. The 24-year-old, who made a positive first impression on Carlyle last year with the Marlies a€“ he was traded to Toronto in late January a€“ has gotten better and better with each day of camp, his comfort and confidence continuing to grow. Any late drop-off, which Carlyle warned of before the game, was nowhere to be seen in 14 impactful minutes against the Wings. ' ' '