Global Atlantis Forum » season. Jets are 4-4-4 in the last 12. Trouba for

HOUSTON -- Houston is starting to make a habit of 40-point first quarters. After not scoring 40 points in the opening quarter in the last five seasons, the Rockets have done it five times this season and twice in the last three games. Terrence Jones had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Rockets opened a big early lead and beat the Detroit Pistons 118-110 on Saturday night for their third win in four games. Jones finished 10 of 15 from the floor as Houston shot 50 per cent for the game, including 61 per cent in the first half. Houston scored 41 points in the first quarter and finished 11 of 33 from behind the arc. "We got a big halftime lead and didnt play well in the second half," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We came out and really moved the ball. We had it going up and down and just did a nice job of doing what weve been talking about doing, which is attacking early, getting inside to Dwight (Howard) and making some nice passes." James Harden added 20 points and 12 assists, Patrick Beverley had 19 points and Howard chipped in 17 points and eight rebounds. Reserve Omri Casspi scored 16 points and Jordan Hamilton had 13. While saying it was an important win before the Rockets begin a stretch against some of the top teams in the NBA on Tuesday against Miami, Howard did not like the way Houston came out in the second half. "I thought we should have really put the foot on the gas," Howard said. "We didnt. We allowed them to get back into the game, and that is not what we need to do if we want to be a championship team." Rodney Stuckey had 23 points on 10 of 17 shooting off the bench, and Josh Smith added 21 points for the Pistons, who dropped their fourth straight and seventh in eight games. Andre Drummond had 16 points and 17 rebounds, Greg Monroe had 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Brandon Jennings chipped in 11 points and eight assists for Detroit, which shot 45 per cent from the field. "In the first half, we didnt play with the energy, enthusiasm or desire you have to play at to play against any NBA team, let alone a high-level team like Houston," Detroit interim coach John Loyer said. "We came in here, and I told our guys we played harder in practice than the first 24 minutes. We had more juice, energy running a three-man weave than we did in the first half. There are two halves to a game, and fortunately, we played a much better second half." Detroit fell four games out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Drummond said the Pistons have enough time to make the playoffs. "We have enough time to do anything, and were four games out, so it comes to what we do as a team," Drummond said. "It cant be one or two people. We have to be as a collective group to want to buckle down and try to win games." Trailing 102-84 with 10:33 remaining, Detroit outscored the Rockets 13-5 over the next 4:22 to cut the lead to 10 on Smiths free throws, but Beverley nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to 16 with four minutes remaining. The Pistons closed within seven once more with a 10-1 run, capped by consecutive layups by Stuckey, but got no closer. "I think guys stopped playing a little bit because of the lead," Jones said. "We just tried to make sure that we got back to it on the defensive end to make sure we got the win. I think we did that late in the fourth." The Rockets, who never trailed, moved to 40-19. Only the 1993-94 team that started 40-15 got to 40 wins faster. Houston used a 16-2 run over a three-minute stretch of the first quarter to open a 23-6 lead on Howards two free throws 5 minutes into the game. "We did a good job of coming out with some aggression and getting some defensive stops and getting out in transition," Harden said. Houston expanded its lead to 58-33 on Howards free throw with 4:58 remaining in the first half. The Rockets led 69-46 at the break. NOTES: Houston forward Chandler Parsons missed the game with an illness. . Rockets centre Greg Smith underwent an exploratory arthroscopic knee surgery Wednesday to repair a medial meniscus tear and to examine changes to ligament structures in his right knee. Smith, who has missed 36 games this season, is out indefinitely. . Drummond leads the Eastern Conference with 43 double-doubles this season Joe Carter Jersey . A larger-than-life personality known for his intimidating style in the 18-yard box, Schmeichels career spanned some 20 years -- including a memorable tenure at Manchester United. 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Getting ready for dinner http://t.co/NNIfKyZQzx — Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 23, 2014 Almost 930..Winnipeg Jets 5 Colorado Avalanche 4 (OT) (Jets 32-30-9, Home 17-14-6) – The game was the final in the five-game season series between the two teams, with every game being decided by one goal, four of them needing extra time. The win moved the Jets to within four points of Phoenix (Coyotes home to Florida Thursday) and two points of ninth-place Dallas (Dallas in Philadelphia Thursday). Jets next play Saturday at home to Carolina (TSN 1290), before heading out of a five-game road trip that starts in Dallas Monday (TSN Jets, TSN 1290). The Jets started the day with news that Dustin Byfuglien would miss the game with a lower-body injury, and in warm-up had Zach Bogosian go down with an upper-body injury, forcing Paul Postma who was to be a healthy scratch to scramble and get dressed in time for the opening period. Despite no warm up Postma recorded his first two points of the season. Eric Tangradi went on the Olli Jokinen-Blake Wheeler line in place of Byfuglien and scored his third of the year. The Avs scored the opening goal 20 seconds in, Ryan OReilly putting one in off the skate of Bryan Little. But 2:55 later that line got the goal back, Andrew Ladd with his 20th from Little and Jacob Trouba. Eric Tangradi put the Jets in front banging home a goal-mouth pass from Wheeler, with Jokinen also drawing an assist. But on a delayed penalty against the Jets, Gabe Landeskog beat Al Montoya off a rebound to send the teams to the dressing rooms tied 2-2. Shots were 12-8 Colorado. Evander Kane with his 16th put the Jets in front, scoring off a great redirect pass from Devin Setoguchi. Postma picked up his first point of the season on the goal. But the Avs again tied the game, with Nick Holden scoring with 31 seconds left in the period. Jets outshot the Avs 11-5 in the second but only managed one past Reto Berra, making his Avalanche debut, but it was the third time this season Berra has faced the Jets, the previous meetings coming when he was with the Calgary Flames. It was much the same in the third, with the Jets getting a power play goal from Ladd to again take the lead. Wheeler and Toby Enstrom drew assists. For Ladd it was his 21st of the seasoon and franchise-leading 67th as a Jet.dddddddddddd For Enstrom it was his 200th NHL assist. But yet again the Avs came back. Cody McLeod with his third of the year on a two-on-one break made it 4-4 and that is the way regulation ended. Shots in the third were 8-7 Avs. So with each team assured a point, it was off to overtime. For the Jets it was the sixth time in the last 12 games they have gone to extra time. Wheeler ended it with his 24th of the year, assists to Postma and Enstrom. Wheeler outwaited Berra and had room after Berra anticipated a pass and left the side of the net open. It was Wheelers second overtime winner this season, both against Colorado. In five games against the Avs Wheeler has gone 5-5-10. He also has a franchise-leading 164 points as a Jet, and is now 1-7-8 in the last four games, 2-13-15 in the last 15 games, 9-19-28 in the last 27 games. Enstrom is now 1-5-6 in his last four games. Final shots were 27 apiece. It was the Jets 39th one-goal game of the season. Jets are 4-4-4 in the last 12. Trouba for the 14th time this season led the Jets in ice time at 24:17, while for the second straight game Ladd led in shots on goal with six. Jokinen and Little each took 23 face-offs, Jokinen winning 12, Little 11. It was a season high in ice time for Tangradi at 17:07, and also for Eric ODell at 15:39. He has been over 15 minutes in each of his last three games. Jets are now 13-7-4 under Paul Maurice with 11 games remaining, four at home. Post-game Maurice talked about not being able to hold the lead. "It didnt feel like that over the course of the game, it wasnt a matter of getting the lead, sit back and let them come. Being able to control yourself mentally with the magnitude of the game, that when one goes in on you being able to bounce back. "You saw it in our captain, who gave up a goal on their first shift and thats their assignment," continued Maurice. "And then the next shift go out and come back and score. That leadership is important on the bench and that tone was set early." Maurice said he expects Bogosian in the lineup Saturday and there is also a chance Byfuglien, Jim Slater and Ondrej Pavelec may be ready for Saturday as well. ' ' '