07-20-2017, 03:44 AM
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Rockets should have an easy time with the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night on the road at Target Center. The Rockets have won five of their last six games and are 14-4 this season. They are coming off an impressive 105-96 win over the then NBA-best Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday and James Harden scored 21 points. Harden is third in the NBA in scoring with 25.0 ppg. Houston led for the final 38 minutes of the game and by as many as 27 points in the second half. Trevor Ariza and Jason Terry scored 16 points apiece, while Donatas Motiejunas added 15 points for Houston, which shot 44.1 percent for the game and recorded 30 points on 21 Memphis turnovers. Memphis shot 51.3 percent, but the miscues added up. We played really well, said Rockets coach Kevin McHale. Guys moved the ball and attacked them before they got set, which is one of the keys to beating those guys. Thats a really good team and a hell of a win for us. McHales bunch is 7-1 on the road and first in opponents scoring at 93.0 percent. Opposing teams are shooting just 42.7 percent against the Rockets, who havent had center Dwight Howard (knee) in the lineup since Nov. 17 and hes posting an average of 18.8 points and 11.3 rebounds. Howard is out indefinitely and has missed seven straight games. Rockets guard Isaiah Canaan (ankle) is listed as questionable Friday. The Timberwolves are a disappointing 4-13 this season and became victims of the previously winless Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night. In an 85-77 setback to a squad of baby-faced players, former Sixer Thaddeus Young scored 16 points and Gorgui Dieng added 15 and 16 rebounds. Mo Williams scored 14 points, handed out seven assists and grabbed six rebounds for Minnesota, which shot only 35.7 percent and hit on 3-of-17 3- pointers. The T-wolves turned the ball over 19 times and misfired on six of their final seven possessions. Were not a very good team right now and weve all got to get better, said Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders. Weve got to work with our guys more to get them to do what we need to do. Saunders team has lost three straight and 11 of the last 13 games, and is winless in the previous four at home. The Wolves have a 2-6 home record. Minnesota, which is 1-12 when allowing 100 or more points and 1-13 when being outshot, is still toiling without guards Ricky Rubio (ankle) and Kevin Martin (wrist) and center Nikola Pekovic (wrist/foot). All three have missed a combined 27 games. The Timberwolves sustained a 113-101 loss to Houston on Nov. 12 in Mexico City, as Harden led the way with a game-best 23 points. Howard had 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Corey Brewer countered with 18 points for Minnesota. Houston went 3-1 against Minnesota last season and has won 21 of the previous 27 games in this series. Houston has won 10 of its last 13 trips to Minnesota, and the two teams will meet again Feb. 23 and March 27 in Houston. Marcus Maye Jets Jersey . Left-handed reliever Boone Logan agreed to a $16.5 million, three-year contract on Friday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. ArDarius Stewart Womens Jersey . "This doesnt end anything," he said. "Weve got 10-1 in our last 11 games, and were going home in first place. We just have to keep playing the way we are right now. http://www.jetsauthoritystore.com/Authen...ts-Jersey/ . Coetzees finish, with six birdies and no bogeys, took him to 19-under 268 overall and past South African compatriots Thomas Aiken and Justin Walters, the overnight co-leaders. Coetzee was flawless on the East Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club to clinch his maiden title after 24 top 10 finishes. Marcus Maye Womens Jersey . -- What Anthony Jennings lacked in experience, LSU more than compensated for with a talented supporting cast in the Outback Bowl. ArDarius Stewart Youth Jersey . Cory Batey and Brandon Vandenburg were each convicted on four charges of aggravated rape, one of attempted aggravated rape and two for aggravated sexual battery. Vandenburg was also found guilty of tampering with evidence as well as an unlawful photography charge.ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Arsenal answered its early season critics with a 3-0 victory at Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Champions League playoff Wednesday. Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud scored in the second half in front of a noisy crowd in Istanbul, plus hostile media and Gunners fans at home after an off-season of failed transfer deals for the cash-rich club. Under-fire manager Arsene Wenger now looks all but certain to lead his team into the Champions League group stage for the 16th straight season after the return match next Tuesday. The winners of the playoff matches earn a spot in the lucrative 32-team group stage. "We could have been a little bit shaky after what happened on Saturday," said Wenger, whose team lost 3-1 at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League opener. "So for us it was very important to start on the front foot. That was vital tonight for us and we did it well." Away teams dominated Wednesdays five playoff matches, as Swiss champion Basel won 4-2 in Bulgaria against Ludogorets Razgrad and Austria Vienna won 2-0 at Dinamo Zagreb. Schalke drew 1-1 at home to PAOK Thessaloniki and it was also 1-1 between Steaua Bucharest and Legia Warsaw. All the return legs are played next week. Arsenals neat passing impressed from the start, although Giroud and Ramsey spurned the teams only half-chances before the break. The visitors lost defender Laurent Koscielny to a nasty-looking kick in the face from Fenerbahce forward Pierre Webo, who was booked. Koscielny was left bleeding from an open wound and was taken to a hospital for a checkup after the match. "Its very deep, its very, very deep," Wenger said of Koscielnys wound. Yet Wengers players surged on and defender Gibbs struck in the 51st when connecting with Theo Walcotts slick pass across the goalmouth. Ramseys 22-yard shot in the 64th slipped under Fenerbahce goalkeeper Volkan Demirels diving grasp, and Walcott earned a penalty by drawing a foul from defender Michal Kadlec. Giroud fired the 77th-minute spot kick decisively to Demirels right, and Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny preserved the clean sheet with excellent late saves. ------ LONDON (AP) -- Branislav Ivanovics second-half header gave Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa onn Wednesday, moments after he avoided a red card in a fiery second match of the Premier League season.dddddddddddd The right back was only booked for elbowing Christian Benteke in the head, and then sent Frank Lampards free kick into the net in the 73rd minute. "This is English football, for some reason the world loves it more than any other league -- one thing is (because of) a real aggression I would call it," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "Another thing is duels that are handled in a certain way and I think the referee did very well. Chelsea fortuitously went in front after seven minutes when the ball inadvertently bounced off Antonio Luna into his own net. Although Chelsea faded, allowing Benteke to level in first-half stoppage time, Villa couldnt find the net again and replicate its surprise victory at Arsenal on Saturday. Instead, Ivanovic ensured Mourinhos second spell at Stamford Bridge has started with back-to-back league wins. "A draw wouldnt have been an unfair result -- they fought a lot," Mourinho said. "They created great difficulties." It was the only Premier League game played Wednesday after the match was moved forward by almost two weeks because of Europa League winner Chelseas UEFA Supercup match against Champions League winner Bayern Munich. ------ MADRID (AP) -- Brazilian recruit Neymar scored his first goal for Barcelona to secure a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday after Lionel Messi left the field injured in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup. Atleticos David Villa enjoyed the perfect start against his former club by scoring the opening goal in the 12th minute. Villa left Barcelona following the arrival of Neymar in the off-season. Messi was replaced at halftime with a left thigh problem and Neymar went on in the 59th. Just seven minutes later, he headed in the equalizer from a pass by Dani Alves. The 21-year-old Neymar joined the Spanish champions from Brazilian club Santos for 57 million euros in June, the eighth most expensive signing in football history. And after two appearances, both as a substitute as he recovers from anemia, he has his first goal. The return leg will be played at Barcelonas Camp Nou next Wednesday after this weekends league fixtures. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '