HOUSTON -- Houston coach Kevin McHale worried that his team might come out flat Monday night against the struggling Utah Jazz after dropping a close game to the Heat in Miami a day before. His fears were completely unwarranted. Terrence Jones scored 30 points and the Rockets ended a three-game skid with their most lopsided victory of the season, a 124-86 win over the Jazz. "Theres got to be an emphasis on how we play and improving," McHale said. "Its really important that we keep improving and getting better." Dwight Howard was out with an ankle strain, leaving the Rockets without him for the first time this season. But they still had no problem handling the Jazz, who have lost five in a row and have one of the worst records in the Western Conference. Houston was up by 19 at halftime and 13 points by Jones in the third quarter helped push the lead to 92-69 entering the fourth. "We just wanted to be aggressive," Jones said. "Coming off three tough ones we wanted to come out and have a lot of energy and just get back to playing ... the way we had been playing." The big lead allowed an overworked James Harden, who had played more than 43 minutes in three of the previous four games, to rest a bit as he watched the fourth quarter from the bench. Harden finished with 15 points. Houston used a 15-0 run starting midway through the fourth quarter with all their starters on the bench except for Jones to push the already lopsided game to a 40-point advantage. Jordan Hamilton had seven points for Houston during the run. Derrick Favours had 15 points for the Jazz a night after scoring a career-high 28. "This is a lesson for the young guys," Jazz coach Ty Corbin said. "They have to learn to get ready every night. Tonight, we just couldnt get it going. It was like we were running in mud and couldnt get ourselves out of it." It was unclear when Howard was injured, but the team announced the mild strain to his left ankle about 40 minutes before tipoff. He had been the only Rockets player to start every game this season before missing Mondays game. Omer Asik started in his place and finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Houston got back on track after an 0-3 road trip for its first three-game losing streak of the season. The losses came at Oklahoma City, Chicago and Miami and followed a great stretch in which the Rockets won five straight over some of the Eastern Conferences best teams. "Weve been playing well and were confident in each and how weve been playing," Harden said. "The last three games have been a slip up, but overall I think were in a good place." Patrick Beverley scored 19 and Jeremy Lin had 17 for the Rockets, who are second to San Antonio in the Southwest Division. Jones opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer and scored the first nine points of the second half for Houston to extend the lead to 69-47. Asik had a dunk for the Rockets before Jones added four more points to leave Houston up 75-51. Favours made two free throws for the Jazz midway through the quarter before Beverley scored four points for the Rockets to stretch the lead to 26 points. Utah finally found some offence after, scoring eight straight points with the first six from Alec Burks to cut the lead to 79-61. The Jazz cut the lead to seven on a 3-pointer by Richard Jefferson with about 9 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Houston used a 13-2 spurt to stretch the lead to 47-29 about 3 1/2 minutes later. Lin and Beverley scored all of Houstons points in that span with Beverley scoring eight and Lin adding the rest. Utah went almost four minutes without scoring before a layup by Favours with four minutes left in the second quarter. Houston led 60-41 at halftime. The Rockets were up by two points with three minutes left in the first quarter before using an 8-2 run to close out the period and extend their lead to 28-20. NOTES: Houston F Omri Casspi missed the game with the flu. ... The Jazz won 109-103 in the last meeting with Houston this season. ... Houstons Francisco Garcia and Utahs John Lucas got into a scuffle as the game ended and pushed each other before they were separated and both led off the court. ... The Rockets shot 58.2 per cent and had 30 fast-break points, which were both season highs. Deion Sanders Jersey . As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers opened their main training camp Sunday, Kuale is one of the newcomers brought in to bolster a sagging defence that ranked overall where the Bombers finished 2013, in the CFL cellar with a league high 585 points against. Babe Ruth Jersey . -- Brandon Hope stopped 46 shots and Kurtis MacDermid scored with 27 seconds remaining in overtime as the Owen Sound Attack edged the visiting Kingston Frontenacs 5-4 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/bobby-cox-braves-jersey/ . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Duck Calling With several marquee centres available via trade and expected to be available via free agency, the Anaheim Ducks could be primed to be big players in the coming days. Orlando Cepeda Jersey . Anaheim Ducks Reassign D Colby Robak to Norfolk Admirals (AHL). - Team Website D Eric Brewer (foot) removed from injured reserve. John Smoltz Jersey .ca. Hi Mr. Fraser, When I was watching the Heritage Classic in Vancouver there was a play midway through the third where Ottawa crashed the Canucks net and it came off its moorings.BOSTON -- Jake Arrieta certainly picked two of baseballs most historic places to put on memorable performances. Arrieta held the Red Sox hitless until Stephen Drew singled with two outs in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Boston Red Sox 2-0 on Monday night in the opener of only the second series between the teams at Fenway Park since 1918. Six days after losing a perfect game on a leadoff single in the seventh inning of his previous start at Wrigley Field against Cincinnati, Arrieta took his no-hit bid a little deeper at Fenway. He allowed only Mike Napolis fifth-inning walk before Drew lined a sharp single to right. "Its special to do it in this ballpark," Arrieta said. "It was special to do it last week in Wrigley and to do it here in these two parks is pretty special." Starting the season on the disabled list with shoulder tightness, the 28-year old right-hander was pushing his pitch limit before Drew lined a 2-2 pitch. Arrieta (5-1) was lifted by Cubs manager Rick Renteria immediately following the hit that came on his career-high 120th pitch. The 28-year-old Arrieta was given a loud ovation before he even got to the foul line, tipping his cap to the Boston crowd. He tipped it again after crossing the line. "Something like that in Fenway is pretty rare for an opposing team, so yeah I got some goosebumps there," he said. "Thats why you play this game, for moments like that. I was very thankful to be a part of something like that." Arrieta fanned 10 in just his 11th start of the season. "Awesome. That was some kind of awesome," Renteria said of the ovation. "We were standing out there at the mound. That was some show of respect." Drews hit ensured the Red Sox wouldnt be no-hit for the first time since Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio pitched a no-no against Boston in 1993 for Seattle. Arrietas performance helped jog Bosios memory of his special night. "Everything," Bosio said when asked what he recalled from his no-hitter. "We had just come off a long road trip from Detroit and Toronto and I was real sick before the game. I had cut my warmup in half. I pretty much remember everything from the game. Every play, every at-bat right up until the last out." Hector Rondon allowed a pinch-hit single to A.J. Pierzynski leading off the ninth before finishing the two-hitter for his 10th save. "Three above-average pitches with above average command," Boston manager John Farrell said of Arrieta. "A lot of poower to his fastball.ddddddddddddStayed out of the middle of the plate. He was outstanding." Nate Schierholtz hit a two-run homer for Chicago. Jake Peavy (1-7) is winless in his last 12 starts. He gave up two runs on five hits, walking two and striking out seven in six innings. In just the second regular season series at Fenway between the clubs since Boston won the 1918 World Series in six games, Arrieta mixed his pitches by combining a sharp cutter and curve with an above-average fastball. "He located everything. Hes got great stuff," Bostons Dustin Pedroia said. "He kept every pitch out of the zone. I had three at-bats and I dont think I got one good pitch to hit." The Red Sox, who arrived in Boston around 4 a.m. after a win Sunday night in New York against the Yankees, really didnt have anything close to a hit before Drews brought up a roar from the crowd. Arrieta fell behind Napoli 3-0 before getting a called strike. Napoli then fouled a pitch off before drawing a walk on the next pitch. Xander Bogaerts lined to left after Napolis walk. Arrieta, who started the season on the disabled list with the shoulder tightness, made his first start of the season on May 3. Hes been spectacular in June. Coming in, he allowed just four runs and 20 hits in 31 2-3 innings, winning his three previous starts. The Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when Welington Castillo walked and Schierholtz followed with his homer into Bostons bullpen. Arrieta was acquired by the Cubs last July along with right-hander Pedro Strop from Baltimore for pitcher Scott Feldman, catcher Steve Clevenger and two international signing bonus slots. The last time Boston was no-hit at home, Ted Williams flied out to right field for the final out of Detroit ace Jim Bunnings gem on July 20, 1958 in the opener of a doubleheader. NOTES: Carlos Zambrano pitched the Cubs last no-hitter, in 2008. ... Cubs senior vice-president of scouting and player development Jason McLeod told reporters on the field before the game that he withdrew his name from consideration for the San Diego GM job. "Certainly being a GM is really something I hope to do sometime in the future," he said. "But right now, I felt this is where I want to be." ... Boston rookie Mookie Betts played centre field after making his major-league debut in right at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night. CF Jackie Bradley Jr. was rested. "Theres going to be a little rotation of guys in four positions," Farrell said. ' ' '