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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Houston Rockets hadnt been very good lately with Dwight Howard on the court, and downright lethal with him on the sidelines. But that all changed Monday night. James Harden stayed hot, Howard provided a boost on defence and the Rockets won their fourth straight game 100-89 to cool off the surging Charlotte Bobcats. Harden scored 31 points and Howard battled through foul trouble and a head cold he picked up over the weekend to chip in with 10 points and 10 rebounds, handing the Bobcats only their second loss in the last 11 games at home. Houston had lost three straight before Howard decided to sit out and rest a nagging ankle injury. The Rockets quickly started rolling without him, winning the next three games by an average of 23 points. "Dwight is a great talent and you figure a way to get him in," Harden said. "He didnt score the ball well tonight, but he had 10 rebounds and did so many other things, He held Al Jefferson to a fewer amount of points. It doesnt always show up in the stat sheet, but we know how important he is to our team." Jefferson still finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, but many of those came when Howard was sitting out after picking up a pair of offensive fouls — his third and fourth of the game — in the third quarter. "I was trying to play through (being sick) and the conditioning, but the important part is we got the win," Howard said. Terrence Jones added 18 points and seven rebounds in the victory and Chandler Parsons and Patrick Beverly had backbreaking 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the final two minutes to seal the victory. The Rockets (48-22) entered 1 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers in the race for third place in the Western Conference and riding a wave of confidence having shot 54.7 per cent during the recent three-game win streak. The turning point came late in the third quarter with the Bobcats leading 66-65. Harden took over, helping Houston close the quarter with a 13-2 run to build a double-digit lead. Harden scored 10 points during that crucial stretch, including a breakaway left-handed dunk and a fall away 3-pointer. He was fouled another 3-point attempt and sank all three shots. The Bobcats got to within five on a jumper by Jefferson in the lane, but Parsons and Beverly each hit 3s to push the lead to 98-87 with one minute left in the game. "Chandler made a really big transition 3 and Pat made a big 3 in the corner that kind of sealed the game," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. Kemba Walker had 22 points to lead Charlotte. The Bobcats (34-37) came in having won seven of their last 10 — including a 30-point victory over Portland on Saturday night — and looking to gain ground on Washington in the race for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But they shot just 37 per cent from the field. "The ball movement just wasnt the same tonight. We didnt have a James Harden," Jefferson said. Few teams do. At times, Harden was hitting step-back jump shots that not even the leagues best defenders could stop. Jefferson called Harden the best 1-on-1 player in the game. "He didnt do anything that surprised me tonight," Jefferson said. "Hes an amazing player." It was Hardens 18th 30-point game this season. "He just took over," McHale said. "Hes been fantastic and playing the right way. He had 31 (points) on 19 shots. And hes making the right play. Hes making great passes and he led us in assists" with five. NOTES: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver attended the game. Silver said he would like to see Charlotte host the NBA All-Star game in the near future. "The process is for them to apply. Weve had our events department down here to survey the building and there are some upgrades to the building that are needed. Part of the understanding is to assure the building remains state-of-the-art... but Id love to bring the All-Star game back here. Its a hotbed of basketball and the only thing they have to do is apply." ... Team owner Michael Jordan took in the game from the end of the Bobcats bench. ... Houston has won seven straight against Charlotte. ... Bobcats coach Steve Clifford picked up his seventh technical of the season. Discount Air Max . Three pitches later, he was hugging Mike Napoli at home plate after his teammates winning home run. Napoli and Ortiz hit consecutive homers with one out in the 10th inning and the Boston Red Sox rallied past Minnesota 2-1 Wednesday, sending the Twins to their fifth straight loss. Air Max Australia Online . "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said. http://www.australiaairmax.com/ . The Redblacks host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-9) Friday night in their last home game of the year and as of Thursday afternoon, the team was anticipating a ninth consecutive sellout. You can watch all the action on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, and TSN5 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Cheap Air Max .A. Dickey, even though he was coming off a Cy Young Award in 2012. Many felt the Jays would regret giving up righthanded pitcher prospect Noah Syndergaard and catcher Travis DArnaud over the long haul. Air Max Australia Cheap . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better. PITTSBURGH -- Johnny Cueto tossed his second three-hitter against the Pittsburgh in a week and the Cincinnati Reds eased past the struggling Pirates 4-1 on Tuesday night. Cueto (2-2) struck out four and walked three while running his career-long scoreless streak to 21 innings before giving up a home run to Andrew McCutchen with one out in the ninth. He improved to 15-4 in his career against the Pirates and became the first Cincinnati pitcher to toss consecutive complete games since Mat Latos did it in June 2012. Brayan Pena and Zack Cozart had consecutive RBI hits off Edinson Volquez (1-1) in the seventh to provide all the offence Cueto needed. Volquez allowed two runs and five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The scene wasnt nearly as electric as Cuetos previous appearance at PNC Park, when the Cincinnati ace was pushed around early in a 6-2 loss in the National League wild-card game. At one point Cueto dropped the ball while standing on the mound then immediately gave up a home run to Russell Martin as the standing room-only crowd lustily chanted the pitchers last name. He lasted just 4 1-3 innings that night as the Pirates won their first post-season game in 21 years. Six months later, the chants would be half-hearted at best. Cueto never lost his grip on the ball, or the game. Working quickly against a team he has dominated throughout his seven-year career, Cueto needed 117 pitches to get 27 outs and nearly became the first Cincinnati pitcher to post back-to-back shutouts since Hall of Famer Tom Seaver did it in 1977 before McCutchens home run into the second row of seats in right field in the ninth. The Reds have won 6 of 9 after stumbling oout of the gate while the Pirates have dropped 9 of 12.dddddddddddd Cueto upped his record to 9-2 at PNC Park, where the Pirates appear to be no closer to solving him now than they were when they first faced him in 2009. Volquez, a former teammate of Cuetos in Cincinnati, nearly matched his old friend. Signed to a one-year deal in the off-season hoping he can reclaim some of the form that made him an All-Star in 2008, Volquez has not disappointed. The right-hander has been one of Pittsburghs biggest surprises and rolled through the Reds for six innings before Cincinnati broke through in the seventh. Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier led off with consecutive singles and Bruce trotted home one out later when Pena laced a shot to right field. The burly catcher was ruled out at second on review while trying to stretch a single into a double, but Cozart followed with a sharp double to left to make it 2-0. Cincinnati added insurance runs in the eighth and ninth, with Cueto providing the eighth RBI of his career with a single to right off reliever Stolmy Pimentel. NOTES: Cincinnati RHP Mat Latos still has not thrown since being scratched from a rehab start on April 8 due to inflammation in his right elbow. Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said Latos is "feeling better" and could begin playing catch before the end of the week. ... The Pirates have yet to name a starter for Thursdays series finale. The team placed LHP Wandy Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with inflammation in his right knee. ... The series continues on Wednesday. Alfredo Simon (2-1, 0.86 ERA) starts for the Reds against Pittsburghs Charlie Morton (0-2, 4.32). 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