HOUSTON -- The Rockets offence is one of the best in the NBA. [url=http://www.broncosrookiestore.com/Broncos-Marquette-King-Jersey/]Ma rquette King Jersey[/url] . However, against Golden State on Friday night, it was the defence that was the key. Houston leaned on its defence in the first quarter whil

HOUSTON -- The Rockets offence is one of the best in the NBA. Marquette King Jersey . However, against Golden State on Friday night, it was the defence that was the key. Houston leaned on its defence in the first quarter while jumping out to a double-digit lead it didnt relinquish. James Harden scored 34 points, Dwight Howard had 22 points and 18 rebounds, and the Rockets beat the Warriors 105-83. Terrence Jones added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who had lost two straight. Harden shot 13 for 22 from the field and 7 for 9 on free throws two nights after shooting 3 for 17 -- including 0 for 10 on 3-pointers -- against Phoenix. Howard was 12 for 20 on free throws as the Rockets finished 25 for 39 from the line. Houston was also 45 per cent from the field. "Thats the way we play," Harden said. "If we dont get after them on the defensive end, its going to be tough for us. We were getting huge stops and getting out in transition. We did a good job early in the game of putting pressure on their guards, and we got things going our way." Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 22 points and five assists, but was just 5 of 14 from the field while making all 11 free-throw attempts. Harrison Barnes had 14 points and seven rebounds, Kent Bazemore added 12 and David Lee 11 points as the Warriors saw their two-game win streak end. Golden State shot 36 per cent from the field, including 2 for 16 on 3s. "Theyre a tough team," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "They shoot a lot of 3s. They shoot them at a really high percentage. We were trying to get them off the line and keep pressure on them and keep our bids up so they just couldnt walk into shots. For the most part, we did a very good job of that." Golden State coach Mark Jackson said it was a bad loss. "The way we started the ball game, there have been times when our bench has been bad, and we let them know, and tonight, the starters did a poor job of setting the tone," Jackson said. "We got outworked. They played with more force and that set the tone the rest of the way." The Rockets led 61-37 at halftime and pushed the advantage to 28 on Hardens three-point play less than 2 minutes into the third quarter. Golden State pulled to 74-50 on Jermaine ONeals jumper midway through the third, and the Warriors resorted to Hack-a-Howard with 5:40 remaining in the period. Howard made 2 of 4 from the line, and the Warriors pulled to 76-54 on ONeals layup with 5:06 to go in the quarter. Howard connected on the next two free throws, and the Warriors went away from hacking him. Golden State got no closer than 15 points the rest of the way. "Its like tonight we didnt hit shots early, and we have a tendency to dwell on that, and we werent getting stops and we cant turn the ball over on offence," Curry said. "We gave them extra possessions early in the game to get their confidence going." Houston opened up a 31-12 lead after the first quarter on 60-per cent shooting from the field. The Rockets hit nine of their first 11 field goals as Jones led the way with 11 points in the quarter and Howard had nine. "We did the best job we could on making sure those guys didnt get 3s off tonight, and thats where it started," Howard said. "Our defence was great from the beginning. We had a lot of deflections. We ran the floor well and put pressure on their guards to make plays to other guys instead of them coming off and scoring." Golden State opened the second with five straight points to pull within 14 on Currys 3, but the Rockets responded with a 16-6 spurt over a 5-minute stretch to open up a 55-30 lead on Patrick Beverleys layup with 1:30 to go in the half. Harden had eight points in the run. The Warriors shot 27 per cent from the field and hit 1 of 8 from beyond the arc in the first half after scoring 19 points in the first quarter three nights earlier against Toronto and trailing by 17 at the half. "I know there is a reason for it thats excusable," Klay Thompson said of the slow starts. "Its very disappointing. As a starter, we have to come out there with unlimited energy." NOTES: Houston forward Chandler Parsons returned after missing the last two games with back spasms. Parsons finished with eight points and five assists on 3-of-13 shooting in 34 minutes. ... The Warriors 12 first quarter points tied a season low for a quarter and was the Warriors fewest points in a first quarter. ... The 12 first-quarter points was also a season-low for points in a quarter allowed by the Rockets. DaeSean Hamilton Broncos Jersey . Abduraimova had not won a tour-level match since 2009 but was a wild-card entry in Tashkent and broke her opponent twice in each set to reach the second round. Second-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania advanced easily by beating Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1, while No. Isaac Yiadom Broncos Jersey . Lost to Los Angeles in first round of playoffs. http://www.broncosrookiestore.com/Broncos-Bradley-Chubb-Jersey/ . Granada goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez saved Morenos first two headers from corner kicks taken by Sergio Garcia, but the defender beat him on his third try after Garcia found Moreno unmarked at the near post in the 78th minute.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Zack Greinke and the Los Angeles Dodgers have knocked Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees off baseballs payroll perch, part of an off-season spending spree that has the average salary approaching $4 million for the first time. The Dodgers are ending the Yankees 15-year streak as baseballs biggest spenders and as of Tuesday had a projected payroll of $235 million, according to study of all major league contracts by The Associated Press. New York, which last failed to top the payroll rankings in 1998, was a distant second at $203 million. After that, it was another huge gap to Philadelphia at $180 million, followed by Boston at $163 million and Detroit at $162 million. Houston is last at $45 million, up from $27 million at the start of last year, and Miami at $48 million remains 29th. Some large-market teams are among the smaller spenders, with the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs projected at $89 million, ranked 22nd and 23rd. Rodriguez, who holds the record for the largest deal in baseball history at $275 million over 10 years, is suspended for the season for violations of baseballs drug agreement and labour contract. Because of the ban, he will earn only $2,868,852 of his $25 million salary — 21 days pay for the 183-day season. Greinke would have become the highest-paid player, even if Rodriguez was getting all his cash. The pitcher has a $24 million salary in the second season of his $147 million, six-year contract, and because he can opt out of the deal after the 2015 season, baseballs accounting rules call for his $12 million signing bonus to be prorated over the first three seasons. "Weve got great ownership and a great fan base, and we need to do what we can to win games," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said last week in Sydney, where Los Angeles swept its opening, two-game series against Arizona. "I dont think the guys worry about it. I know we dont worry about it," Colletti said. "Were expected to win, and thats how we go about it. Money doesnt mean you win. Money just means you have a chance to get the best players." As of Tuesday, the average salary projected to be between $3.95 million and $4 million, with the final figure depending on how many players are put on the disabled list byy the time opening-day rosters are finalized at 3 p. Tramaine Brock Broncos Jersey. m. Sunday. That translates to a rise of 8 to 10 per cent from last years opening average of $3.65 million and would be the largest increase since 2006 or possibly even 2001. "Im not surprised. With the type of revenues clubs are enjoying these days, the average salaries are going to go up," New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. Illustrating the rate of escalation, the opening-day average was $1.07 million when Derek Jeter first reached the major leagues in 1995, broke the $2 million mark in 2001 and spurted past $3 million in 2008. "I think its great. I think it just shows the game is growing, fan interest is there," said Jeter, the Yankees captain who is retiring at the end of this season. "The business of baseball seems like its booming pretty good right now." The average U.S. wage in 2012 was $42,498, according to the Social Security Administration, the latest figure available and an annual increase of 3.12 per cent. Following Greinke on the highest-paid list are Philadelphias Ryan Howard and Cliff Lee at $25 million, the Yankees CC Sabathia at $24.3 million, and Seattles Robinson Cano and Texas Prince Fielder at $24 million each. The APs figures include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income for players on active rosters, disabled lists and the restricted list. For some players, parts of deferred money are discounted to reflect current values. Payroll figures factor in adjustments for cash transactions in trades, signing bonuses that are the responsibility of the club agreeing to the contract, option buyouts, and termination pay for released players. For instance, the Yankees are receiving $18.6 million from the Los Angeles Angels to cover most of the $21 million due to outfielder Vernon Wells, who has been released, and $13 million from the Chicago Cubs to pay most of the $18 million owed outfielder Alfonso Soriano. The Mets payroll include buyouts to Johan Santana ($4.9 million present value) and Jason Bay ($2.7 million present value). ___ AP Sports Writer Dennis Passa and AP freelance writers Mark Didtler and Jon Santucci contributed to this report. 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