HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets were trailing Minnesota by 10 points early in the second quarter on Thursday night when a very unhappy Kevin McHale called a timeout hoping to help his team get on track. James Harden wasnt worried and told his coach as much. "He was fired up but I told him: Its OK. Were going to be all right," Harden said. And they were. Houston scored 17 straight points after that timeout, led by 10 from Harden, to take the lead and roll to an easy 129-106 win. "We werent playing very well," McHale said. "So I got into them a little bit and they responded." Harden had 28 points with eight assists, Donatas Motiejunas added a career-best 20 points and Chandler Parsons had 19 points for Houston. Houston never trailed after the 17-0 run and padded the advantage with another big run to start the third quarter. It was Houstons second straight game without Dwight Howard, who sat out with a strained left ankle. Omer Asik started in his place and filled in ably with a season-high-tying 12 points as the Rockets won for the seventh time in 10 games. "Obviously we want Dwight back as soon as possible," Parsons said. "But Omer is so good you dont miss much out there on the floor ... we have a real luxury having both of those guys down there." Kevin Love had 29 points and rookie Gorgui Dieng 22 points and 21 rebounds, which were both career-highs. He has had a double-double in each of his three starts, which have come in the last three games. "In the first quarter we came out pretty good," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "Then they had that run on us and it really wasnt a game from that point on. We werent scoring at all and we werent getting back and they seemed to have their way." Ricky Rubio had five points, eight assists and two rebounds for Minnesota a night after posting his third career triple-double with 22 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a 123-122 overtime win at Dallas. "We came off an overtime game and we just didnt seem to have energy," Love said. "These are the dog days where youre trying to give everything youve got and sometimes its just not good enough." Houston led by 10 at halftime and opened the third quarter with a 16-7 spurt to extend the lead to 80-61 with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the quarter. Harden, who finished with six 3s, and Patrick Beverley both made 3-pointers during that run and Asik had seven points with a pair of dunks. Love hit a 3-pointer after that before Terrence Jones made four quick points to push the lead to 84-64. Luc Mbah a Moute went up for a dunk later in the quarter, but it was blocked by Asik, drawing oohs from the crowd when it happened live and again when it was replayed on the jumbotron. Asik finished with four blocks. Houston was up by 21 soon after that when the Timberwolves cut into the lead with an 8-0 run thanks to two 3-pointers by Love to make it 89-76. The Rockets led by 98-82 entering the fourth quarter. Jones had 10 points and Beverley had 14 as all five Rockets starters scored in double digits. "When we move the basketball like that, everyone is going to score," Harden said. "It gives each and every guy confidence to make that right pass and to shoot the basketball. So, when we play like that, its tough to beat us." The lead was 16 midway through the fourth quarter when the Rockets went on another run -- this one 8-3 -- to make it 118-97. Harden scored the last five points in that span before sitting down for the night. Minnesota got within five points late in the second quarter, but the Rockets used a 9-4 run, capped by another 3 from Harden, to end the half up 64-54. NOTES: Minnesota C Nikola Pekovic didnt play for the third straight game because of a sore right ankle. ... Houston Texans running back Arian Foster and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and former A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel sat together in seats behind the Rockets bench. ... Dieng is the sixth player since the NBA began tracking starts in 1970 to have at least 20 points and 20 rebounds within his first three career starts. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys . The All Blacks played their best rugby of recent years when they beat South Africa 38-27 in Johannesburg two weeks ago, clinching the Rugby Championships in a match which has been hailed as one of the best ever played. Fake NCAA Jerseys . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/.2 million deal for the upcoming season with right-hander Garrett Richards.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday because the announcement hadnt been made. Cheap Basketball College Jerseys . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday. Custom NCAA Jerseys . Villarreals victory in Valencia kept it in fourth place and in control of Spains last Champions League spot. Uche broke free in the area in the 10th minute and was brought down by goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who was shown a direct red card.ORLANDO, Fla. -- Billy Donovans bench came up big, bailing out top-seeded Florida in a tight game against what was supposed to be an overmatched opponent. Dorian Finney-Smith scored 16 points, most of them on dunks, and the Gators used a second-half surge to beat No. 16 seed Albany 67-55 in the NCAA tournament Thursday. The Gators (33-2) showed some vulnerability, though, while extending their school-record winning streak to 27 games. Donovans team sleepwalked through the first half, swapping the lead back and forth with the pesky Great Danes, but Floridas bench provided a much-needed spark. Finney-Smith, the Southeastern Conferences sixth man of the year, was 6-of-10 shooting and tough to handle in the post. Freshman guard Kasey Hill, who wasnt sure he would be able to play because of turf toe, chipped in 10 points off the bench and was dynamic on the open floor. Patric Young finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, his first double-double of the season. Casey Prather (16 points) and Scottie Wilbekin (10) also reached double figures for Florida, which will play ninth-seeded Pittsburgh in the South Region on Saturday. DJ Evans led Albany (19-15) with 21 points and seven rebounds. He set the tone for the Great Danes early, but couldnt do enough to pull off the most elusive enough in college basketball. Floridas win made No. 1 seeds 117-0 against 16 seeds since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. But this one was far from a lopsided affair. The first half couldnt have gone much better for Albany, which was back on the court less than 48 hours after the programs first NCAA tournament win. The Great Danes, who beat Mount St. Marys in the First Four in Daytona, Ohio, made 10 of their first 15 shots and hung with Florida. Albany did an impressive job breakinng Floridas press.dddddddddddd And coach Will Brown had a clear game plan on defence: Dont let Michael Frazier II get any clean looks from 3-point range, beg Prather to take jumpers and sag in the post on centre Young. The Gators took the bait -- for a while. Frazier was scoreless in the first half, Prather turned into a jump shooter and Young was missing early on. But Donovan adjusted, like hes done so many other times this season, and got Florida rolling. Wilbekin started driving and dishing, creating easy baskets for Young and Finney-Smith at the rim. Finney-Smith had six consecutive points that seemed to get the SEC champs going, and Prather followed with a three-point play. Floridas final 10 baskets of the first half were in the paint. Still, Donovan was livid at halftime and ripped his players for a lack of defence. They responded with a 9-0 run early -- spearheaded by defence -- in the second half that turned out to be the difference. Young started it with a three-point play. Hill followed with a driving layup and then added two free throws after a turnover. Will Yeguete got another steal, and Finney-Smiths emphatic dunk capped the spurt. It was exactly what Florida needed. The Gators pretty much held on from there, making enough post plays and free throws to keep Albany at bay. For Florida, the NCAA tournament has been the goal all season. But as the wins mounted, they turned their attention toward winning a national title. Theyve looked capable much of the season, becoming the first team in SEC history to finish the regular season 18-0 and then won SEC tournament by pulling out tight games against fellow NCAA tournament teams Tennessee and Kentucky. But their performance Thursday left Donovan and many bracket managers shaking their heads. ' ' 'hawks. ... Crawford participated in the morning skate, but didnt play. He has missed 10 games. ... Kane is the only NHL player with multiple point streaks of at least 10 games. ... The Kings scratched Martinez and forwards Daniel Carcillo and Matt Frattin. ... The Blackhawks also scratched defencemen Michael Kostka and Sheldon Brookbank. ... The teams will meet once more on Feb. 3 in Los Angeles. ' ' '