HOUSTON -- Los Angeles coach Mike DAntoni paid a lot of attention to former Lakers centre Dwight Howard down the stretch. He needed to get the ball out of the hands of Houston Rockets guard James Harden and figured the best way to do that was with the "Hack-a-Howard" defence. The strategy worked perfectly with Howard missing seven late free throws to allow the Lakers to keep it close before Steve Blake hit a wide-open 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to lift them to a 99-98 victory Thursday night. "I think it went real well because we took Harden out of the game," DAntoni said. Howard spurned the Lakers to sign an $88 million deal with Houston, joining Harden and a team that made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2009. A sombre Howard called his free throw shooting "terrible," but wouldnt concede that this loss was more difficult because it was against his former team. "Every loss hurts," said Howard, who had 15 points and 14 rebounds. "Nobody likes to lose. Its very upsetting that we lost the way we did." DAntonis decision to foul Howard was surprising because last season he said that the hack-a-whoever defence was bad for the game. "That doesnt mean youre not going to use it, if its out there," he said. "Im not crazy." Houston led by two points before Blake took the inbounds pass from Jodie Meeks and made the game-winning shot. The Rockets were disappointed they let Blake get free for the winning basket. "Guys just kind of messed up on the play," Howard said. "It happens." The Rockets had a chance to win it, but Patrick Beverleys 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the backboard. "I was in a rhythm and then they started fouling Dwight," said Harden, who scored 35 points. "It kind of slows us down. It slows our pace down and what we like to do. Good coaching." The Rockets took their first lead since the first quarter on a dunk by Chandler Parsons following a steal by Harden that made it 93-91 with about 4 minutes left. Parsons left his arms outstretched as he came down from the dunk to wild applause from the home crowd. Harden had tied it up about a minute earlier on a 3-pointer. The Lakers started fouling Howard every time he touched the ball after that, sending him to the line 12 times, but he made just five. Meeks, who led the Lakers with 18 points, made a 3-pointer with less than 2 minutes remaining to cut the lead to two. The Lakers struggled all last season amid reports that Howard and Kobe Bryant didnt get along, and were swept in the first round of the playoffs. Los Angeles could have offered him a 5-year contract worth $118 million, but he chose to make the move to Houston with a four-year deal. "He made his choice, which is good," DAntoni said of Howard. "Youve got to respect that. Hes fine and theyre going to have a great team. Youre just happy for everybody because we won." The Lakers extended their lead to 14 points on a jump shot by Chris Kaman with about 8 minutes left in the third quarter. Houston finally got its offence going after that, going on a 15-3 run to get within 74-72 with 3 minutes left in the quarter. A highlight in that span came when Howard bobbled a bad pass from Harden before getting a handle on it and spinning around to finish with a dunk. The Rockets got eight points from Jeremy Lin during that run and the Lakers had three turnovers. Wesley Johnson made a 3-pointer to cool off the Rockets, but a 3-pointer by Harden just near the end of the quarter cut the lead to 81-77. Houston shot just under 35 per cent and made just two of 13 3-point attempts in the first half. But the Rockets stayed in the game by making 18 of 27 free throws -- 25 in the second quarter alone -- before halftime. The Lakers didnt share in Houstons long-range shooting woes in the first half, hitting 11 of 14 3-point attempts. The Lakers led by 17 points early in the second quarter before Houston used a 13-5 spurt capped by seven points from Harden to cut the lead to 45-36 about 7 1-2 minutes before halftime. Hardens seven points came in just 35 seconds. He made the second of two free throws before hitting a 3-pointer seconds later. Howard got a rebound on the other end and Harden made a layup. He was fouled on the shot and made the free throw. Harden made five more free throws in the last 1:19 of the first half, but 3-pointers by Steve Nash and Meeks extended the Lakers lead to 64-50 at halftime. NOTES: Former Rockets star Tracy McGrady and current Houston Texans J.J. Watt and Andre Johnson attended the game. ... Meeks made the first four 3-pointers he attempted to tie a career-high for most 3-pointers made without a miss. . 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On the same day Steven Stamkos announced he is ready to return to the lineup, the Tampa Bay Lightning traded Martin St. . According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a trooper responded to a report of a stalled vehicle in the lane on Interstate Highway 394 heading west out of downtown Minneapolis. As Simpson got out of a red Dodge Charger, the trooper observed him with watery eyes and slightly slurred speech.(SportsNetwork.com) - New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will cap an interesting past eight days when the Dallas Cowboys pay a visit to the Superdome Sunday night in a matchup between division leaders. You can watch all the action on TSN beginning with Football Night in America at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. In his first season running the Saints defense, Ryan has implemented a 3-4 scheme in the Crescent City and the players have adjusted nicely save their effort against the run (25th, 121.2 ypg). The Cowboys have struggled moving the chains on the ground and Ryan hopes to take advantage of his former employer. Ryan, of course, ran Dallas defense from 2011-12 and parted ways this past offseason. He eventually signed a deal to spearhead the Saints defense, which is fifth against the pass (211.9), eighth in points allowed (19.4) and ninth in yards allowed (333.1). Ryan is coming off an emotional 26-20 loss at the Meadowlands last Sunday against twin brother, Rex, who is the head coach of the New York Jets. The Saints trailed 20-14 at halftime and limited the Jets to six points in the second half. The only problem was that the Saints also scored six points over the final two quarters. New Orleans allowed 338 total yards and once again struggled to stop the run, as New York running back and former Saint Chris Ivory ran for 139 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Ryans defense did not force any turnovers and registered just two sacks. Saints veteran linebacker Jonathan Vilma is one of Ryans best players and wasnt pleased with Sundays loss, saying the defense has "to get better" and his knee issue is nothing to worry about. "I wish we could have won the game. I wish I could have made more plays to help the team. Outside of that I feel good," Vilma said. "I think tomorrow will be a good test, and then coming back Wednesday for practice will be a good test to see how the knee feels." Guess what? The knee doesnt appear to be strong enough to last the season and Vilma was reportedly placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Vilma played just 12 snaps in his first time back on the active roster Sunday. He was one of the four players suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last year for his alleged role in the Saints bounty scandal. New Orleans has lost two of three games since opening 5-0 and leads the NFC South by a game ahead of Carolina. The Saints upcoming schedule is not a forgiving one, as they are scheduled to play Dallas, San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle and Carolina. But first the Saints have to take care of business with the Cowboys. Theyre hoping the defense shows up in this one. New Orleans recorded just 30 sacks last season, but already has 26 through eight games. Defensive end Cameron Jordan and outside linebacker Junior Galette have six and five sacks, respectively, and cornerback Keenan Lewis has three interceptions. Inside linebacker Curtis Lofton leads the Saints defense with 75 tackles. Lofton was asked about the minndset in the locker room and how the Panthers are creeping up in the NFC South because the Saints have lost two of three.dddddddddddd "Well we dont care what any other team does. We dont care where Carolina is at or what theyre doing. We care about what we can control, and thats how we play," Lofton said. "If we go out and take care of business, we dont have to worry about any other team. November and December is the time where the real teams start to separate themselves. The great teams separate themselves from the good teams. We know that, and thats what were going to do." The Saints are 4-0 at home this season and 14-3 in the last 17 November games. Meanwhile, the Cowboys lead the NFC East by a game ahead Philadelphia and kept it that way by squeezing out a 27-23 victory over the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday in Big D. Dwayne Harris 7-yard touchdown catch with 35 seconds to play lifted the Cowboys, winners in three of their last four games. Tony Romo passed for 337 yards with two touchdowns and an interception while going 34-for-51, while Jason Witten caught eight passes for 102 yards and a score for the Cowboys, who bounced back from a one-point loss in Detroit. "All wins are big," Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said. "Every one is big. You only play 16 games and you count the wins up at the end. You have to bring your best every Sunday in this league. Weve got to learn from this one, move forward and get ready for New Orleans." One week after blowing up on the sidelines, Dallas mercurial wide receiver Dez Bryant caught six passes for 64 yards and was flagged for taking off his helmet to argue a penalty. Still, Bryant has emerged as one of the best young receivers in the game and is one of the reasons why Dallas is ninth in passing yards (267.1) and fourth in scoring (28.6). Bryant leads the Cowboys in receiving yards (705) and TD receptions (8). Terrell Owens had a team-record 15 TD catches back in 2007, so Bryant is getting close. You cannot count out Romo either for Dallas success. Romo is on pace for his fifth 4,000-yard passing season and already has 20 touchdown passes in 2013. His 100.0 QB rating is one of the best and he will look to exploit a tough New Orleans defense. Since the Cowboys have struggled to run the football, Romo will most likely attempt 45 to 50 passes Sunday. Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray returned after missing two games with a knee injury Sunday and had just 31 yards on four carries. He has 11 total carries in his last two games played. The Cowboys will enter the bye week after visiting the Saints, who trail the all-time series with Dallas by a 10-15 count. The Saints recorded a 34-31 overtime win in the last meeting on Dec. 23, 2012, as New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees threw for 446 yards and three TDs with no interceptions. Romo passed for 416 yards with four touchdown strikes and no picks. New Orleans has a 19-8 record on primetime television since 2006. [url=http://www.cheapjerseysauthentic.us.com/]Cheap Jerseys For Sale Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Supply Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '