HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard knows the best way to stop teams from using the "Hack-a-Howard" defence is to make his free throws. On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. "I just kept telling myself go up there and knock them down, make them pay," Howard said. Chandler Parsons added 20 points for Houston and James Harden had 17 for the Rockets, who never trailed and led by as many as 23. It was a welcome change from several of their recent games when they built big leads only to see them evaporate in the second half. The Nuggets tried to get back in it with about 5 1/2 minutes left by intentionally fouling the centre every time Houston had the ball. The plan backfired and Howard, who entered the game shooting 49 per cent from the line, finished 17 of 24 on free throws. Howards 24 free throw attempts were the most by a Rocket since Sleepy Floyd went 22 of 27 in February of 1991. Nuggets coach Brian Shaw lamented using the tactic after the game. "That goes against everything Im about," Shaw said. "I dont believe in that and I dont think its in the spirit of the game. So that is exactly what I get for doing that. Im glad he made his free throws and it shows me to just be true to who you are." They were too slow in fouling him one time and Parsons dunked on a fast break on the other end. The play was reviewed and Houston got the basket and a foul shot by Howard. Denver finally scrapped the defence with about 3 minutes left, to wild applause from the home crowd. Harden took advantage of the change to immediately knock down a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 118-101. Howard was surprised when they stopped fouling him, standing with the ball for the couple of seconds waiting for them to do it. He said he doesnt get irked when hes intentionally fouled, but he knows its not very popular with the crowd. "Its annoying to the fans," Howard said. "I know they dont want to see that. We dont want to have to go through that. But its a part of the game." Ty Lawson had 28 points and a career-high 17 assists to lead Denver. "We just didnt come out ready to play," Lawson said. "It was our defence and our effort. We just didnt play any defence in the first half." Lawson started despite sustaining a corneal abrasion to his right eye on Friday night after taking a hand to the eye. Lawsons eye was almost swollen shut after Fridays game, but Shaw said before the game that only a little swelling remained. Terrence Jones tied career highs with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets. The Nuggets outscored Houston 11-0 during a 2 1/2-minute stretch early in the third quarter to cut the lead to 66-59 with about 8 minutes remaining. Lawson got things going, hitting the first two baskets and Randy Foye added a 3-pointer during the run. Howard went to the bench near the end of that run when he picked up his fourth foul on an offensive charge. The Rockets rediscovered their offence after that, and used a 14-2 spurt to push the lead to 80-61 a couple of minutes later. Jones was great in those minutes, with two dunks and six points. Houston led by 15 entering the fourth quarter. Howard, who sat out the last eight minutes of the third, was back on the floor for the start of the final period and immediately went to work. He was fouled when he made a nifty reverse layup and made the free throw to push the lead to 93-75. The Rockets led by 10 points with 10 minutes left in the second quarter before scoring 12 straight points to push the lead to 50-28 with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the half. Donatas Motiejunas scored seven points in that stretch and Harden capped it with a 3-pointer. The Nuggets used a 13-7 run at the end of the first half to whittle the lead to 63-46 at halftime. NOTES: Former Rockets star Yao Ming watched the game from a courtside seat. He received a standing ovation when he was shown on the video boards during a timeout in the first quarter. ... Houston C Omer Asik, who has been the subject of recent trade rumours, was not in uniform for the game. Coach Kevin McHale said it was because he was "under the weather" but he didnt elaborate. Air Jordan Baratas . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Nike Roshe Run Baratas España . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. A... Jordan 3 Retro Mujer . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Nike Air Max 2016 Each week, TSN.ca Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen and NFL Editors Ben Fisher and Mitch Ward discuss three hot fantasy football topics. 1) With Rob Gronkowski finally back, where will he finish the year in terms of fantasy points among TEs? Cullen: I expect Gronkowski to finish in the top five among tight ends in total points by the end of the year. Barring injury, Jimmy Graham, Vernon Davis and Julius Thomas have sizeable enough leads that they should be able to finish ahead. Jordan Cameron has a big lead, but with shaky quarterback play, could be easier to catch. After that, theres lots of room for Gronk to move up, especially if Tom Brady is going to target him as heavily as he did in his first game of the season, when he sent 17 passes in Gronkowskis direction. Fisher: Gronkowski has nine weeks left to catch up to the 40 or so tight ends ahead of him in fantasy points. I think he catches up to all but about seven of them. Im giving Gronk at least 10 points a week and three or four weeks where he scores closer to 20. Theyre lofty numbers but we all know what hes capable of – and he is by far the most desirable option in New Englands offence this year – so its definitely possible. If Gronkowski stays healthy, hell finish as a Top 10 tight end on the verge of being Top 5. Ward: Gronkowski is a top-3 tight end from here on out. He marked his return to game action with eight catches and 114 yards which is nice, but more importantly he saw 17 targets and did not suffer any injury setbacks. The 17 targets are massive and are a clear indication that he is going to be Tom Bradys favourite target the rest of the way. You can expect double digit targets on a weekly basis and you should also expect the catch rate to improve as he and Brady get back on the same page. There are plenty more big days in store for Gronk. 2) Can Darrius Heyward-Bey be a serviceable fantasy starter now that Reggie Wayne is out for the season? Cullen: The Colts will hope that Heyward-Bey can provide that kind of production and the opportunity to start in an offence with a quality quarterback makes him worth adding in many leagues, but Im more inclined to raise expectations for T.Y. Hilton or even TE Coby Fleener before getting too carried away with expectations for Heyward-Bey. Fisher: Heyward-Bey finished last year just outside the Top 50 in fantasy scoring at WR. Hes in a much more ennviable situation this year with Andrew Luck and the Colts but enough to put up Top 30 WR numbers? Heyward-Bey actually put up double digit points against the Broncos after Wayne left with an injury but I dont expect that to continue on a weekly basis.ddddddddddddThe 26-year-old actually started the year ahead of T.Y. Hilton on the depth chart and I wouldnt be surprised if LaVon Brazill jumps ahead of DHB at some point too. Hes just not a good receiver. Ward: DHB is going to see more targets out of necessity without Wayne in the Colts lineup. However, Heyward-Bey is not Reggie Wayne and you need to temper expectations somewhat because of the relatively conservative offence Pep Hamilton has implemented in Indy. The Colts just dont take a ton of shots deep which mitigates Heyward-Beys biggest asset: speed. Id expect someone like tight end Coby Fleener to see a much bigger uptick in usage than Heyward-Bey. Despite the loss of Wayne, Heyward-Bey is no more than a low-end WR3 at this point. After returning from injury with two solid weeks, can a healthy Eddie Lacy be a Top 10 fantasy RB? Cullen: No doubt. Lacy has run for 301 yards over the last three weeks and with the receiving corps depleted for the Packers, they might actually need to run the ball more. The top seven or eight backs are pretty set this year, but after that group the production varies quite a bit and its easy enough to see Lacy as a better option than DeMarco Murray, Gio Bernard or even Alfred Morris. Fisher: The Packers are virtually void of all options in the passing game and that should help Lacy with scoring opportunities, but its still hard to consider him a Top 10 running back. He has been playing near his ceiling since returning from injury and has only barely been a Top 10 back the past two weeks. The 230 pound power back might bump his totals with some goal line opportunities but he probably more accurately slots in as a solid RB2. Ward: Top-10 might be a tad high but hes definitely in that range. Last week against the Browns, Lacy had 22 carries compared to just two for Jonathan Franklin. Lacy is the Packers workhorse and with so many injuries at receiver in Green Bay, he figures to see a heavy workload going forward including more looks in the passing game. Lacy also has a pretty running back friendly schedule the rest of the way so top-10 production, while not guaranteed, is certainly in play. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '