HOUSTON -- The last time the Houston Rockets scored more than 70 points in a first half they followed it with a franchise-low 19 points after halftime. They had no such letdown Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. Chandler Parsons scored a season-high 31 points and Dwight Howard added 24 to lead the Rockets to a 126-113 win over Portland that snapped the Trail Blazers five-game winning streak. The Rockets scored a season-high to win their second straight, building a big lead early and answering every time Portland made a run. James Harden added 22 points and had five assists and Patrick Beverley returned from a broken hand to score 17 points. Parsons added 10 rebounds and seven assists while finishing one point shy of his career-high. Harden talked about the difference between Monday night and last weeks loss to Oklahoma City, when they set an NBA record for the largest scoring differential between two halves. "We just held our composure," Harden said. "We couldnt worry about what they were doing or anything. We had to figure out a way to fight through it and play harder, push the tempo a little harder and play defence." LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 20 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who have won seven of their last 11 games. "We got close and we just couldnt get over that hump," Aldridge said. "Our shots didnt fall for us and they made tough shots and were able to get the win." Houston was up by 18 points after a 3-pointer by Harden with about eight minutes left. The Trail Blazers used a 9-2 run over the next two minutes to cut it to 115-104. The Rockets struggled in that stretch, missing two layups and committing a turnover. Houston missed two 3-pointers on one possession after that before Beverley hit a jump shot. Howard gave Houston a 119-104 lead when he grabbed an alley-oop from Harden and finished with a two-handed slam. Damian Lillard added 24 points for Portland and Wesley Matthews had 18. A 7-0 run by Portland midway through the third quarter got the Trail Blazers within six points. The Rockets scored the next seven straight to pad their lead to 93-80. "They made a run in the third quarter and instead of us complaining, we got to the bench and we talked about what we needed to do and we got a good win against a very, very good team," Howard said. Jeremy Lin made a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds left in the third quarter to make it 106-91 entering the fourth. Harden was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws before hitting a 3-pointer for a 6-0 run that pushed Houstons lead to 79-61 early in the third quarter. The Trail Blazers answered with a 9-0 spurt to cut the lead to 79-70. Aldridge had a 3-point play during that stretch and Lillard capped it with two free throws when he was fouled by Howard, who also got a technical on the play. The Rockets scored for the first time in almost three minutes on a layup by Parsons with about seven minutes left in the quarter. Nicolas Batum made a layup before Parsons added a 3-pointer to extend Houstons lead to 84-72. Mo Williams got Portland within seven points when he opened the second quarter with a jump shot. But Houston countered with eight straight points powered by two 3-pointers from Omri Casspi to push the lead to 45-30. Five straight points by Matthews a couple of minutes later cut Houstons lead to 12 points. The Rockets responded again, scoring seven points in a row to extend the lead to 60-41. Casspi scored five quick points soon after that to extend Houstons lead to 71-49. Portland scored the last seven points of the half to get within 71-56 at the break. The Rockets made 10 of 13 3-pointers in the first half to help them to score more than 70 points in a half for the second time in a week. Houston scored on its first 11 possessions to build a 25-11 lead. Beverley, who returned to the starting lineup after missing 14 games following surgery to repair a broken right hand, had two 3-pointers in that span and Harden had one. NOTES: Houstons Terrence Jones, who scored a career-high 36 points in the last game, sat out with a deep thigh bruise. Donatas Motiejunas started in his place and finished with nine points and nine rebounds. ... The Trail Blazers have scored at least 98 points in 29 games in a row. ... Batum injured one of his fingers and said he "felt it crack" but wasnt sure of the extent of the injury after the game. Cheap Nets Jerseys . Poti played in 824 regular NHL games with four teams in his career; the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals. Cheap Nets Jerseys China . -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh says he isnt going to change what he does on the field. http://www.cheapnetsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-shabazz-napier-jersey .C. -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is resigning after 13 seasons at the school. Julius Erving Jersey . Nat Borchers headed in the sole goal in the 54th minute, getting on the end of a Kyle Beckerman free kick. The defeat cost Sporting top spot in the Eastern Conference. Even a draw would have moved the Kansas City club above Columbus. Cheap NBA Jerseys . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year.Exactly this time last year, the USMNT captain was spotted at San Francisco airport. Soon after ESPN reported Clint Dempsey was coming home to a league that in 2007 set him on his way to a successful six- year stint in the BPL. Tottenhams loss would be Seattle and MLS gain. Over the intervening 12 months, we have witnessed unprecedented growth for a league which next year will celebrate its 20th season. It was following the 2013 All Star Game Board of Governors meeting Don Garber informed that having added the 20th franchise New York City FC for a fee of $100m only a few months previously, the league was now on an accelerated expansion path. The stated target was to add four more clubs by 2020. In the midst of last seasons playoffs, to the surprise of many it was announced the 21st franchise had been awarded to the City of Orlando. Like NYCFC, they will join the league next season. A Cinderella story if ever there was one, only four years ago Orlando didnt even have a professional soccer club until third division club Austin Aztex was relocated to the sunshine state in fall 2010. The man with the MLS plan and extraordinary vision is Phil Rawlins. Who moved the club from Austin to Orlando with the singular purpose of securing MLS football to a city that is more famous for Quidditch than the Beautiful Game. No word yet on if Harry Potter is amongst the 7,500 season ticket holders the club sold during the four-weeks of Brazil 2014. Contingent on stadium approvals in February, Florida was awarded a second franchise. David Beckham, who had previously been linked with New York and Montreal as locations where he would exercise his ownership option, chose Miami. Beckham and his ownership group have spent the intervening six months surrounded by opposition to their stadium plans. The latest rejection occurred last month when they were denied the right to buy land where they proposed to build a 25,000 capacity stadium which would have been privately funded. Scheduled to begin play in 2017, earlier in the week MLS knocked back suggestions Beckhams group were in discussions to purchase Chivas. 2017 is also when Atlanta, the leagues 22nd franchise will begin play in a $1 billion multi-purpose stadium which will also be the home for the NFLs Falcons. The ground breaking ceremony occurred in mid-May a little over a month after the announcement Arthur Black had finally secured a franchise. Black was widely speculated to bring an MLS franchise to Atlanta back in 2009 when eventually Portland and Vancouver were selected. MLS new additions for 2015 have wasted little time in announcing DPs of a stardust variety who wouldnt look out of turn playing in any of the top sides from the list of elite domestic leagues in world football that MLS has targeted to be mentioned in the same breath as by 2022. With a Brazilian in Flavio Augusto da Silva as Orlandos majority owner, it was one of MLSs worst kept secrets when finally early this month, the former world player of the year and Seleção legend KaKa was named as the clubs first DP.dddddddddddd Thursdays announcement that Chelsea legend Frank Lampard had joined David Villa at New York City leaves no one in doubt of the intentions for the Sheik Mansour funded club. The hiring of head coach Jason Kreis may well go on to be recognized as one of the greatest managerial coups in league history. Lampard disclosed yesterday opportunity existed to extend his Chelsea career but he chose to call it a day as he recognized the club was moving in a different direction. Renowned as Chelseas all-time scoring leader, what will not have been missed by Kreis is the fact only Ryan Giggs has more assists than Lampard in the history of the Premier League. Yesterday he credited Gianfranco Zola for turning him into the player he is. Zola, who was a teammate of Lampards at Stamford Bridge for two seasons, personified what it was to be the model professional. Being like Franco certainly allowed Lampard to extend his time at the very top end of world footballs most demanding leagues. I have no doubts come the 2015 All Star Game, Lampard will make his third appearance, having done so previously in 2006 and 2012 when Chelsea were the opponents. As vital as it is for the Kakas, Villas and Lampards of the world to play in MLS – this to me is trumped by the recent news the MLS Cup Champs had signed two of the stand out members of the USMNT Brazil 2014 team. Securing Matt Besler and Graham Zusi to long term DP deals sends a significant warning shot over the bows of European football. As Dempsey proved last year, and Michael Bradley this spring, no longer are Americas elite players solely focused on carving out a distinguished career in Europe. DaMarcus Beasley returning after a decade abroad is another watershed moment for our league. No other player in the 100-year history of the USSSF has appeared in four World Cup Finals. Houston has instantly purchased playoff credibility. All exciting plots require a villain. This week MLS secured theirs. We could not have asked for a finer rogue than Ashley Cole. The ex-Chelsea player was arrogant and downright rude in his appraisal for a league which continues, as Lampard stated yesterday, to tick all the right boxes. "I had offers from the USA, but Im not ready to relax on a beach yet," Cole stated to reporters earlier this week at Romes International Airport. A frequent visitor to Los Angeles, Cole was recently reported to throw a glass of champagne over a UK TV Presenter in an LA nightclub. Which according to one witness allegedly resulted in a bar room brawl that got the attention of the LAPD. Not sure we want or need his type. 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