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. Joao Cancelo Juventus Jersey . 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. Douglas Costa Jersey . James Erskine said Tuesday that Thorpe was "quite sick" in a Sydney hospital but dismissed media reports the swimmer might lose the use of his left arm. "Hes not in the intensive care," Erskine said. Medhi Benatia Juventus Jersey .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Daniele-Rugani-Jersey/ . Hes had three top-10 results this season and feels ready to put it all together and finally hoist a trophy at the top level. SALT LAKE CITY -- When the Minnesota Timberwolves were mired in a slump, they figured theyd get back to winning if they shed some sweat. They never thought it would take some blood, too. Kevin Love grabbed his 4,000th career rebound as part of a 19-point, 13-board effort to lead the Timberwolves over the Utah Jazz 112-97 on Tuesday night. Along the way to sweeping a home-and-home set against the Jazz, Alexey Shved left with a broken nose and Kevin Martin sliced open his right pinkie. "Its crazy. I cant remember two people bleeding like that in the same game," said Nikola Pekovic, who had 18 points and nine rebounds. Love leads the league with 35 double-doubles but he thought it was passing and teamwork that sealed a sweep of the home-and-home set with the Jazz. "Ive been passing the ball all season and guys were converting," said Love, who had eight assists. "I didnt get too many looks and didnt convert many from the 3-point line so I had to figure other ways to be effective." Ricky Rubio has returned to his spontaneous, free-flowing style and had 11 points and 13 assists for the Wolves, who snapped a seven-game losing streak in Utah. "Tonight was a pure team effort," Pekovic said. "We are all good friends between us. On the good nights everything is fine, of course." It was another good night for Minnesota as Corey Brewer scored 19 points and Martin contributed 18. Each time the Jazz threatened to get close in the fourth quarter, J.J. Barea hit big baskets and finished with 15 points to keep the Jazz at bay. "I think we needed that win (on Saturday) and we had a great team effort defensively. It carried on to tonight," Barea said. Gordon Hayward returned from a five-game absence to lead the Jazz with 27 points, but he was the only starter in double figures. The Jazz went 2-3 in Haywards absence, including a 98-72 road loss to Minnesota where Utah set a record for worst field goal percentage in franchise history at 28.8 per cent. "It felt good to be back out there," Hayward said. "But we just didnt get stops tonight. They were too effective offensively." A team that seemed disjointed and frustrated during a three-game losing streak a week ago, the Timberwolves apparently needed a couple of matchups with the Jazz to break out off the funk. Andrea Barzagli Jersey. The Timberwolves ran crisp sets and were eager to make the extra pass to wide-open teammates. Minnesota led 84-62 at the end of three quarters as it assisted on 23 of its first 30 field goals. Picking up right where they left off on Saturday, the Wolves using a 17-2 run in the first quarter to stake a commanding lead that ballooned to 18 points. Love hit a 3-pointer and Brewer dunked to make the score 30-12 in the first quarter. "I was pleased with the way we came out and controlled the game from beginning to end," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "I thought (the Jazz) would come out with so much energy at the start of the game." Instead the Timberwolves made the Jazz look flat and flustered and soon they were on their way to consecutive wins for the first time since they beat Washington and Milwaukee on Dec. 27-28. Hayward was having the best three-game set of his career before injuring his left hip and being sidelined five games. But he scored early and often despite the layoff. His teammates, though, seemed powerless to stop Minnesotas attack. Alec Burks had 18 points but the Jazz missed starting centre Derrick Favours, who was out with a right hip injury. "Defensively, he protects the rim for us," Utah coach Ty Corbin said. "We missed that." Of course, Minnesotas plan to was get the ball to Love and Pekovic. "We knew we had the advantage against them inside. After last game, we wanted to keep doing that. We had a nice balance of looking at those two guys, plus getting other open looks," Adelman said. After losing 14 of their first 15 games, the Jazz have been playing about .500 and hadnt lost two consecutive since losing to San Antonio and Miami on Dec. 14 and 16. The Timberwolves were again the aggressors against the Jazz and made 22 of 24 free throws. Haywards 3-pointer drew the Jazz 58-47, but Minnesota responded with a 10-0 surge that ended with Martins three-point play. NOTES: The Timberwolves wore their black short-sleeved uniforms. . The Jazz had three points nullified in the third quarter because Trey Burkes 3-pointer came after the shot clock expired, the ruling came during a time out more than four minutes of elapsed game time after the shot. . The Jazz are 1-18 when Enes Kanter starts. He had four points and six rebounds. ' ' '