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HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets are heading to the playoffs for the second straight year and believe wins like the one they picked up Friday night will help them when they get there. James Harden scored 39 points and the Rockets ended a three-game skid and clinched a playoff berth with a 111-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder "It was a great win for us ... just to give ourselves confidence, especially going into the playoffs," Harden said. "We might see them. It was a big win for us. It shows the resilience we have." Kevin Durant scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 40th straight game with at least 25 points, the longest streak since Michael Jordan also did it 40 consecutive times in 1986-87. But he was in no mood to talk about matching the feat after the game. "We lost the game thats all Im worried about," he said. "I dont care. We lost." The normally mild-mannered Durant, who leads the NBA with 32.1 points a game, talked a little trash afterward when asked if he was frustrated by the physical defence Houstons Chandler Parsons and Francisco Garcia played on him. "Those dudes cant check me 1-on-1," he said. "They know that. I aint afraid to say it either. They know that. So I was playing the double-teams, triple-teams, but you still got to find a way to do it. Theyre physical just like everybody else and Ive been playing against physical players my whole life, so its nothing different." The Thunder, who had already secured a playoff berth, clinched their fourth consecutive Northwest Division title with a loss by Portland later Friday. Durants 3-pointer cut Houstons lead to one with 1:01 remaining, but Houston answered with four straight free throws. He made another 3 with 16 seconds left, but Harden made two free throws to push the lead to 111-107. Harden was 17 of 20 from the line and had nine rebounds and seven assists. The Rockets were playing without Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, who both missed their fourth straight games. Howard has missed seven games recently because of a left ankle strain and Beverley is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his right knee. "Theres all kind of adversity in playoff games and playoff runs," coach Kevin McHale said. "Youve got to be resilient and thats what Ive been preaching with the guys and the coaching staff. Youve just got to stay in the fight and keep swinging. When we do that, were OK." Serge Ibaka tied a career high with 27 points in a game that Russell Westbrook didnt play because the Thunder were playing the second night of a back-to-back. Parsons added 23 points for Houston and Terrence Jones had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Oklahoma City was up by one before Houston scored seven straight points to take a 104-98 lead with less than three minutes left. The Rockets made four free throws before a 3-pointer by Garcia. The Rockets started the fourth quarter with 3-pointers by Jeremy Lin, Isaiah Canaan and Harden for a 9-2 spurt which gave them a 91-86 lead with about 10 minutes left. Durant scored the next four points to get Oklahoma City within 91-90. Houston scored the last six points of the third quarter to cut the lead to 84-82 entering the fourth quarter. The Thunder scored 39 points in the third quarter to take the lead after trailing the entire game. They opened the second half with a 9-0 run punctuated by a dunk by Ibaka to make it 54-52. Houston went right back on top with a 3-pointer by Parsons, but a 9-2 spurt by the Thunder gave them a 63-57 lead with about seven minutes left in the quarter. The Thunder trailed through the first quarter and cut it to three points early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Caron Butler before an 11-0 run by Houston pushed the lead to 43-29 about five minutes before halftime. Harden scored the last seven points in that span and capped it by making a 3-pointer with Derek Fisher right in his face. Durant scored Oklahoma Citys final five points to get the Thunder within 50-45 at halftime. The first three points of that run came when Durant was fouled on an off-balance layup he made with his back to the basket and then made the free throw. NOTES: The 39 points the Thunder scored in the third quarter were the most anyone has scored against Houston this season in the quarter. ... Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon watched the game from a courtside seat. ... The win was Houstons 50th, giving them the 10th 50-win season in franchise history. Wil Myers Jersey .Leicester won 25-21 in a heated European Rugby Champions Cup group match on Sunday.Toulon said on its website on Wednesday that it decided to open an investigation after Leicester complained about the behaviour of prop Martin Castrogiovanni and fullback Delon Armitage. San Diego Padres Jerseys .com) - Colorado forward P. http://www.padressale.com/padres-rickey-henderson-jersey/ . -- Justin Verlander took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and won his fourth straight decision, leading Detroit over the Kansas City Royals 9-4 Sunday and extending the Tigers winning streak to a season-high five games. Manny Machado Jersey . On Wednesday, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas hit back. In a passionate defence of himself and the London clubs medical staff, the Portuguese coach rebuked the "incompetent people" who have attacked Tottenham for allowing Lloris to continue playing after being briefly knocked unconscious against Everton on Sunday. Ian Kinsler Padres Jersey .ca/CurlingSkins - with the Top 16 curlers earning a ticket to Banff, Alta. to compete in the TRAVELERS ALL-STAR CURLING SKINS GAME Presented by Pintys, running Jan.So the Indianapolis Colts have now created victories over the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. Given the inability of Jacksonville, the inconsistency of Tennessee and the injuries of Houston, the AFC South is under control by the Colts going into almost the mid-point of the 2013 season. I thought Sunday nights game would have been a robotic win by Denver. You know, one of those games that remains close for a while and then Peyton Manning figures it out to win by 10. What I didnt anticipate was how well the defensive backs would play for the Colts and how exceptional the coverage would be by Vontae Davis, LaRon Landry, Darius Butler and Antoine Bethea. If there was a group that rose to the challenge of covering three excellent receivers it was the Colts defensive backs. It was also noticeable that as the game progressed both Ryan Clady and Orlando Franklin as pass protecting offensive tackles are as important as any players on the Broncos. It was just a matter of time before Robert Mathis had his way. What is the difference between Manning and Andrew Luck? The way I see it, not much. Mannings experience is greater but Luck will run effectively at any point of a game and the three runs he had made an impact that the Broncos could not defend. Week 7 will go down as the injury week of 2013 and I hope it is not repeated. First, Brian Cushing with the Texans, broken leg and knee damage on a perfectly legal block by Jamaal Charles in Kansas City. Some may ask why Charles didnt stay up high, why did he cut him on the line of scrimmage? If he had stayed high Cushing would have picked up Charles and thrown him on top of quarterback Case Keenum. It was a complete physical mismatch and Charles had no choice. In Chicago both Jay Cutler and Lance Briggs are gone with groin and shoulder injuries for weeks but not the season. I thought Marc Trestman did an exceptional job of explaining the loss against Washington, the details of the injuries and turning it into an optimistic opportunity for the Bears. Trestman is impressive. It has nothing to do with his CFL background but everything to do with his ability to articulate and communicate. In watching his Monday press conference he conducts himself as a pro in many clear ways. An NFL coach does not have to represent himself with professional class the way Trestman did with the Chicago media. There is nothing in their contract that says they must. Many if not all detest the Monday morning or afternoon "state of the team" address but do it anyway. Many if not all look at the media as a necessary evil, not a tool to be used. After watching the post-Chicago press conference I know exactly what is going on with the Bears heading into the bye week because the head coach told me directly. Not to be forgotten, Doug Martin is out for maybe the season in Tampa Bay, Sam Bradford is out for the year in St Louis, Reggie Wayne is done for 2013 with the Coltts, Jermichael Finley could be done in Green Bay, Nick Foles, concussion with the Eagles in the Dallas game.dddddddddddd Have I missed any? Week 7 in NFL football was brutal. How about the Buffalo Bills? After an overtime loss to Cincinnati they win in Miami and win convincingly. I dont know if Thad Lewis is a 16-game starter but he has fulfilled his role as a quarterback now for two weeks in a row. Mario Williams is becoming the Mario Williams of his Houston Texan days and yes, he is earning his big paydays. Pressure to perform is one thing, pressure to perform when everyone knows how much money you make is another type of pressure. But the Bills duo of Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller are making the team competitive in the AFC North. Jackson, 386 yards, Spiller 362 yards. You add them up and you have a running game after seven weeks that had 748 yards and as a team the Bills average 141 rushing yards a game. That is the good news. Bad news? They play in New Orleans against a Saints team that is coming off the bye. In Kansas City the Chiefs are 7-0 and dont have their bye week until the second week in November. The schedule has been good to them and Alex Smith continues to be nothing more than himself. Conservative, smart and confident. Andy Reid has found the perfect quarterback for Andy Reid. I was mildly shocked when I heard that as a starter Smith is 26-5-1. That is as good as anyone in the quarterback business. The Chiefs have exceptional individual talent that now is being coordinated. Two good running backs, two good pass rushing defensive ends and two good cornerbacks. The secret to their success? On third down the Chiefs run exceptionally well-executed blitz packages. Well designed and well run because they have the aggressive athletes to run them. In Cincinnati the Bengals are winning the close games. Two weeks ago, they prevailed 27-24 over Buffalo in overtime and Andy Dalton threw for 300 yards plus. Last week, in Detroit, another 27-24 win on a last play field goal as Dalton thew for 300 plus once again. When this season is over the Bengals could finish first in the AFC North and the last two close wins are why. They did lose cornerback Leon Hall for the season (achilles) so someone else has to step up at one of footballs toughest positions. And finally, the New York Giants are now 1-6 and on their way! Just kidding. This will be a tough season for the Giants as the Jets are now "the" football team in New York. Opening drive on Monday Night Football. Giants run 16 plays, go approximately 80 yards, take an amazing nine-and-a-half minutes off the clock and...kick a field goal. Kind of sums up the season so far in New York with the Giants. Looking ahead, here are the best two games of Week 8. Dallas at Detroit as the Cowboys control the NFC East, and the Jets at the Bengals. One was expected to be on top of their division - the Bengals - while the other continues to improve, Jets. ' ' '