Das Feller-Forum » mentally Ive got to stay strong

HOUSTON - Rockets coach Kevin McHale lamented Houstons lack of effort in a lopsided loss to Golden State on Saturday.There was no such problem Monday.James Harden scored a season-high 45 points, including 18 in the third quarter, and the Rockets led from start to finish in a 110-98 win over the Indiana Pacers.I think the way we came out, thats the way we should come out every single game, Harden said. We focused on defence and offensively making it easy for each other. They didnt gain any ground on us because we kept being consistent with what we did.It was the 18th 30-point game and fourth with 40 this season for Harden, the NBAs leading scorer. He bounced back after scoring just 11 in the 131-106 loss to Golden State. He had a career-best 33 points after halftime.Houston led by 10 at the break and used a 33-point third quarter, thanks in large part to four 3-pointers from Harden, to push the lead to 20 entering the fourth.Hes having a special year, McHale said. A couple of those shots he made, theres nothing a defender can do.Pacers coach Frank Vogel raved about Harden, who is averaging 27.1 points per game.Hes having ... an MVP-type season, Vogel said. He has to be in that conversation and was just way too much for us tonight.The Pacers outscored Houston 30-21 in the final period, and a 5-0 run got them within eight with 2 1/2 minutes left. But Harden scored seven points after that to secure the victory.C.J. Miles had 23 points to lead the Pacers, who have lost five straight.Harden finished one point shy of his career high. Dwight Howard had 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Rockets.Corey Brewers jump shot to start the fourth quarter stretched Houstons lead to 91-68. Indiana answered with a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to 95-81 with 8 minutes left.Roy Hibbert cut Houstons lead to nine with a dunk midway through the third quarter before a 19-4 run by the Rockets pushed it to 86-62 with 2 minutes left in the period. Harden was unstoppable during that stretch, hitting three 3-pointers in just more than a minute late in the run. The Pacers missed five shots and turned the ball over twice as Houston padded the lead.Harden made four of six 3-pointers in the third quarter and almost had a fifth one. He stepped in front of a bad pass by Luis Scola with a second remaining and launched a shot from well beyond the 3-point line that swished through the net. But officials ruled that he didnt get it off in time.Indiana had cut the lead to six early in the second quarter when Brewer outscored the Pacers 6-2 over the next minute and a half to make it 35-25.The Pacers were down by 12 later in the quarter when they used a 13-2 spurt, with six points from Donald Sloan, to get to 41-40.Sloan had back-to-back turnovers after that to help the Rockets start a 14-5 run that left them up 55-45 at halftime. Jason Terry had seven points to power that surge.The Rockets led 11-2 early after making three 3-pointers in the first 3 minutes. Patrick Beverley made two in that span and Trevor Ariza hit the other one.The Pacers were down by 13 later in the quarter before using an 11-5 run to cut the lead to 22-15.Houston led 29-21 entering the second quarter.___TIP-INSPacers: G George Hill, out since Dec. 31 with a groin injury, is improving and could play soon. Vogel said Hill will be re-evaluated Tuesday. ... Ian Mahinmi had 14 rebounds.Rockets: Brewer scored 13 for his ninth double-digit game with the Rockets. ... Houston improved to 23-2 when leading at halftime.JONES IMPROVINGHouston forward Terrence Jones, who hasnt played since Nov. 3 because of nerve inflammation in his left leg, is improving and could return soon. McHale hasnt said when Jones will play again, but said recently that hes getting close. Jones is feeling good and is excited to be making progress.Its a blessing to be able to get up and down and finally move my leg a little bit, Jones said. Im able to jump and do a lot of things with the basketball that a couple of months ago I couldnt do at all.UP NEXTPacers: Visit Atlanta on Wednesday.Rockets: Visit Golden State on Wednesday. Wholesale Vans Shoes . The Twins announced Thursday the 28-year-old Albers cleared waivers. He will join the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. Vans Old Skool Australia . - Veteran Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr, sidelined since Game 1 of the Anaheim series, says hes close to returning. http://www.cheapoldskoolaustralia.com/ . Riethers apparent stamp on Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj during Saturdays Premier League match at Craven Cottage was missed by the match officials. A three-man panel of former referees reviewed the incident and all agreed that it was a sending-off offence. Cheap Old Skool Vans . The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second. Vans Old Skool Sale . Ilonen birdied five of his closing seven holes in superb scoring conditions to end the day with a two-shot lead on the Fota Island course. Ilonen had just 26 putts on the occasion of his 300th European Tour event.WASHINGTON -- The first three times the Washington Wizards reached .500, they lost their next game. On Wednesday against Boston, the Wizards get their fourth shot at the break-even point, and they hope its the last time. "Its not a magical thing (where) I think all of a sudden fairy dust is going to fall on us if we get over .500 (and) were not going to lose another game," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. The Wizards havent been over .500 since Oct. 31, 2009, when they were 2-1. After their 107-99 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, they were in no mood to admit that it was always on their mind. Players shouted to each other to ignore questions about the mark, but none did. "Were aware of it, but we just have to not even think about it," Bradley Beal said. Beal nearly had his first career triple-double. Two days after he missed 12 of his 14 shots in a loss to Detroit, Beal had 22 points -- 13 of them in the second quarter when Washington built a 10-point halftime lead. He also had nine rebounds, a season high, and eight assists, equaling his career best. Marcin Gortat had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Seraphin had 16 points for Washington. John Wall added 14. Each time the Wizards reached .500 this season, their next game was at home, and they lost to Milwaukee, Dallas and Detroit. "Were done with that," Gortat said. "Every time we talk about being a .500 team and getting over .500, we have teams coming in here and just punking our butts." Michael Carter-Williams led Philadelphia, which has lost seven of eight, with 31. Thaddeus Young had 18. Spencer Hawes had 11 points and had a season high 16 rebounds. Carter-Williams and Young scored the first 19 Philadelphia points in the third, but the Sixers trailed 70-66 midway through the period. Washington led 86-73 after three. The Wizards were ahead 100-79 with 6:07 to play, but Philadelphia scored 13 straight to trail by eight with 2:26 left. Washington didnt make a field goal for more than eight minutes in the fourth quarter. Wittman substituted for his starters, but after the bench played poorlyy, the starters came back in to stabilize things.dddddddddddd "Youre always on audition," Wittman told his bench. "Those guys got to learn. Guys that want to play or think they should be in rotations better show me out there where it counts." While the Wizards are 20-20 and hope to reach the halfway point of their season a game over .500, the Sixers are 13-28. Expectations were low when the season began, but Philadelphia won its first three over Miami, Washington and Chicago. With more than three weeks until the league pauses for the All-Star game, coach Brett Brown is still hopeful his team can improve. "Youre getting ready for spring break, and everybodys going to Fort Lauderdale, and theres a time where you can dig in pre-All-Star break and finish this middle third of the season with some grunt," Brown said before the game. In his rookie season, Carter-Williams said it was hard to sometimes stay with it. "Ive never played this long of a season so Im learning each and every day and Im going through it a little bit. My body is tired a little bit, mentally Ive got to stay strong," Carter-Williams said. Carter-Williams was 13 for 22 from the field, had six rebounds and five assists as he tried to keep Philadelphia competitive. "He felt the need to take the game and try and put us back in a position where we could inch our way back in it, and he did," Brown said. NOTES: Wizards swingman Glen Rice was assigned to Iowa of the D-League. Rice had right wrist surgery last month, and coach Randy Wittman said that he needs some playing time and could return to the team during its upcoming four-game road trip, which begins on Friday. ... Sixers G Tony Wroten is out with a sprained right ankle. Brown refused to estimate how long he will be sidelined. Wroten sustained the injury on Saturday in Chicago. ... Philadelphia F Brandon Davies missed the game with a dislocated right pinkie. ... Washington F Trevor Booker was out with a sprained left ankle. ... Adam Silver, who will succeed David Stern as NBA commissioner next month, sat with Wizards owner Ted Leonsis. ' ' '