Boardregeln » role players stepped up to help Houston rally

MILWAUKEE -- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau favours wins over style points. Air Max Saldi Outlet . Given that two starters were getting over illness or injury and a third was lumbering through the second half with a new leg injury, Chicagos 81-72 win over the Bucks on Friday suits him just fine. Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 13 rebounds in his first game back from a right knee injury and Mike Dunleavy Jr. added 18 points for the Bulls, who won their fourth straight. Joakim Noah had eight points, 10 boards and seven assists after missing practice while feeling under the weather. "You guys are into the esthetics. Im into the wins," Thibodeau said when asked about the scratch-and-claw victory after the Bulls nearly squandered a 15-point lead. Jimmy Butler finished with 10 points and said he was fine afterward after getting hit in the thigh. The Bucks opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run to get to within three. A long jumper from Ersan Ilyasova (14 points) got the Bucks to 71-70 with 5:42 left. But the Bulls hung on, even after Boozer missed two foul shots with 3:42 left with his team up by three. The Bucks missed their final 11 shots, failing to hit after Brandon Knights bucket with 5:09 left. The Bulls havent allowed an opponent to score more than 87 in the four-game streak. "Tried to contest shots, trying to rebound, making them shoot over our hands and it worked out," Boozer said in relaying the reasons for the late defensive stand. He didnt look bothered by the sore right knee that kept him out two games. The Bucks missed two opportunities to tie it after Knight (12 points) and O.J. Mayo (16 points) misfired on open 3s on back-to-back possessions with under 3:30 left. Dunleavy answered with an off-balance layup to get the lead back to 77-72, then hit two foul shots to get to a seven-point lead with about 1 minute left. "We had some good looks but they just didnt fall for us," coach Larry Drew said. "We forced a couple down the stretch that probably werent the best selection but going down the stretch, if you make plays youll win if you dont, you wont win." After a slow start, Chicago gained traction in the third behind the bullish Boozer. With both knees heavily wrapped in ice after the game, Boozer said he felt great and made it a point to thanks the trainers. Boozer grabbed eight rebounds alone in the quarter. Larry Sanders finished with one point and nine boards before fouling out with 1:16 left in the game. He was in foul trouble most of the night in large part due to the active Boozer. Boozer rebounded a missed 3 and saved the possession just before landing out of bounds. Chicago whipped the ball around the perimeter and Jimmy Butler (10 points) hit a 3 from the wing to make it 59-47 with about 6:50 left in the third. The energy and offensive rhythm that Milwaukee had in building a seven-point lead after the first quarter disappeared in the third before re-emerging to start the fourth. But once again, the NBA-worst Bucks (7-28) fell short trying to rebound from a second-half deficit. "Everybody might be a little down as far as the season has gone for us. Weve lost a lot of close games and it is building up on us right now but you cant think about that," forward Epke Udoh said. "We just have to be ourselves and be better the next game." Foul shooting and the long-range touch of former Dunleavy, who went 3 for 3 from 3-point territory in the second quarter, helped the Bulls turn a 27-20 deficit in the first quarter into a 47-45 halftime lead. Boozer had 15 first-half points and went 7 of 8 from the foul line. NOTES: Asked if he had spoken to injured guard Derrick Rose since the trade this week of Luol Deng, coach Tom Thibodeau said the two talked about the team in general all the time. "Derricks good. Derricks good. Hes locked into his rehab, dealing with things as he should be." Rose is out for the year with a right knee injury. ... Bucks C John Henson, who missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left ankle, is expected to join the team on a two-game road trip to Oklahoma City and Toronto. Henson leads the team in rebounding (8.0 per game) and blocks (2.3). Air Max 720 Edizione Limitata . Chris Capuano. Shane Greene. And now, Esmil Rogers. Air Max 97 False . Watch all the action unfold live on TSN and TSN Mobile TV at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. You can also watch the game live with the debut of Wednesday Night Hockey on TSN.ca and chat throughout the game with TSN. http://www.airmaxshoponlineitalia.it/scontate-vapormax-outlet.html .com) - Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was named the National League Player of the Month for April.HOUSTON -- James Harden was out with a thumb injury, and then Dwight Howard got off to a slow start. It sure looked as if it was going to be a long night for the Houston Rockets. Then everything changed in the third quarter. Howard got back on track and a pair of role players stepped up to help Houston rally for a 97-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Rockets trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before scoring 33 in the third to go on top. San Antonio used an 11-3 spurt to pull within two in the final minutes, but Howard and Jeremy Lin helped Houston hold on for the win. "We just kept grinding it out," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We changed a couple of things defensively and the guys kind of dug in and got stops." Howard had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Houston, which enjoyed a 55-39 advantage on the glass. Terrence Jones scored 21 points and Lin added 18 points and eight assists while starting in Hardens spot. Harden, who leads the team with 23.7 points a game, was out with a bruised left thumb. "I know I missed a lot of shots early," Howard said. "I didnt lose focus. I got a little frustrated because I wanted to make those shots, especially against Tim (Duncan). But I just tried to stick with it and show the team that no matter what Im going to battle." Boris Diaw scored a season-high 22 points for the Spurs, and he also had 11 rebounds. Tony Parker added 17 points and Duncan had 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Houston was clinging to a 90-88 lead with less than two minutes left when Howard had a dunk and Lin made a jumper. Duncan had a layup on the other end, but Lin sunk a pair of free throws to secure the victory. Houston has won all three meetings with the Southwest Division-leading Spurs to secure the season series for the first time since 1996-97. They have one scheduled game left on April 14 in Houston. San Antonios 90-point performance ended a streak of 15 straight games with at least 100 points and sent the Spurs to consecutive losses for the first time this season. The last time they were held below 100 was a 111-98 loss to Houston on Christmas Day. The Spurs got within six on a hook shot by Diaw early in the fourth quarter. Lin then scored five quick points to extend Houstons lead to 81-70. Air Max Tn Scontate. Houston was up by four points with four minutes left in the third quarter when San Antonio resorted to the "Hack-a-Howard" defence, fouling the centre every time the Rockets got the ball. Howard made 13 of 25 foul shots on the night, leaving him at 52.2 per cent from the line for the season. "I figured they were going to do it," he said. "Im just glad I made most of them." Duncan lamented that the tactic backfired for the Spurs. "Thats what he had to do to get us out of it," Duncan said. "He made free throws and he hurt us with them." The Spurs employed the strategy on eight straight possessions, with Howard making 10 foul shots while they had six points as Houston extended its lead to 70-62. Diaw made a jump shot at the end of the third quarter to cut Houstons lead to 72-64 entering the fourth. The Rockets opened the second half with an 11-2 run, capped by a two-handed dunk by Howard, to take their first lead of the game at 50-48. Lin started the run with a 3-pointer and also had two free throws in the surge. Manu Ginobili made four free throws for San Antonio before Houston scored six straight points to take a 56-52 lead. Ginobili and Chandler Parsons then exchanged rim-rattling dunks in rapid succession. The 36-year-old Ginobili injured himself on his jam and was soon limping and holding his upper left leg. He remained in the game for a bit before walking off the court and into the locker room at the next timeout. The team said he had tightness in his left hamstring. He missed time earlier this month with the same problem. San Antonio led by 10 points in the second quarter before Howard made his first basket of the night after starting the game 0 for 8. The bucket was the first of five straight points for Howard with San Antonios only points in that stretch coming on a layup by Marco Belinelli, helping Houston close to 46-39 at halftime. Houston struggled early without Harden and San Antonio jumped to a 9-0 lead thanks to five points from Diaw. The Spurs pushed the lead to 21-6 with about five minutes left in the first. NOTES: Harden injured his thumb in Houstons last game at Memphis on Saturday. ... Diaw has scored at least 10 points 20 times this season. ' ' '