HOUSTON -- Los Angeles coach Mike DAntoni paid a lot of attention to former Lakers centre Dwight Howard down the stretch. Wes Schweitzer Jersey . He needed to get the ball out of the hands of Houston Rockets guard James Harden and figured the best way to do that was with the "Hack-a-Howard" defence. The strategy worked perfectly with Howard missing seven late free throws to allow the Lakers to keep it close before Steve Blake hit a wide-open 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to lift them to a 99-98 victory Thursday night. "I think it went real well because we took Harden out of the game," DAntoni said. Howard spurned the Lakers to sign an $88 million deal with Houston, joining Harden and a team that made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2009. A sombre Howard called his free throw shooting "terrible," but wouldnt concede that this loss was more difficult because it was against his former team. "Every loss hurts," said Howard, who had 15 points and 14 rebounds. "Nobody likes to lose. Its very upsetting that we lost the way we did." DAntonis decision to foul Howard was surprising because last season he said that the hack-a-whoever defence was bad for the game. "That doesnt mean youre not going to use it, if its out there," he said. "Im not crazy." Houston led by two points before Blake took the inbounds pass from Jodie Meeks and made the game-winning shot. The Rockets were disappointed they let Blake get free for the winning basket. "Guys just kind of messed up on the play," Howard said. "It happens." The Rockets had a chance to win it, but Patrick Beverleys 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the backboard. "I was in a rhythm and then they started fouling Dwight," said Harden, who scored 35 points. "It kind of slows us down. It slows our pace down and what we like to do. Good coaching." The Rockets took their first lead since the first quarter on a dunk by Chandler Parsons following a steal by Harden that made it 93-91 with about 4 minutes left. Parsons left his arms outstretched as he came down from the dunk to wild applause from the home crowd. Harden had tied it up about a minute earlier on a 3-pointer. The Lakers started fouling Howard every time he touched the ball after that, sending him to the line 12 times, but he made just five. Meeks, who led the Lakers with 18 points, made a 3-pointer with less than 2 minutes remaining to cut the lead to two. The Lakers struggled all last season amid reports that Howard and Kobe Bryant didnt get along, and were swept in the first round of the playoffs. Los Angeles could have offered him a 5-year contract worth $118 million, but he chose to make the move to Houston with a four-year deal. "He made his choice, which is good," DAntoni said of Howard. "Youve got to respect that. Hes fine and theyre going to have a great team. Youre just happy for everybody because we won." The Lakers extended their lead to 14 points on a jump shot by Chris Kaman with about 8 minutes left in the third quarter. Houston finally got its offence going after that, going on a 15-3 run to get within 74-72 with 3 minutes left in the quarter. A highlight in that span came when Howard bobbled a bad pass from Harden before getting a handle on it and spinning around to finish with a dunk. The Rockets got eight points from Jeremy Lin during that run and the Lakers had three turnovers. Wesley Johnson made a 3-pointer to cool off the Rockets, but a 3-pointer by Harden just near the end of the quarter cut the lead to 81-77. Houston shot just under 35 per cent and made just two of 13 3-point attempts in the first half. But the Rockets stayed in the game by making 18 of 27 free throws -- 25 in the second quarter alone -- before halftime. The Lakers didnt share in Houstons long-range shooting woes in the first half, hitting 11 of 14 3-point attempts. The Lakers led by 17 points early in the second quarter before Houston used a 13-5 spurt capped by seven points from Harden to cut the lead to 45-36 about 7 1-2 minutes before halftime. Hardens seven points came in just 35 seconds. He made the second of two free throws before hitting a 3-pointer seconds later. Howard got a rebound on the other end and Harden made a layup. He was fouled on the shot and made the free throw. Harden made five more free throws in the last 1:19 of the first half, but 3-pointers by Steve Nash and Meeks extended the Lakers lead to 64-50 at halftime. NOTES: Former Rockets star Tracy McGrady and current Houston Texans J.J. Watt and Andre Johnson attended the game. ... Meeks made the first four 3-pointers he attempted to tie a career-high for most 3-pointers made without a miss. Steve Bartkowski Jersey . -- With Tony Allen back, the Memphis Grizzlies were able to turn up their defence pressure and hold off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch. Takkarist McKinley Jersey . -- Ryan Millers debut for the St. http://www.atlantafalconsfootballstore.com/authentic-austin-hooper-falcons-jersey/ . Claude Noel will be the man behind the bench when the team hits the ice of the MTS Centre to begin its inaugural season.NEW YORK -- His name is already on the ball. Now Adam Silver can put his stamp on the NBA. On All-Star Saturday in New Orleans, Silver will deliver his first state of the league press conference as commissioner, a chance to tell a worldwide viewing audience how he plans to make the NBA bigger and better than it was under David Stern. Dont expect anything major. After working so closely with Stern during his 22 years at the league, Silvers fingerprints were already all over the $5.5 billion business long before he became in charge of it 10 days ago. "Im not coming in with a five-point plan," Silver told The Associated Press during an interview in his office at NBA headquarters. "Im not an outsider coming into the league. Ive been part of this league for a long time and if there was something that I thought shouldve been done markedly different than the way its done now, I think David and I would have pushed each other to do it. "My priority is the game and thats what Ill be telling people next Saturday." He has been at the NBA since 1992, overseeing the leagues entertainment empire, helping negotiate collective bargaining agreements, and on Feb. 1, he replaced Stern. He is liked by owners and respected by players, all believing Silver is the person to continue the massive growth the league saw under Stern. "Hes someone who has the same kind of feel that we have, in the sense of how can we make this pie bigger? How can we make this game bigger? Miami Heat All-Star Dwyane Wade said. "Hes going to be a good commissioner I believe. Strong in what he believes in. He was in the (CBA) meetings as well, so we know what kind of guy he is and we respect him." Silver, 51, ended up at taking Sterns old job after ignoring his advice early in his career. He laughs now when recalling the path that led to him becoming the NBA commissioner. "It never even was a consideration of working at the NBA," Silver said. "I dont think I understood what that meant. I truly stumbled into working at the NBA." Silver began his career in the legal field but was interested in transitioning to business, the same move Stern had so successfully made. So he wrote to Stern, who had worked at the same firm where Silvers father, Edward, was a lawyer. Silver had handled some media cases and was aware of Sterns accomplishments in negotiating cable TV deals. Stern gave him the number of someone to call, but the job was outside New York. Silveer wasnt interested in moving, which he explained to Stern when they spoke again. Duke Riley Jersey. "He said, Why didnt you tell me? Ive got some other ideas," Silver said. "It was happenstance," he added. "I dont think I quite understood what I was getting into at the time." He doesnt plan on changing much, insisting that he and Stern would have already made whatever changes they felt necessary. But while the NBAs international growth is frequently considered Sterns greatest achievement, Silver seems focused on boosting the games popularity in the United States. Silver has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to basketball. He attended Duke in the early 1980s before the Blue Devils became a powerhouse, when nobody camped out outside Cameron Indoor Stadium because you could just get into games with a student ID. He moved to Chicago to attend law school and began going to games with friends in the early days of Michael Jordan, before the Bulls became the biggest thing in basketball. Now Silver is following one of sports greatest commissioners. He acknowledges there will be times it will feel "lonely" without Stern there to face big decisions together, but Silver has worked so closely with Stern and been involved in so many aspects of the league that the transition should be a natural one. "Adam has been preparing for the job for a long time, he understands the business and I dont see him having much difficulty shifting into the role of commissioner," former NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter said. But Silver, designated as Sterns successor in October 2012, knows that doesnt mean it will always be easy. "I didnt have the same appreciation for what he was going through on a daily basis as the commissioner until I really thought about, What if that were I and I had to make that decision?" Silver said. "And its very different being sort of the voice in the ear of the guy making the decision as opposed to the guy making the decision." Nonetheless, he believes the league is in a good place and ready to grow. He met with executives from Facebook and Twitter while visiting Sacramento and Golden State during his first week as commissioner, seeking ways to bring the NBA to a larger audience than ever. "To me," Silver said, "the game is fantastic. The challenge is to use these new technologies and platforms to help more fans discover the game." Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Black China NFL Jerseys ' ' '