Howard dominant, Rockets roll past Pistons 114-97 (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVvEC1aYTuPaXaP6hNR5Ng6j3of-4s6ww-TVsygTR8DjZ1LnRimq_mmAS98jD5b05mTlgGnlXrMKlqV7zS3MyyrqfzSHa3pAXijy_XIv7TWnYkUgyvT0dPjB5muQYZfnYHpmB1RMmsds/s1600/201312211943709916166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVvEC1aYTuPaXaP6hNR5Ng6j3of-4s6ww-TVsygTR8DjZ1LnRimq_mmAS98jD5b05mTlgGnlXrMKlqV7zS3MyyrqfzSHa3pAXijy_XIv7TWnYkUgyvT0dPjB5muQYZfnYHpmB1RMmsds/s320/201312211943709916166.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_5654" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="8" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3818" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Dwight Howard</a> had 35 points and 19 rebounds, leading the short-handed <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team" data-rapid_p="9" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/hou" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Houston Rockets</a>to a 114-97 victory over the <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team" data-rapid_p="10" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/det" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Detroit Pistons</a> on Saturday night.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_5641" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Rockets also were without Jeremy Lin, who has been bothered by back spasms, and they lost guard <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="18" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4647" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Patrick Beverley</a> to a fractured right hand.In one of his best games since joining the Rockets in the offseason, Howard dominated <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="16" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/5015" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Andre Drummond</a>, Detroit's promising 20-year-old big man, and helped Houston control the game despite the absence of star guard <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="17" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4563" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">James Harden</a>, who was out with a sprained right ankle.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Josh Smith scored 19 points for the Pistons.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">It was the most points Howard has scored as a member of the Rockets. He went 13 of 18 from the field.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Detroit blew a 20-point lead and allowed 72 points in the second half of Friday's loss to Charlotte. The Pistons again struggled defensively against Houston, especially against Howard.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediasportsmatcharticlescore_container"><div class="yom-mod yom-app yom-scores yom-sports-match-score yom-sports-scorething js" id="mediasportsmatcharticlescore" style="border: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); color: #f0f0f0; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 10px; zoom: 1;"><div class="hd" style="color: black; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0px; position: relative; text-transform: capitalize; zoom: 1;"><h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Sat, Dec 21, 2013</h3></div><div class="bd" style="color: black; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; min-width: 280px; padding: 0px; zoom: 1;"><div class="yom-sports-scorething-day"><table class="nba boxes" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px !important; margin: 0px auto; width: 280px;"><tbody class=" final game link" data-index="0" data-url="/nba/houston-rockets-detroit-pistons-2013122108/" style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><tr class="team away winner" style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><th class="" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 3px 8px 1px; width: 140px;"><span class="logo yom-logo-nba large hou" style="background-color: #cc1144; background-image: url(http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/sports/images/team-logos/sprites/nba-40-1550761.png); background-position: -1040px 0px; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 40px; margin-right: 3px; vertical-align: middle; width: 40px;"></span><span style="color: #3f3f3f; display: inline-block; float: left; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 13px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 92px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Houston</span></th><td class="score" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right; width: 1px;"><span style="border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; color: #3f3f3f; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px 10px 11px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">114</span></td><td class="links" colspan="1" rowspan="2" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 5px;"><span class="meta" style="color: #888888; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a class="no-pjax" data-rapid_p="19" data-ylk="lt:s;sec:mod-sch;slk:game;itc:0;ltxt:;tar:sports.yahoo.com;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/houston-rockets-detroit-pistons-2013122108/" style="color: #888888; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Final</a></span></td></tr><tr class="team home " style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><th class="" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px 8px 3px; width: 140px;"><span class="logo yom-logo-nba large det" style="background-color: #046ab4; background-image: url(http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/sports/images/team-logos/sprites/nba-40-1550761.png); background-position: -280px 0px; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 40px; margin-right: 3px; vertical-align: middle; width: 40px;"></span><span style="color: #3f3f3f; display: inline-block; float: left; line-height: 20px; margin: 13px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 92px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Detroit</span></th><td class="score" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: right; width: 1px;"><span style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; color: #3f3f3f; font-size: 22px; padding: 15px 10px 11px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">97</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Drummond looked overmatched as Howard scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the first half. Houston led 61-53 at the half and 86-71 after three quarters.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Drummond's tip-in made it 92-82, but Howard responded by simply backing Drummond down again for two more points.<a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="20" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3949" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Francisco Garcia</a>'s 3-pointer put the Rockets up 97-84.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Pistons shot 1 of 12 from 3-point range, and they also missed a number of shots inside from point-blank range. Houston lost Friday at Indiana in a 114-81 rout, but the Rockets overcame all their injury problems against Detroit.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Chandler Parsons scored 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting for Houston, and Garcia added 16 points starting in place of Harden. Omri Casspi and Aaron Brooks had seven assists each off the bench.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Drummond finished with nine points, although he blocked four shots. Brandon Jennings had eight points and 10 assists for Detroit before being ejected with 2:10 to go. After a foul call, a clearly frustrated Jennings tossed the ball away for one technical foul, then earned another for arguing.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_5666" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">NOTES: Detroit was averaging an NBA-best 51.5 points in the paint coming into the game, while Houston was third at 49.2. The teams finished tied at 62 in that department Saturday. ... The Rockets began the fourth quarter by going 8 of 9 from the field. ... Howard scored 33 points in a Nov. 20 loss at Dallas. ... Beverley scored 10 points in the first half but didn't play in the second.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_5666" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">YAHOO NEWS</div></div>

Howard dominant, Rockets roll past Pistons 114-97 (BLOG)

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) --  Dwight Howard  had 35 points and 19 rebounds, leading the short-handed  Houston Rockets to a 114-97 victory ove...

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