seeing if some of those guys emerge as bigger pieces, said Bowman. Right now, theyre not really carrying the load, its our main guys doing that. But as we go along, I expect them to improve. I look forwar

SAN ANTONIO -- When the San Antonio Spurs finally stopped James Harden, his Houston Rockets teammates came through on defense.Harden had a triple-double with 24 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds, and Houston made two late defensive stands to hold off San Antonio 101-99 on Wednesday night, handing the Spurs their third straight home loss.It was important for us, Harden said. The only way were going to get to where we want to go is on the defensive end. The game wasnt pretty at all, but defensively we got stops.Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points for the Spurs but missed his final two shots, either of which could have tied the game. After Leonard missed a layup in the final seconds, LaMarcus Aldridge missed a tip-in attempt at the buzzer.Aldridge finished with 14 points and five rebounds.It was a good play called, Leonard said of his last shot. I got to the paint, got a shot off, just didnt fall. (Aldridge) had a good chance, it just fell short, but well take that again.Leonard made 11 shots on a career-high 26 field goal attempts.San Antonio extended its longest skid at home since dropping three straight overtime games in December 2014. The Spurs did not lose at home last season until April 11 against Golden State and tied an NBA record by finishing 40-1 at the AT&T Center.Its tough to win in this building, Rockets forward Ryan Anderson said. Theyre a team that obviously has some great players. To get a win in here, youve got to be happy.The Spurs used a rotation spearheaded by Leonard and Danny Green to defend Harden, but found little success.Harden set an aggressive tone early with nine points, six assists and three rebounds in the first quarter.Hes always been a great passer, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. He has the ball in his hands a lot more as the point guard. He is one of the best players in the league. Very difficult to guard.When Harden wasnt draining jumpers and tossing in runners, he kicked the ball out to open teammates after drawing multiple defenders on his drives.The Rockets were 10 for 30 on 3-pointers and shot 47 percent overall in snapping a four-game skid at San Antonio.Anderson was 4 for 6 on 3-pointers and had 20 points. Eric Gordon scored 15 and fellow reserve Sam Dekker added 12.Coach is liable to call anybody and guys stepped up, Harden said. Dekker hit some big shots.The Spurs sat Pau Gasol the entire second quarter in favor of a quicker lineup and it helped them erase a 13-point deficit to take a 51-50 lead.San Antonio employed the same strategy late in the third to pull within a point twice, but could not overcome the Rockets even when Harden struggled.He missed his final three shots as well as a pair of free throws and committed a turnover in the final 3 minutes, yet Houston was able to win with defense.They had my back, Harden said. But those turnovers, those cant happen consistently, or two missed free throws.TIP-INSRockets: Harden had his streak of four straight games with at least 30 points and 12 assists snapped. ... Houston played seven of its first eight games on the road. The last team to open with such an arduous schedule was Cleveland in 1970-71. ... Corey Brewer started his second straight game. Gordon started the teams first six games.Spurs: Tony Parker missed his third consecutive game with a sore right knee. Popovich expects Parker to play Friday at home against Detroit or Saturday in Houston. ... Manu Ginobili joined Rashard Lewis as the only second-round draft picks in NBA history with 13,000 career points and at least 1,300 3-pointers. Ginobili is the 15th second-rounder to reach 13,000 points. ... Green became the sixth player with at least one 3-pointer in 300 games for the Spurs. Parker, Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Matt Bonner and Sean Elliott are the others.GOOD FITHardens move to point guard has paid off for the Rockets, who are tied with the Spurs atop the Southwest Division at 5-3.Hes scoring a bundle and getting about 10 assists a game, Popovich said. I think anybody would take that. Thats pretty darn good.DANNY BOYGreen made his season debut for San Antonio, scoring eight points in his return from a strained left quadriceps. He missed his first 3-point try but drained his second from the right corner and finished 2 for 8 on 3s.I thought Danny was great, Popovich said. He hit big shots. He drove it a few times. He played good defense. I thought he looked really good.UP NEXTRockets: Host San Antonio on Saturday.Spurs: Host Detroit on Friday.Mike Quick Youth Jersey . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. Herman Edwards Womens Jersey . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Womens-Andre-Dillard-Inverted-Jersey/ .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. DeSean Jackson Womens Jersey . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Ron Jaworski Jersey . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start.You know what they say about best-laid plans. But, all things being equal, this could be a different kind of season for the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks when it comes to the trade deadline.Stan Bowman has been among the more creative and aggressive GMs during his time in Chicago. He always is looking to plug holes in his contending squad, spending a first-round pick last season to get rental Andrew Ladd, or a first-round pick the year before that for Antoine Vermette and a second-rounder for Kimmo Timonen.But Chicago will host the draft in June, and this time around Bowman is very reluctant to move his top draft picks.Were trying to make it a big event, and everyone [here] is excited about hosting it, Bowman told ESPN.com on Friday. So from that perspective, were probably going to try to hang on to those picks. Now, anything is possible. But its unlikely that I would be moving the early picks in the draft.The Blackhawks have 10 picks for the 2017 draft, including three in the fifth round and two in the sixth -- plus all of their normal slots.We did that on purpose. We do have a lot; we want to make a splash out of it, said Bowman. Hopefully it will work out well. I dont know if its a great draft; early returns are mixed on it. But there are always players in the draft.All of which means that Bowman doesnt plan on his normal trade-deadline plan of action.As far as the deadline goes, well still be creative and look at things, but the other side of it is, we just dont have any cap space, said Bowman. I dont envision us having any [cap space], like Im not planning on us shedding any players. If theres injuries, I suppose ...Theres also this: For the first time in a while, the current Blackhawks have a real injection of youth. Perhaps Chicagos late-season boost will come from within that group.We have six first-year players on our team, said Bowman. Im looking more at those players being better players in the spring than they are now, just through playing 60-70 games in the league. I think were going to be improving from within more so than we are adding from outside. I like that part of it. I like the excitement of having Nick Schmaltz or Ryan Hartman?or Tyler Motte or [Vincent] Hinostroza; those guys are doing pretty well right now. We havent given them big responsibility yet, but I think as we go along were looking at that sort of as our internal improvement, so to speak.First-year defensemen?Michal Kempny and Gustav Forsling have also helped shore up Chicagos blue line. I wwould argue that this is Chicagos deepest defensive corps in years.ddddddddddddut question marks remain up front, where the Blackhawks hope some of the kids will make their mark before the end of the season to help complement their talented, veteran core. Its not that they are struggling to score; the Blackhawks are fifth in goals per game. Still, if the kids can step their game up another level in the second half, that will be a boost.I asked a veteran front office executive from a rival Western Conference team to give a scouting report on the Blackhawks four rookie forwards:Schmaltz, 20: Really talented kid, will need time to adjust, like most kids. But the beauty is the protection of?Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews?and those great veterans. Schmaltz has always been a top player, a real offensive guy. He has the potential to be a 25-goal scorer in the NHL. Hes in the ideal situation to develop there, with the veterans around him.Motte, 21: He is a legit bottom-six guy, has speed, works hard, smart. Hes a good fit for them there.Hinostroza, 22: A talented kid, good stick, good head. Hes not big, though. In my view, hes behind Schmaltz in terms of talent and growth potential, but hes intriguing.Hartman, 22: Hes always been a gritty kid, and this is a great opportunity for him. This kid will fill that gritty, energy role and hes got a decent nose for the net too. Probably a bottom-six guy, but I think hes a pretty good one.The regular season is an audition for those four rookies to grab a role.Its a matter up front of seeing if some of those guys emerge as bigger pieces, said Bowman. Right now, theyre not really carrying the load, its our main guys doing that. But as we go along, I expect them to improve. I look forward to seeing those guys grow their games. We havent had a lot of players who were going to get better during the year. Thats probably why, in the past, we went external to find ways to improve our team. But thats not really my game plan this year. Things can change, but Im looking for some growth from these guys. Hopefully one or two or three of them are going to emerge as being able to take on a bigger load as we go.A major injury or a prolonged slump certainly could change everything, and the Blackhawks do have their 2018 first-rounder to dangle if need be. But the plan in Chicago sure looks different on the trade front than most years. And thats OK. ' ' '