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HOUSTON -- Los Angeles coach Mike DAntoni paid a lot of attention to former Lakers centre Dwight Howard down the stretch. 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. Chicago Cubs Jerseys . - For a general manager who preaches building through the draft, Reggie McKenzie has struggled to find impact players his first two years in Oakland. Ron Santo Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (4) – He had a strong game Sunday; was very good in tight with big saves on Crosby, Malkin and Neal in-crease. http://www.cubsauthentic.com/cubs-jason-heyward-jersey/ . -- The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Brandon Lyon that includes an invitation to their big league camp for spring training. Yu Darvish Jersey . -- John Fox will coach the Denver Broncos from the sideline and not the booth upon his return Sunday five weeks after heart surgery. David Ross Jersey .C. United on Wednesday night. Forward Bright Dike scored the games only goal in the 85th minute on a foggy night in Bradenton, Fla.LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Andrew Wiggins is finding it hard to be everybodys Super Bowl. That was the way that Kansas coach Bill Self described the up-and-down season of his talented freshman forward. One day, Wiggins will be pouring in 26 points against Florida, the next day he will be struggling to get his shot off against UTEP. Its already been a season of growing pains for the No. 1 recruit in last years class, and while the eighth-ranked Jayhawks are starting to soar, Wiggins is still searching for his stride. "Hes so naive in so many ways," Self said. "I dont think he thinks about the fact hes everybodys Super Bowl when they have a chance to play against him. "Weve told him," Self said, "but I dont think hes felt that yet." After easily knocking off No. 24 Baylor on Monday night, Kansas (14-4, 5-0) has roared to five straight wins and first place in the Big 12. The last four of them have come against Top 25 teams, making the Jayhawks the first to accomplish that feat since North Carolina in 1997. Wiggins has been a big part of that success, of course. He scoredte, and poured in 17 against Iowa State and Baylor. But he also was held to nine points on 2-of-9 shooting against Oklahoma, and a season-low three points against Oklahoma State. Taken together, those are solid numbers for just about any freshman in America. Wiggins isnt just any other freshman. Ever since successfully dueling with Duke star Jabari Parker at a summer tournament, Wiggins has been anointed the next big thing. NBA scouts have flocked to Allen Fieldhouse to see him -- there were 28 in attendance last Saturday, when the Jayhawks knocked off the Cowboys. And hes done enough to prove that he could have a big future in the professional ranks. But hes also left many of those scouts, his coaches and just about every fan who has filed into the Phog hungry for more. "I think hes done well," Self said. "I also think theres another step he can take. He leaves me wanting more, so when people say certain things, I cant be upset. I want more, too." Self has tried to treat Wiggins like anybody else, in part to temper some of the otherr-worldly expectations.ddddddddddddThe prized forward has only done two one-on-one interviews with the media -- one of them with The Associated Press in December -- since the start of the season, and unless he has a big performance, Wiggins generally isnt made available to reporters following games. "Its a no-win, everything lose situation," Self said. "Theres no way to live up to the hype." When he does have a chance to speak, Wiggins has acknowledged that he didnt expect college basketball to be so hard. Players are bigger and stronger, faster and more athletic. There are no nights off, especially with Kansas playing the nations toughest schedule. "Yeah, I think so," Wiggins said, when asked whether hes starting to figure things out. "Im trying to be more aggressive right now, driving to the basket, getting good shots." Self said that some of the criticism levelled at Wiggins is unfair. After all, his stats -- 15.2 points, 6.1 rebounds per game -- are similar to those of Ben McLemore, who was the seventh overall pick in the draft after his only season playing in Lawrence. Then theres this difference: Wiggins will turn 19 next month, while McLemore had to redshirt a season and was two years older than Wiggins during his own freshman season. "Its just a different world," Self said. "These kids are entering school with the hype and in a lot of ways hes handled it beautifully in how hes deflected it, but in some ways he hasnt understood or we havent done a good job of explaining to him, because of the society and the media hype, if you dont produce, youre going to be the most talked-about person." Self would be fine if Wiggins is the most talked-about person at Kansas, of course, provided its for his accomplishments rather than his shortcoming. "So many times people get hung up on overall stats and things like that," Self said. "Hes just young, and with all the hype coming in, anything he did was going to be less than what the hype said he should do. And the bottom line is he figured it out, and hes playing his natural position, and hes learning to impact the game more and more." 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