NEWS » en he broke out on the big October stage as an un

HOUSTON -- James Harden blamed the added suspense on Rockets coach Mike DAntoni.Harden made a free throw with 0.1 seconds left, lifting the Rockets over the Dallas Mavericks 93-92 in their home opener Sunday night.Harden put extra pressure on himself by missing the first of two foul shots after being fouled by Wesley Matthews on a driving layup at the buzzer with the game tied.Coach messed me up, man -- he said, `Make the first one and miss the second one, and I did the opposite, Harden said with a smile. Im just happy I made it and we came away with the win.Harden led Houston with 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, edging Matthews in a gutsy back-and-forth.After trailing by 10 entering the fourth quarter, Dallas tied it at 92 on a 3-pointer by Matthews with 4.1 seconds remaining.DAntoni was pleased with the execution on the play that won the game. Nene received the inbound pass and found a cutting Harden with a crisp bounce pass before Matthews drew his sixth foul.Thats what he does, DAntoni said. Thats why hes one of the best, and hes just so good at drawing fouls and getting in the lane.Matthews led Dallas with 25 points and J.J. Barea scored 18 points off the bench. In falling to the Rockets for the second time in three days, the Mavericks fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2011-12, the lockout-shortened season following their title.We gave ourselves a chance, and it comes down to the one play and the whistle, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. Were up against it right now in a lot of ways, but no ones backing down. Weve just got to find a way.Dallas was without Dirk Nowitzki (illness, sore Achilles tendon) for a second straight game. Nowitzki participated in pregame warmups but was a late scratch.Our margin for error is so slim, Matthews said. Were not the Golden State Warriors, were not the Cleveland Cavaliers, were not the Spurs, but were a ... good team. So weve got to minimize the stuff that we can control.Houston got strong performances from offseason additions Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Nene in their home debuts. Gordon had 14 points, Anderson had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Nene had 11 points.The Rockets capped the first and second quarters with points at the buzzer. To end the first, Corey Brewer hit a 3-pointer from 30 feet out. Harden ended the second quarter on a driving layup to put the Rockets up 63-53.Late in the third quarter, Houstons Trevor Ariza and Dallas Salah Mejri received double-technical fouls after both players fell to the floor and were tangled for a few seconds. Ariza clinched his fists before he was restrained by players.TIP-INSMavericks: Without Nowitzki, Dallas was frequently undersized but managed to hold their own in the rebounding category, with Houston edging the Mavericks 46-42. ... Starting in Nowitzkis place, Seth Curry played 23 minutes and scored no points on 0-for-3 shooting.Rockets: Houston was plagued by 17 turnovers compared to just nine turnovers from Dallas. ... Sam Dekker scored nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from 3-point range.DEFENSIVE COMPOSUREAfter the defense struggled in a 106-98 loss to Houston on Friday, Dallas allowed 63 points in the first half before holding Houston to just 17 points in the third quarter and 13 points in the fourth quarter.HOPKINS IN HOUSEHouston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins was in attendance for the game, just hours removed from his teams 20-13 win over the Detroit Lions.UP NEXTMavericks: Visit Utah on Wednesday night.Rockets: Visit Cleveland on Tuesday for the first leg of a season-long five-game road trip. Cheap Nike Free Wholesale . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Nike Free Clearance Sale . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. http://www.cheapnikefree.net/ .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. Nike Free Wholesale China . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Cheap Nike Free Sale . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. SAN FRANCISCO -- Bruce Bochy has often been bleary-eyed and exhausted going through it all this year. His once-reliable bullpen hit bump after bump and an offense that appeared so powerful way back in spring training regularly faltered when it mattered most.The Giants had the majors best record at the All-Star break but couldnt sustain it. They earned the second wild card on the seasons final day, beat the defending NL champion New York Mets then lost to baseballs hottest team Tuesday night in a four-game NL Division Series -- the 103-win Chicago Cubs.That even-year rallying cry for this club, its gone. Also gone is the remarkable 10-game winning streak in postseason elimination games, an 11-series playoff unbeaten run stopped in the process for a franchise that captured World Series championships in 2010, 12 and `14.The Cubs were too good. The Giants were too inconsistent.Its a tale of two seasons, the first half and second half, Bochy said. But I think what Ill remember is how they really bounced back and found a way to get in there, to get to the wild card and that game.Yes, this ranked among the most trying seasons yet for the 61-year-old Bochy, who completed his 10th year as San Francisco skipper and 22nd overall as a manager after having guided San Diego for the other 12. Bochy faced constant scrutiny for his clubs second-half struggles after holding the majors best record at the All-Star break (57-33).Here are some things to consider from a season that fell short:SOLID ROTATIONSan Franciscos top starters did their part, and thats a positive for Bochy going forward when he looks at his trio of aces: Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija. Trade deadline acquisition Matt Moore dazzled for eight innings in Tuesdays Game 4, striking out 10 and hitting a go-ahead single in the fourth.Rookie Ty Blach showed he will be considered for a rotation spot in 2017, earning the win with two scoreless innings in San Franciscos 6-5, 13-inning victory Monday night to stave off elimination for a day.BULLPEN BLUNDERSJavier Lopez owns four World Series rings, three with the Giants, while Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo have three apiece.A bullpen that was so good for so long during all the title runs failed to hold a 5-2 lead in the ninth inning, with five relievers unabble to end it.dddddddddddd Bochy never turned to demoted closer Casilla and Romo couldnt finish off Chicago.The flame-throwing Aroldis Chapman, whom San Francisco tried to acquire at the trade deadline, closed out the Giants this time after giving up the game a night earlier.Now, San Francisco will almost certainly go forward with new faces -- Derek Law, Steven Okert, Will Smith.The job doesnt change. You gotta get outs. I wasnt able to do that today, Romo said. They showed that theyll never give up either there at the end. For us were more in shock that just it happened, how it happened, the way it happened. We went in, pretty decent lead going in that ninth. It looked pretty good in our favor to win tonight.GILLASPIES MARKConor Gillaspie arrived at spring training with no guarantees, just a determination to be a better teammate and person in his second stint with San Francisco. He claimed he had grown up in his three years away, then he broke out on the big October stage as an unlikely postseason star.He hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning of a 3-0 wild-card win at New York last week. His catch over the railing and into the photo well in Game 162 against the Dodgers will be remembered, too. Vin Scully called it superior in his final broadcast.Gillaspie was an injury replacement to boot.INJURIESThe Giants missed two key regulars in the final two games of the series. Left fielder Angel Pagan, wrapping up a $40 million, four-year contract, sat out with back spasms and third baseman Eduardo Nunez to a strained right hamstring.NO COMEBACKIn the end, the every-other-year Giants couldnt pull off the very kind of improbable comeback that defined their championship runs in recent seasons. In 2012 against Cincinnati, the club became the first ever to rally from an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five series by winning three straight road games. San Francisco also overcame a 3-1 deficit in the NLCS that year against St. Louis.San Francisco had been nearly unbeatable with the season on the line in recent years, namely winning those 10 straight elimination games.Its crazy good, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. It just doesnt happen, thats so difficult to do. ' ' '