oronto hosts St. Louis. Blue Jays RHP Marcus Stroman (2-0) takes on Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (6-3). ' ' '

HOUSTON -- James Harden was out with a thumb injury, and then Dwight Howard got off to a slow start. It sure looked as if it was going to be a long night for the Houston Rockets. Then everything changed in the third quarter. Howard got back on track and a pair of role players stepped up to help Houston rally for a 97-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Rockets trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before scoring 33 in the third to go on top. San Antonio used an 11-3 spurt to pull within two in the final minutes, but Howard and Jeremy Lin helped Houston hold on for the win. "We just kept grinding it out," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We changed a couple of things defensively and the guys kind of dug in and got stops." Howard had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Houston, which enjoyed a 55-39 advantage on the glass. Terrence Jones scored 21 points and Lin added 18 points and eight assists while starting in Hardens spot. Harden, who leads the team with 23.7 points a game, was out with a bruised left thumb. "I know I missed a lot of shots early," Howard said. "I didnt lose focus. I got a little frustrated because I wanted to make those shots, especially against Tim (Duncan). But I just tried to stick with it and show the team that no matter what Im going to battle." Boris Diaw scored a season-high 22 points for the Spurs, and he also had 11 rebounds. Tony Parker added 17 points and Duncan had 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Houston was clinging to a 90-88 lead with less than two minutes left when Howard had a dunk and Lin made a jumper. Duncan had a layup on the other end, but Lin sunk a pair of free throws to secure the victory. Houston has won all three meetings with the Southwest Division-leading Spurs to secure the season series for the first time since 1996-97. They have one scheduled game left on April 14 in Houston. San Antonios 90-point performance ended a streak of 15 straight games with at least 100 points and sent the Spurs to consecutive losses for the first time this season. The last time they were held below 100 was a 111-98 loss to Houston on Christmas Day. The Spurs got within six on a hook shot by Diaw early in the fourth quarter. Lin then scored five quick points to extend Houstons lead to 81-70. Houston was up by four points with four minutes left in the third quarter when San Antonio resorted to the "Hack-a-Howard" defence, fouling the centre every time the Rockets got the ball. Howard made 13 of 25 foul shots on the night, leaving him at 52.2 per cent from the line for the season. "I figured they were going to do it," he said. "Im just glad I made most of them." Duncan lamented that the tactic backfired for the Spurs. "Thats what he had to do to get us out of it," Duncan said. "He made free throws and he hurt us with them." The Spurs employed the strategy on eight straight possessions, with Howard making 10 foul shots while they had six points as Houston extended its lead to 70-62. Diaw made a jump shot at the end of the third quarter to cut Houstons lead to 72-64 entering the fourth. The Rockets opened the second half with an 11-2 run, capped by a two-handed dunk by Howard, to take their first lead of the game at 50-48. Lin started the run with a 3-pointer and also had two free throws in the surge. Manu Ginobili made four free throws for San Antonio before Houston scored six straight points to take a 56-52 lead. Ginobili and Chandler Parsons then exchanged rim-rattling dunks in rapid succession. The 36-year-old Ginobili injured himself on his jam and was soon limping and holding his upper left leg. He remained in the game for a bit before walking off the court and into the locker room at the next timeout. The team said he had tightness in his left hamstring. He missed time earlier this month with the same problem. San Antonio led by 10 points in the second quarter before Howard made his first basket of the night after starting the game 0 for 8. The bucket was the first of five straight points for Howard with San Antonios only points in that stretch coming on a layup by Marco Belinelli, helping Houston close to 46-39 at halftime. Houston struggled early without Harden and San Antonio jumped to a 9-0 lead thanks to five points from Diaw. The Spurs pushed the lead to 21-6 with about five minutes left in the first. NOTES: Harden injured his thumb in Houstons last game at Memphis on Saturday. ... Diaw has scored at least 10 points 20 times this season. Adidas Tennis Hu Kopen . JOHNS, N. Yeezy Boost 700 Bestellen . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. http://www.nmdbelgie.com/kopen-yeezy-boost-350-v3-sale.html . They all do actually — Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 22, 2014There is no confirmation that the date is actually happening, but that didnt stop Embiid from getting dressed up. Fresh cut..... Getting ready for dinner http://t.co/NNIfKyZQzx — Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 23, 2014 Almost 930.. Adidas NMD R2 Heren . -- Albert Pujols is thrilled to have a reason to forget about his first two disappointing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. Adidas Alphabounce Kopen . JOHNS, N.DETROIT -- John Gibbons was all smiles in the visiting managers office after his Toronto Blue Jays wrapped up yet another sweep of one of the American Leagues most successful teams. "Were feeling good right now," Gibbons said. "Were confident, and were playing good baseball. Were rolling." Juan Francisco and Brett Lawrie hit consecutive home runs in the sixth inning off Justin Verlander, and the Blue Jays completed their first series sweep of the Detroit Tigers since 2004 with a 7-3 victory Thursday. The AL East-leading Blue Jays have won 19 of 23, including sweeps of defending champion Boston, AL West-leading Oakland and AL Central-leading Detroit. "Its a great atmosphere -- weve got a lot of positivity in here," Lawrie said. "Everyone likes to have fun, and everybodys comfortable with one another." J.A. Happ (5-2) allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings for Toronto. Casey Janssen got the final out for his 10th save in 11 chances. He needed only one pitch to retire Nick Castellanos on a line drive to left with two on. Melky Cabrera also homered for the Blue Jays. Verlander (6-5) allowed six runs -- five earned -- and eight hits in seven innings. He walked four and struck out four. Toronto scored three runs each in the fourth and sixth. "My fastball was great today, but I just missed some off-speed pitches," Verlander said. "If I execute those four or five pitches, this would have been a fantastic game. I feel like Im turning the corner with the mechanical adjustments Ive made. I know the results dont reflect that, but I felt great out there." With the score tied at 3, Adam Lind drew a leadoff walk in the sixth. Francisco followed with a homer to right, and Lawries drive to left made it 6-3. "Against a guy like that, you cant really be on your heels," said Lawrie, who did not have an at-bat against Verlander before Thursday. "Youve got to be ready to go.dddddddddddd Worked a couple good at-bats against him today, and ended up putting one in play, and it ended up being big for us." It was the 10th homer of the season for both Francisco and Lawrie. Toronto has hit a major league-leading 87. The Blue Jays won despite the absence of slugger Edwin Encarnacion, who missed the game with a back issue. The Tigers are still in first place, but they should no longer feel too comfortable after dropping 13 of their last 17. The last time Detroit endured a 4-13 stretch spanned the end of the 2010 season and the beginning of 2011, according to STATS. In 2011, of course, the Tigers began a streak of three straight division titles theyre now hoping to extend. Detroit scored twice in the third and once in the fifth, but the Blue Jays had an answer each time. Ian Kinsler opened the scoring for Detroit with an RBI triple and scored on Torii Hunters sacrifice fly. But Jose Bautista led off the fourth with a flyball that Hunter and centre fielder Austin Jackson each seemed to expect the other to catch. Hunter ended up trying to make the play at the last second, and the right fielder was charged with a two-base error. The Blue Jays eventually loaded the bases with one out, and Dioner Navarro hit an RBI single. Erik Kratz followed with a two-run single to put Toronto ahead. Kinsler tied it in the fifth with an RBI groundout, but Toronto took the lead back for good the following inning. Cabrera capped the scoring with a solo shot in the ninth, and he has 10 homers on the season as well. NOTES: Castellanos had three hits. ... Bautista extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a first-inning single. ... Detroit hosts the Red Sox on Friday night. The Tigers send LHP Drew Smyly (2-4) to the mound against Boston RHP Rubby De La Rosa (1-0). ... Toronto hosts St. Louis. Blue Jays RHP Marcus Stroman (2-0) takes on Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (6-3). ' ' '