Aktuelles » does, by any means. How many father-son c

HOUSTON -- Before panic could set in following an awful defensive performance than many predicted would be common given their roster construction, the Houston Rockets delivered on Friday night a performance that produced a measure of redemption.In their 106-98 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center in Dallas, the Rockets (1-1) avoided the repeated gouging of their defense that marred their season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers two nights earlier.The teams will play again on Sunday night in Houston.The Rockets struggled to contain Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes, who poured in a career-high 31 points, and occasionally labored to limit dribble penetration and supply weakside help.But in the third quarter they allowed only 17 points and seized control of the game.We got stops, Rockets forward Ryan Anderson said. We did a good job starting the third quarter. We wanted to have a lot of energy and make this game ours, have them play our tempo. We did a great job of that.(Barnes) is a talented scorer and they have a good player in him. But Im glad that we did a good enough job of stopping everybody else and got the win.It certainly helped the Rockets cause that Dallas (0-2) played without perennial All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki, who was sidelined by an illness but is expected to return when the teams square off again on Sunday night at Toyota Center.Also serving the Rockets well was the second-half commitment to a hastened pace, with the shift in tempo providing the offensive spark needed to complement the defense.With the Rockets clinging to a 67-65 lead, guard James Harden drilled three consecutive 3-pointers to push the advantage to 10 points and set a comfortable cushion for the remainder of the game.Pace will serve as a hallmark for the Rockets this season. Their constant adherence to it is a necessary aspect for their success.Harden finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, while Rockets forward Trevor Ariza scored a team-high 27 points on 5-for-7 3-point shooting.One of the problems early in this game is we didnt have pace to our offense, Rockets coach Mike DAntoni said. And once James picked up the pace for himself and the team, he got off and that helped us a lot.While the sample size of two games shouldnt merit too much concern, Dallas must be mindful of its exposed perimeter defense.The Indiana Pacers torched the Mavericks behind the arc in the opener for both teams earlier this week, hitting on 10 of 19 3-point shots. The Rockets followed suit with 15-of-32 shooting from behind the arc.Having allowed two opponents to make 25 of 51 3-pointers grabbed the Mavericks attention and set in motion a specific focus for the rematch.Weve just got to do a better job with communication, Barnes said to Mavs.com. You know, we either got too sucked into the paint or guys were over helping. And with a team like this, they shoot a lot of threes.If you let one guy get going, then you start reacting to him and theyre getting wide-open dunks. So, well have to look at some tape before Sunday. Cheap Nike Shoes China Free Shipping . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Nike Shoes Outlet China . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. http://www.chinashoesnike.com/ . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Buy Nike Shoes China . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. Nike Shoes Cheap China .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. INDIANAPOLIS -- Bump Day at Indianapolis followed the script. No surprises, no drama and no drivers getting bumped. On a day devoid of tension and rumours, all nine drivers who made attempts on the second and final day of Indianapolis 500 qualifications made it into the 33-car field, led by two young Americans -- Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal -- who easily had the two fastest cars on the track. "I dont want to sound too confident, but I knew we would be fine," Newgarden said after delivering the days best qualifying run at 225.731 mph. "I think we would have been OK yesterday if we would have had another shot at it." The lone twist might have come if Mexicos Michel Jourdain Jr. actually made a qualifying attempt to get in the race. But after failing to top 220 mph in practice, the discouraged Jourdain had his car towed back to Gasoline Alley. That left it up to Newgarden, the Tennessee native, and Rahal, the son of a former 500 winner, to captivate the fans. Newgardens chance came after he failed to get a second shot to make it in Saturday when he sitting in qualifying line as the gun sounded at 6 p.m. He had to wait another 18 hours and this time, he left no doubt that he belonged. His qualifying speed from Sunday would have been good enough for 21st, the outside of Row 7, if it happened a day earlier. Instead, hell start 25th, the inside of Row 9. Rahal struggled all week -- and not just because he was using a Honda engine. The nine drivers in the first three rows of the three-car, 11-row grid are all powered by Chevrolets. The top Honda qualifier was Canadian Alex Tagliani, the 2011 Indy pole-sitter. Hell start 11th, the middle of Row 4, after going 227.386. Rahal, who drives for his father, Bobby, couldnt quite get his car right. But when it mattered Sunday, Rahal easily made it in with an average speed of 225.007 to claim the No. 26 starting spot -- the middle of Row 9. "Ive certainly had better (weeks), Ive certainly had some that were more challenging," Rahal said after locking up his sixth straight Indy start. "But there have been some mysteries behind a lot of our speed problems. I think the first few days people thought we were being extremely slow, but really we were just being really conservative." They were the lucky ones. Conor Daly, Buddy Lazier and Katherine Legge spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out how to get more speed -- if they had to re-qualify their cars. Daly had a tough week. After flying back from two races in Spain, the airline lost his HANS device, and after Thursdays crash A.J. Foyts crew had to rebuild Dalys car. They were working overtime again Saturday night after Dalys first qualifying attempted was derailed by puffs of smoke coming out of the rear end of the No. 41 car. But the 21-year-old rookie from suburban Indy returned to the 2.5-mile oval Sunday and put his car on the inside of Row 11 with an average of 223.582. "I have to thank the crew for all theyve done," Daly said. "I think they had the car apart at least 15 times after the crash and the problemss we had (Saturday)," Daly said.dddddddddddd. "We got the engine back at about 8:30 last night and they worked late getting it back in." The first nine drivers all qualified on their first attempts, assuring race organizers of a full field. Nobody else even made an attempt. Jourdain Jr. tried everything. Nothing worked, making it the second straight bumpless Bump Day. His decision not to go out eased the tension for Legge, who was hired Saturday by Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and was sitting in line ready to re-qualify when Jourdains car was towed back to Gasoline Alley. The British driver will start on the outside of Row 11 after going 223.176. The days biggest scare came with about 30 minutes to go in practice when Team Penske driver Will Power tapped the wall with his right rear tire. The yellow flag came out briefly but Power was not injured. Fans still had plenty to root for. There was Newgarden, the hotshot 22-year-old who drives for Sarah Fisher, a local favourite; Rahal, the 24-year-old with the familiar last name; and Daly, the new kid on the block with deep ties to the speedway. They also wanted to see if Lazier, the 1996 race winner, would qualify for the first time since 2008. He didnt make it onto the track until late this week, struggled to find speed and got bumped Saturday. He came back Sunday and was the first driver to qualify, getting his fathers No. 91 car into the field with a run at 223.442. Hell start 32nd. The Laziers will be one of three father-son teams starting next weeks race -- joining the Rahals and Michael and Marco Andretti. Organizers believe that is a track record and its already causing quite a stir. "The Rahal name, its a nice perk around here," Graham Rahal said before adding fuel to his budding rivalry with the younger Andretti. "I certainly dont get the pressure that an Andretti does, by any means. How many father-son combos have won it? I think one, right? Andretti cant do that, so, that would be one more that wed get on them." Other notable facts about this years field include: --Scotlands Dario Franchitti and Brazils Helio Castroneves will try to become the first foreign-born four-time winners in Indy history. Three Americans -- A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears -- have won four times. This will be the first time since 1987 that two three-time winners will start the race. Castroneves qualified eighth. Franchitti will start 17th. --Britains Pippa Mann and Brazils Ana Beatriz, of Dale Coyne Racing, will be the first women teammates in Indy history. Mann will make her first start since being injured in the 2011 crash that killed Dan Wheldon and will start 30th. Beatriz will start 29th. Legge and Switzerlands Simona de Silvestro also qualified, giving the race four women starters. --Carlos Munoz, who qualified second Saturday, will be the first rookie to start on the front row since Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000. Both are from Colombia, and Munoz is leading the Firestone Indy Lights series in points. --Daly will be the youngest rookie to start the 500 since Rahal in 2008. ' ' '