(SportsNetwork. Thomas Vermaelen Jersey .com) - It appears both the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls will reach the playoffs, but the two squads are coming off losing efforts. Watch the Rockets vs. Bulls live tonight on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Something has to give when the Rockets pay a visit to the Bulls Thursday night at the United Center. The Rockets opened a tough three-game road trip with Tuesdays 106-98 loss at Oklahoma City, as James Harden netted 28 points and Chandler Parsons added 19. Dwight Howard was limited to nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Houston, which had a five-game winning streak stopped and fell to 18-13 on the road. The Rockets missed several opportunities to keep their winning streak intact. "We missed 15 layups out there," said Houston head coach Kevin McHale. "We went in there soft tonight. We didnt attack the rim." The Rockets are fourth in the Western Conference standings, one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers and four off the top seed. Houston will close the trip Sunday afternoon in Miami. Meanwhile, the Bulls will continue their quest for a playoff spot and a six- game homestand versus the Rockets. Chicago has alternated results in the last six games and dropped to 1-2 on the stay with Tuesdays 104-96 loss to San Antonio. Chicago was down 38-14 after the first quarter and a second-half surge fell short. "Theres nothing to take (from a game) when you get down by 30 and then make a run at the end. Weve got to get it figured out," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said. D.J. Augustin and Jimmy Butler scored 24 and 23 points, respectively, while Joakim Noah rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points to go along with eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks. The Bulls shot 42.7 percent and committed 14 turnovers. The Bulls have a 19-12 record as the host and are fourth in the East standings, 1 1/2 games behind the Toronto Raptors. They still have Sacramento and Oklahoma City slated to visit the United Center. Chicago suffered a 109-94 loss at Houston on Dec. 18 and was led by Butlers 20 points. Howard had 23 points in that one and both Harden and Parsons ended with 19 for the Rockets, who have won four in a row in this series. Houston is 7-3 in the last 10 trips to the Windy City. Pedro Rodriguez Jersey. Marie rink in the Ice Cube Curling Center, as they moved Canada up to 3-2 in the round robin by beating Denmark by a score of 7-6. Barcelona Lionel Messi Jersey . Josmil Pinto homered for the Twins, who reached double digits in runs for the third time this year. Mike Moustakas had two hits for Kansas City, which had won seven straight at Target Field. A 4-6 start to the season for Minnesota has been largely due to ineffective starting pitching.SALT LAKE CITY -- Derrick Favors is a difference-maker, rusty or not. Favours returned from a hip injury and set the tone early on his way to 20 points to help the Utah Jazz beat the Boston Celtics 110-98 on Monday night. "I felt rusty to tell you the truth but it felt good to be back out there. I made a lot of open shots and I think I did a good job defensively to help my team win," Favors said. Utah coach Ty Corbin was glad to see Favours back on the court. "He does so many good things for us on the defensive end, it really makes it easy for the other guys," said Corbin, whose team is 0-9 without his star centre. In the games Favors has missed, its easy to see the Jazz struggle to defend. Even the soft-spoken big man can see the void when hes on the sidelines. "They are a step slow on the defensive end. Usually Im the only guy who helps out when guys make mistakes. Im the guy who bails them out," Favors said. On the offensive end, Alec Burks is the guy who bails out the Jazz when the play breaks down or the shot clock nears zero. Burks scored 21 points and his instant offence helped keep the Celtics at bay but he knows Utahs limited success this season is keyed by defence. "Having that defensive anchor, that man-child down there helps us a lot," Burks said. "When we see he is also confident in his shot, it makes the whole team confident." Marvin Williams added 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting to help the Jazz break a three-game losing streak and end a six-game skid to the Celtics. Favours established himself early with four baskets in the opening quarter and bolstered Utahs leaky defence in the middle. Jeff Green and Kelly Olynyk each had 21 points for Boston, which dropped all four games on its road trip and extended its losing streak to five. The Jazz shot 55 per cent and led by as many 18 points as six players scored in double figures and featured quick ball movement against the weary Celtics. "We couldnt break their rhythm," Green said. "They kept going to the same thing, making us work. They got good looks and were making shots." Favours had three blocked shots and Jeremy Evans had a career-high four but the Celtics made 20 of 21 free throws to stay in the game. Barcelona Dani Alves Jersey. Despite a strong game from Rajon Rondo, who had 18 points and 10 assists, the Celtics dropped to 4-22 against teams from the Western Conference and 0-13 on the road. Boston has dropped 18 consecutive road games versus Western Conference opponents since a 110-107 overtime win over Utah last Feb. 25. Burks, who is averaging more than 20 points in a reserve role over the last six games, helped the Jazz finally shake the Celtics mastery over Utah. No current member of the Jazz roster was on the team was on the team when Utah last defeated Boston, 110-97 on March 10, 2010. "Were maturing as a team and Im maturing as a player. Im playing my game. I know my role," Burks said. The Celtics, who shot less than 40 per cent on the road trip, missed regular starters Jared Sullinger and Avery Bradley as the Boston offence broke down early and often. Sullinger is following the leagues protocol after suffering a mild concussion Friday, while Bradley has missed 12 of 15 games with an ankle injury. "Were just trying to keep our heads up, keep working. Were banged up," Olynyk said. Rondo passed to Kris Humphries for a jumper and then made one of his own to pull the Celtics to 59-50 to begin the second half. But Williams and Richard Jefferson countered with baskets and the Celtics couldnt again trim the lead to single digits until Jerryd Bayless made a layup to make it 103-94 with 3:18 to play. The Jazz clinched the game with a three-point play by Favours and Williams fast-break layup with 1:08 to play. The starting lineup of Richard Jefferson, Williams, Favors, Gordon Hayward (10 assists) and Trey Burke improved to 17-9 on the year. All other lineups are 3-33 for Utah. NOTES: The start of the game was delayed for 10 minutes while crews fixed the remote-controlled camera perched atop one of the shot clocks. ... Tennis great John McEnroe sat courtside and hit balls into the crowd during a timeout. ... Favours used the ballboys mop to get a ball down that became stuck on the top of the backboard after an errant driving attempt by Bayless. NFL Jerseys Cheap China Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Jerseys NFL Cheap ' ' '
