HOUSTON - James Harden wouldnt admit he was thinking about last season in Houstons first game against Portland since the Trail Blazers eliminated the Rockets from the playoffs in the first round. Juan Camilo Zuniga Jersey .Dwight Howard was certain he was.I know its kind of like a weight off his back because of what happened in the playoffs against Portland, Howard said. And (Monday) he just destroyed them.Harden scored a season-high 44 points to help the Rockets cruise to a 110-95 victory and snap a two-game skid.Last year, nah. What happened the last two games, Harden said when asked if he had a chip on his shoulder from the early playoff exit. Two losses at home is unacceptable, so we wanted to come out here and not make it a third.The Trail Blazers were without leading scorer and rebounder LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed the game with an upper-respiratory illness, and had their five-game winning streak snapped.Defensively we didnt give much resistance in the first half and they took advantage of that, coach Terry Stotts said. Offensively we turned the ball over too much and really werent able to mount any kind of legitimate comeback.Harden had 31 in the first half to help the Rockets erase an early eight-point deficit and take a 20-point halftime lead. The Blazers didnt threaten after that and Harden went to the bench for good with about 4 minutes left and Houston up 107-86.It was Hardens NBA-leading third 40-point game this season, with all of them coming this month. Harden, who leads the NBA in scoring, has had 11 games with at least 30 points this season, which also leads the league.He played really well, coach Kevin McHale said. That was about as much juice and energy that weve played with in a long time.Damian Lillard led Portland with 18 points and CJ McCollum added 17.Harden came just two points shy of his career high, set against Oklahoma City last season. He also had seven assists and five steals, while Howard added 16 points and 13 rebounds.The Trail Blazers scored eight straight points, with five coming from Lillard, to cut the lead to 84-70 midway through the third quarter. But Houston used a 9-2 run to push it to 93-72 with 2 minutes left in the period.Jason Terry hit a 3-pointer to become the third player in NBA history to make 2,000 3-pointers and push Houstons lead to 96-76 entering the fourth quarter. Ray Allen and Reggie Miller are the other players to reach the plateau.The Rockets, who lead the league in 3-pointers, made 13 on Monday night.Wesley Matthews received a flagrant foul when he knocked Donatas Motiejunas to the ground when the two were fighting for a loose ball early in the third quarter.A highlight for Harden came in the second quarter, when he drove into the lane and threw up an off-balance shot that swished through the net as he was fouled by Matthews. Harden high-fived several fans in courtside seats as Matthews jawed with officials to draw a technical foul.Harden made both free throws to leave Houston up 57-45. He had eight points in the quarter after that, including a layup at the buzzer with two defenders on him to make it 73-53 at halftime.TIP-INS:Trail Blazers: Aldridge didnt come to the arena, instead staying at the team hotel to rest. Stotts said before the game that he wasnt sure if Aldridge would be able to play on Tuesday night. ... Monday was the first time this season that Portland has allowed 10 or more 3-pointers in a game.Rockets: Terrence Jones (left leg nerve inflammation) remains out for Houston. ... Houstons 73 points were a season high a first half.NEW FACESCorey Brewer and Alexey Shved made their debuts for the Rockets after being acquired in a three-team trade on Friday. Brewer came to Houston from the Timberwolves and Shved was playing for the 76ers. Brewer had 12 points, five steals and four assists, and Shved had three points and a rebound.UP NEXTTrail Blazers: Visit Oklahoma City on Tuesday.Rockets: Visit Memphis on Friday. Carlos Bacca Jersey . Riethers apparent stamp on Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj during Saturdays Premier League match at Craven Cottage was missed by the match officials. A three-man panel of former referees reviewed the incident and all agreed that it was a sending-off offence. Cristian Zapata Jersey . -- Keith Aulie has joined the Tampa Bay Lightning.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady looked into the end zone and found his favourite receiver. Rob Gronkowski caught the ball then slammed it to the ground. The familiar spike was back after the star tight ends first touchdown of an injury-delayed season. So was the Patriots offence. Brady shook off the inconsistency of his first eight games, threw for season-highs of 432 yards and four touchdowns and led New England to a 55-31 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. "You throw it, they catch it, they run with it," he said. "It makes a good day for a quarterback." The Patriots (7-2) go into their bye week with a two-game lead in the AFC East despite playing mediocre football for most of the first half of the season. The 55 points were the most scored in an NFL game this season and the most ever against the Steelers (2-6). The Patriots 610 yards were the third most in team history and the most ever allowed by Pittsburgh. "We are going to comb through this with a fine tooth comb," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, "and those people who are lacking effort wont be playing. Its just that simple." Brady had 252 yards passing in the first half, more than in five of his other eight games. And 119 of those came on seven catches by Gronkowski in his third game since missing the first six recovering from surgeries on his left forearm and back. He finished with a career-high nine catches for 143 yards. He caught his 19-yard touchdown pass with 4:30 gone in the second quarter as the Patriots took a 14-0 lead. "It felt great out there," Gronkowski said. "It was important for us to play this way. Until now, we hadnt been clicking for all four quarters." The Steelers wasted a solid performance by Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 28 of 48 passes for 400 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. The excitement began before the game when Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester, accompanied by several teammates, carried the World Series trophy onto the field. "Im not sure exactly how it all happened today," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "Maybe we got inspiration from the Red Sox." The Patriots gained the most yards in the NFL last season but were just 18th in that category going into Sundays game. And Brady threw for just 116 yards a week earlier in a 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins. But he was sharp all day Sunday, completing 23 of 33 passes against a deefence that let receivers run free for several long receptions, including a 57-yarder to Danny Amendola that set up Stephen Gostkowskis 20-yard field goal that made it 17-3. Santiago Arias Jersey. Brady threw scoring passes of 34 yards to Amendola, and 17 and 81 yards to Aaron Dobson, while Stevan Ridley rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns as part of a 197-yard ground game. The Patriots led 24-10 at halftime before the Steelers tied it on their first two series of the third quarter on Roethlisbergers touchdown passes to Jerricho Cotchery of 20 and 8 yards. He added a 6-yarder to Cotchery midway through the fourth quarter that made it 41-31. But two plays after the kickoff, Brady launched a pass down the left sideline that Dobson caught at the Steelers 40 and carried into the end zone. LeGarrette Blount got the final touchdown on a 5-yard run with 2:41 left. Three Patriots had more than 100 yards receiving, Gronkowskis 143, Dobson with 130 and Amendola with 122. "Its embarrassing for our organization to give up points like that," Steelers safety Ryan Clark said. Brady "is the most accomplished quarterback of our era. Tom Brady played like Tom Brady." Roethlisberger turned the ball over twice on his first two series when he fumbled then threw an interception. "Were all angry and disappointed," Roethlisberger said, Brady "is good, so you know that your mistakes have to be limited." After Gronkowskis touchdown, Pittsburghs Shaun Suisham and Gostkowski traded field goals before Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for a 27-yard touchdown. It was the 200th touchdown pass of Roethlisbergers career, second in Steelers history to Terry Bradshaws 212. The Patriots got the ball back with 1:50 left in the half and went 77 yards on nine plays to a 1-yard scoring run by Ridley. After Cotchery tied it at 24, the Patriots took the lead for good on Gostkowskis 32-yard field goal. "When (Gronkowskis) healthy and on the field, hes tough to stop," Brady said, "Its been a process for us, but at the bye week, 7-2 is not bad and, hopefully, our best footballs ahead of us." NOTES: The Patriots scored at least 50 points for the sixth time with Brady as their starting quarterback. ... New England has 36 straight games with at least one takeaway, the current longest streak in the NFL. ... The Steelers fell to 2-6 for the first time since 2006, the season after they won the Super Bowl. Black China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts From China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys White ' ' '