Laberecke » Johnson also lit the lamp but Sergei Bobrovskys 38-s

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- James Harden spent the fourth quarter smiling on the Houston Rockets bench. DeMarcus Cousins finished the final period in the Sacramento Kings locker room. Their performances were just as different on the floor, too. Harden scored a season-high 43 points in three quarters, and the Rockets routed the Kings 129-103 on Tuesday night after Cousins was ejected for vehemently arguing with an official. "These are the type of wins that we need, especially late in the season, to lock down and focus," Harden said. Harden helped Houston go ahead by 25 points in the first quarter, 31 in the second and 33 in the third. He shot 11 of 20 from the floor, made 15 of 16 free throws and added eight assists, three steals and two rebounds. Dwight Howard left briefly after banging his right knee but returned to finish with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Chandler Parsons had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who have won 10 of their last 11 games. "You get a big lead early youre always a little concerned about keeping everybodys interests. They did a nice job," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. Cousins had 16 points and six rebounds for the Kings before needing to be restrained after getting ejected in the third quarter. He picked up his NBA-leading 14th and 15th technical fouls. "He lost his composure, thats all I saw, and then he got thrown out of the game. Its disappointing. But to be honest, Im more disappointed about how we played," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "Do I condone his actions? No, not at all. Does he have to handle himself better? Sure he does. We just need to get him to understand that we dont need him to get kicked out of the ball game." Cousins did not speak with reporters but wrote on Twitter: "Disappointed with the way I acted out on the court tonight. I want to apologize and say sorry to my team and the fans for letting them down." Rudy Gay added 25 points and six assists, and Ben McLemore scored 15 points for a Sacramento team that looked nothing like the one that beat the Rockets twice previously this season. The teams split four games. The Rockets outshot Sacramento 56.9 per cent to 40 per cent. It was the most points the Kings had allowed all season, surpassing a 125-117 loss at Denver on Jan. 26. Sacramento was trying to win three consecutive games for only the second time all season. Instead, Harden and the Rockets turned the game into a layup line. Harden had 22 points and four assists in the first quarter to help Houston go ahead 42-17. The only downer during the run came when Howard and Cousins banged knees. Howard limped to the locker room and returned with black leggings underneath his shorts midway through the second quarter. "It still hurts. Ill just try to do whatever I can to prevent my knee from getting too stiff to where I cant play," said Howard, who hopes to start again Wednesday night at the Los Angeles Clippers. Even while Howard and Harden sat out, the Kings never halted Houstons quick-strike offence. Jeremy Lins uncontested layup gave the Rockets a 50-19 lead with 9:49 remaining before the half. Malone called timeout, and fans showered the home team with boos. Sacramento sliced Houstons lead to 69-51 at the half before Cousins completely lost his composure when the Rockets roared back in the third quarter. Officials called Cousins for a technical after he was whistled for a foul against Howard and shouted at them. Cousins picked up his fifth personal foul moments later, then got called for another technical foul -- earning an automatic ejection -- after screaming in the face of official Courtney Kirkland during a timeout. Cousins had to be held back by coaches and teammates, pointing his finger and screaming at Kirkland. He flicked his headband into the stands on his way to the locker room. If Cousins gets another technical foul this season, he will be suspended by the NBA for one game. The last two seasons Cousins has needed to have a technical foul rescinded by the league to avoid the automatic suspension that comes when a player reaches 16 technicals. NOTES: Houston hasnt lost a non-overtime game since Jan. 25 at Memphis. ... Kings G Jimmer Fredette was not at the game. The Kings and Fredette are working to complete a buyout of his contract. .... The Rockets have won all 17 games in 2014 when scoring at least 100 points. The last such loss came against Sacramento on Dec. 31, when the Kings beat the Rockets 110-106 in Houston. Rod Carew Jersey . Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the Houston Texans No. 1 pick in the draft, was on the field Tuesday for the first time with former NFL Defensive Player of the Year J. CJ Wilson Jersey . - Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors will coach the Western Conference in the All-Star Game on Feb. http://www.baseballangelslockroom.com/customized/ .J. -- Kyle Palmieri thrilled his personal rooting section with an overtime winner that sent the Anaheim Ducks to their seventh straight win. J. C. Ramirez Jersey . But its also a smart game. Theres more to the Kings than banging bodies. They take a toll mentally on their opponents. Shohei Ohtani Jersey . Raonic, the mens No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., needed more than three hours to overcome Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and become the first Canadian man into the fourth round at Roland Garros.Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyle Okposo scored the game winner in the shootout to lift the New York Islanders to a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in a thrilling back-and-forth affair. After each of the first two shooters missed, Sidney Crosby cut across the slot from the left side, made a head fake and roofed a backhander over Chad Johnson, but Frans Nielsen answered back on a similar move for the Islanders. Okposo followed a Brandon Sutter miss with a backhand-forehand move past Marc-Andre Fleury to seal the win. Ryan Strome had a goal and two assists, while Nick Leddy, Matt Martin and Nikolay Kulemin also scored for the Isles, who have won seven of their last eight games and crept within two points of first-place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division. Johnson stopped 26-of-30 shots in the victory. Nick Spaling, Blake Comeau, and Sutter lit the lamp, Patric Hornqvist tallied a goal and an assist and Evgeni Malkin supplied two helpers for the Penguins, who entered the game with wins in 10 of their last 11 games. Fleury made 31 saves in defeat. Final Score: Boston 4, Columbus 3 (SO) Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Alex Khokhlachev produced the lone goal of the shootout in the seventh round, and Boston came away with a 4-3 victory over Columbus at Nationwide Arena. Dennis Seidenberg, Matt Fraser and Daniel Paille all scored in the third period for the Bruins, who have won three in a row and eight of their last 10.dddddddddddd Niklas Svedberg stopped 25 shots in regulation and wasnt beaten in seven chances during the games final segment. Ryan Johansen totaled a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets, who have lost two straight and 11 of their last 13. Nick Foligno and Jack Johnson also lit the lamp but Sergei Bobrovskys 38-save performance was wasted. Three players forced their respective shots wide and two hit the goalpost as the shootout moved through its first six rounds. In the opener of the seventh round, Columbus Matt Calvert was turned away by Svedberg, leaving Khokhlachev to win the contest by deking Bobrovsky enough where a low shot slid through his pads and into the net. Final Score: New Jersey 2, Edmonton 0 Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - Cory Schneider started his 20th straight game and made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season, lifting the New Jersey Devils to a 2-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. Schneider surpassed Martin Brodeur for the longest start streak to open a season in franchise history. Brodeur set the previous mark with 19 consecutive starts from Oct. 6 to Nov. 2, 2001. Adam Henrique and Tuomo Ruutu each scored and Eric Gelinas tallied two assists for the Devils, who snapped a two-game skid. Viktor Fasth made 24 saves for the Oilers, who lost their fifth in a row. ' ' '