HOUSTON - James Harden loved how the Houston Rockets played in the first quarter Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. [url=http://www.footballarsenalstore.com/Women-Marc-Andre-Ter-Stegen-Ars enal-Fc-Jersey/]Marc-Andre Ter Stegen Jersey[/url] .He only wishes theyd play that way more often.

HOUSTON - James Harden loved how the Houston Rockets played in the first quarter Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen Jersey .He only wishes theyd play that way more often.Thats the beauty of this thing, Harden said. We could be so good, but at times we have mental lapses where we let teams get comfortable.Harden scored 15 of his 31 points in the first quarter and the Rockets won 112-101.The Rockets led 40-18 after one and didnt trail again to bounce back after a loss to Orlando on Wednesday night that snapped a four-game winning streak.Harden came just short of a triple-double with 10 assists and nine rebounds. Trevor Ariza added 17 points and four steals for Houston.The Thunder scored the first three points of the fourth quarter to cut it to 10, but Houston used a 12-0 run to make it 100-78 and cruise to the victory — the 200th of coach Kevin McHales career.It was the 17th 30-point game this season for Harden, who leads the NBA in scoring.Kevin Durant had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder. They have lost three of their last four games.Thunder coach Scott Brooks said his team cant play like it did in the first quarter and expect to win.We struggled getting back, Brooks said. We struggled covering the 3-point line. They were getting everything they wanted in the first quarter ... we cant give up a 40-point quarter.A 6-0 run by Oklahoma City got the team within 11 with about four minutes left, but Houston scored six quick points after that to make it 108-91.They are a very good team, KD and Russ (Westbrook) are capable of going on a run by themselves, and so we put emphasis on it to kind of slow them down and try to make other players make plays, Harden said.Harden made his fifth 3-pointer with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter before back-to-back 3s by Serge Ibaka got the Thunder to 82-71.Josh Smith got going after that, outscoring Oklahoma City 6-4 in the next 2 minutes.Houston was up 88-75 entering the fourth quarter.A 3-pointer by Patrick Beverley pushed Houstons lead to 47-26 with about 9 minutes left in the first half. The Thunder rolled for a bit after that, using a 10-3 spurt, punctuated with a dunk by Durant to cut it to 50-36. That run was helped by a pair of turnovers by Harden.Westbrook had turnovers on back to back plays with about 5 minutes left in the second quarter with the first one resulting in a one-handed dunk by Harden to leave the Rockets up 54-39.Durant had 15 points in the second quarter to cut Houstons lead to 64-53 at halftime.The Rockets made three 3-pointers, with two from Harden, in the games first 3 1/2 minutes to jump out to a 12-4 lead. Howard had three dunks in the next couple of minutes to power an 11-2 run that extended the lead to 23-6.The Rockets were up by 15 later in the quarter scoring nine straight points, with the first six from Harden to make it 40-16.They made 6 of 10 3-pointers in the period with three from Harden to score their most points in a quarter this season.TIP-INSThunder: The 40 points the Thunder allowed in the first quarter were the most theyve allowed in a quarter since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008. ... Westbrook finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.Rockets: F Terrence Jones remains out with nerve inflammation in his left leg. He hasnt played since Nov. 3. ... It was Throwback Thursday with both teams wearing throwback uniforms, fans receiving Clutch City T-shirts and 1980s rapper Tone Loc performing his hits Wild Thing and Funky Cold Medina at halftime.HARDENS BIG MONTH: Harden was presented with a trophy for being named the Western Conferences player of the month for December before the game. Its the first time Harden has received the honour and the first time a Rocket has gotten it since Yao Ming in January of 2008. He earned it after averaging 30.6 points, 7.1 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals a game in a month where the Rockets went 9-5. He led the NBA with eight 30-point games, including three with 40 or more points, in that span.UP NEXTThunder: Host Golden State on Friday night.Rockets: Host Golden State on Saturday night. Hector Bellerin Jersey . Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Caron scored in the first period after the Red Wings had miscues on the ice and Tuukka Rask finished with a 23-save shutout, giving Boston a 3-0 win over the Red Wings and a 2-1 series lead in their first-round series. Ainsley Maitland-Niles Jersey .Mila Kunis was a guest on Kimmel last night and revealed a surprising side of herself that comes out when she watches sports. It turns out screaming something vulgar at professional athletes is therapeutic for Kunis. http://www.footballarsenalstore.com/Women-Emiliano-Martinez-Arsenal-Fc-Jersey/ . - For years William Gay kept quiet. SAN FRANCISCO -- Tim Lincecums days of dominance may be in the past. That doesnt mean he cant dial up flashes of the Freak he once was -- especially against the San Diego Padres. Lincecum pitched his second no-hitter against the Padres in less than a year, allowing only one runner Wednesday and leading the San Francisco Giants to a 4-0 win. "Ive always been that guy who will kind of go for the strikeout," Lincecum said. "I think my first no-hitter I had 13, so I think I was going for those a little bit more often." "Today I tried to be a little bit more efficient and take what they were going to give me. They were giving me a lot of groundballs and a lot of pop flies, so I was just going to try to keep attacking the way that I was," he said. Lincecum totally shut down the weakest-hitting team in the majors, striking out six and walking one in a 113-pitch outing -- 35 fewer than he needed last July 13 against the Padres in his first no-hitter. Lincecum retired the final 23 batters after walking Chase Headley in the second inning, relying much more on his off-speed stuff than his fastball. Though the Padres hit a few balls hard, San Francisco fielders didnt need to make any exceptional plays to preserve Lincecums gem. The right-hander with two NL Cy Young Awards became just the second pitcher in major league history to twice no-hit the same team. Hall of Famer Addie Joss did it for Cleveland against the Chicago White Sox with a perfect game in 1908 and a no-hitter in 1910. "Its hard enough to do one," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "To do two, that puts you in a little different class. I couldnt be happier." Lincecum (6-5) threw the 16th no-hitter in Giants team history. Just one other pitcher has thrown two -- Christy Mathewson for the New York Giants more than 100 years ago. In fact, Lincecum joined Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson and Roy Halladay as the only pitchers with two Cy Young awards and two no-hitters. "Just to be in that company allows me a chance to pat myself on the back a little bit," he said. Making the performance even sweeter was the fact that Lincecum even got two hits of his own, becoming the first pitcher with two hits in a no-hitter since Rick Wise hit two homers for Philadelphia against Cincinnati on June 23, 1971. "Regardless of what they did, I think its cool I got two hits anyway because up to today I only had one and a pretty poor batting average," Lincecum said. "I got that thing above .100 and I feel much better about it." But Lincecum will always be known for his pitching. He arrived as a shaggy-haired phenom nicknamed the Freak in 2007 for his ability to generate tremendous velocity from his slight frame. He won NL Cy Young awards in 2008 and 09 and helped lead the Giants to their first World Series title in San Francisco the following season. As age and wear and tear ate away at his velocity, Lincecum was forced to change what kind of pitcher he is. Bernd Leno Arsenal Jersey. It hasnt been an easy transformation at times as he posted a losing record the past two seasons as his ERA hovered around 5.00. He was even relegated to the bullpen when the Giants won it all again in 2012 but was brought back with a $35 million, two-year deal last off-season for moments just like this. "I think its been a battle for him at times to make that transformation to what he is now," Bochy said. "Sometimes less is more, and thats what I think if anything, hopefully he learned today." Headley walked with one out in the second after falling behind 1-2 in the count. The Padres began the day worst in the majors in batting average, runs and hits. "He was good. It wasnt a fluke," Headley said. "His split and changeup or whatever you want to call it. If its not the best in baseball, then its one of the best pitches in baseball. Even with the diminished velocity, its still a tremendous pitch. He was able to throw it for strikes when he wanted too." This was the third no-hitter in the majors this year. Clayton Kershaw did it exactly a week ago and his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Josh Beckett did it earlier in the season. The Padres, incidentally, are the only franchise in the big leagues that has never pitched a no-hitter. Lincecum made quick work of the San Diego hitters in the late innings. He drew a standing ovation when he batted in the eighth, then got another ovation when he took the mound to begin the ninth. "His rhythm was going," third baseman Pablo Sandoval said. "Thats the best hes pitched. Two no-hitters, thats pretty impressive." Lincecum struck out pinch-hitter Chris Denorfia to open the ninth. Pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal followed with a tapper back to Lincecum, who tossed to first for the out. Will Venable was up next, and Lincecum retired him on an easy grounder to second base. Lincecum took a few steps toward first when the ball was hit, stopped to watch the play and clapped his hand into his glove when it was over. Catcher Hector Sanchez soon met Lincecum for an embrace, and the rest of the Giants joined in the celebration. "It was amazing," Sanchez said. "Anybody wants to be part of something special like this. Thats a great feeling." Buster Posey got four hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Ian Kennedy (5-9) allowed four runs on nine hits over 6 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out eight. The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second when Brandon Crawford tripled and Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly. NOTES: Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong (5-3, 4.13) is scheduled to start Thursdays series opener against Cincinnati. ... RHP Tyson Ross (6-7, 3.22) starts for the Padres against Arizona on Friday. ... The Padres are hosting a public memorial for Tony Gwynn on Thursday at 7:19 p.m. at Petco Park. Gwynn wore No. 19. ' ' '