HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets are heading to the playoffs for the second straight year and believe wins like the one they picked up Friday night will help them when they get there. Thomas Greiss Jersey . James Harden scored 39 points and the Rockets ended a three-game skid and clinched a playoff berth with a 111-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder "It was a great win for us ... just to give ourselves confidence, especially going into the playoffs," Harden said. "We might see them. It was a big win for us. It shows the resilience we have." Kevin Durant scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 40th straight game with at least 25 points, the longest streak since Michael Jordan also did it 40 consecutive times in 1986-87. But he was in no mood to talk about matching the feat after the game. "We lost the game thats all Im worried about," he said. "I dont care. We lost." The normally mild-mannered Durant, who leads the NBA with 32.1 points a game, talked a little trash afterward when asked if he was frustrated by the physical defence Houstons Chandler Parsons and Francisco Garcia played on him. "Those dudes cant check me 1-on-1," he said. "They know that. I aint afraid to say it either. They know that. So I was playing the double-teams, triple-teams, but you still got to find a way to do it. Theyre physical just like everybody else and Ive been playing against physical players my whole life, so its nothing different." The Thunder, who had already secured a playoff berth, clinched their fourth consecutive Northwest Division title with a loss by Portland later Friday. Durants 3-pointer cut Houstons lead to one with 1:01 remaining, but Houston answered with four straight free throws. He made another 3 with 16 seconds left, but Harden made two free throws to push the lead to 111-107. Harden was 17 of 20 from the line and had nine rebounds and seven assists. The Rockets were playing without Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, who both missed their fourth straight games. Howard has missed seven games recently because of a left ankle strain and Beverley is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his right knee. "Theres all kind of adversity in playoff games and playoff runs," coach Kevin McHale said. "Youve got to be resilient and thats what Ive been preaching with the guys and the coaching staff. Youve just got to stay in the fight and keep swinging. When we do that, were OK." Serge Ibaka tied a career high with 27 points in a game that Russell Westbrook didnt play because the Thunder were playing the second night of a back-to-back. Parsons added 23 points for Houston and Terrence Jones had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Oklahoma City was up by one before Houston scored seven straight points to take a 104-98 lead with less than three minutes left. The Rockets made four free throws before a 3-pointer by Garcia. The Rockets started the fourth quarter with 3-pointers by Jeremy Lin, Isaiah Canaan and Harden for a 9-2 spurt which gave them a 91-86 lead with about 10 minutes left. Durant scored the next four points to get Oklahoma City within 91-90. Houston scored the last six points of the third quarter to cut the lead to 84-82 entering the fourth quarter. The Thunder scored 39 points in the third quarter to take the lead after trailing the entire game. They opened the second half with a 9-0 run punctuated by a dunk by Ibaka to make it 54-52. Houston went right back on top with a 3-pointer by Parsons, but a 9-2 spurt by the Thunder gave them a 63-57 lead with about seven minutes left in the quarter. The Thunder trailed through the first quarter and cut it to three points early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Caron Butler before an 11-0 run by Houston pushed the lead to 43-29 about five minutes before halftime. Harden scored the last seven points in that span and capped it by making a 3-pointer with Derek Fisher right in his face. Durant scored Oklahoma Citys final five points to get the Thunder within 50-45 at halftime. The first three points of that run came when Durant was fouled on an off-balance layup he made with his back to the basket and then made the free throw. NOTES: The 39 points the Thunder scored in the third quarter were the most anyone has scored against Houston this season in the quarter. ... Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon watched the game from a courtside seat. ... The win was Houstons 50th, giving them the 10th 50-win season in franchise history. Matt Martin Jersey .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. Custom New York Islanders Jerseys . Today, their baseball playing sons were reportedly traded for each other. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Cubs dealt minor league outfield Trevor Gretzky to the Angels for catcher Matt Scioscia. http://www.authentichockeyshopislanders.com/adidas+clark+gillies+islanders+jersey . The Jets have now won three straight at home and four of the last five at the MTS Centre. After a scoreless first period, Brad Marchand scored his first goal in eight games eight seconds into the second.ST. LOUIS -- Pinch-hitter Jon Jay wasnt choosy when he came up to bat for the Cardinals in the eighth inning. Jay delivered a two-run double on the first pitch and right fielder Shane Robinson threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the ninth to help St. Louis hold off the San Diego Padres 4-3 Thursday night. "I was trying to be aggressive," Jay said. "I wanted something over the plate I could handle. I was able to do that." Jhonny Peralta hit an early two-run homer for the Cardinals, who moved ahead of Pittsburgh into second place in the NL Central. St. Louis remained two games behind division-leading Milwaukee. San Diego had its five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 16-9 since the All-Star break. Trailing by two in the ninth, the Padres loaded the bases with one out against closer Trevor Rosenthal. Pinch-hitter Jake Goebbert came through with an RBI single to right, but Alexi Amarista was cut down at home when he tried to score from second. The replay review lasted 4 minutes, 9 seconds. Padres manager Bud Black then was ejected by plate umpire Bob Davidson for continuing to argue the call. "You saw two major league players react to a play that indicated that a tag was missed," Black said. "You saw their catcher go back and try to tag our runner because he knew he missed him. You saw our player react knowing that he wasnt tagged. So you saw two experienced major league players react to a play that they both knew wasnt a tag. "Thats whats frustrating to us." Cardinals catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who entered in the ninth, disagreed. "I thought I got his arm," Pierzynski said. "I couldnt hear Bob. It was a big play in the game for sure. I couldnt see the umpire who was behind me. You just go. You hope they stay with the call. I think they got it right." After a four-pitch walk to Will Venable loaded the bases again, Rosenthal struck out Tommy Medica for his 36th save in 40 opportunities. San Diego reliever Alex Torres (1-1) thought he struck out Tony Cruz leading off the eighth, but it was ruled Cruz foul-tipped the ball. Replays appeared to show Cruz missed the pitch. Given another chance, Cruz singled on the next delivery. "I definitely fouled it," Cruz said. "I knew I foul-tipped it. I saw him (Davidson) looking at the first base umpire (John Tumpane) and he called it that way, too." Pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso walked on four pitches and Matt Carpenter loaded the bases with a single. Nick Vincent enntered to face Jay, who went after the first pitch and drove a one-hop double off the wall in centre to snap a 2-all tie. Josh Bailey Jersey. Jay is 5 for 17 with three RBIs as a pinch hitter. He has a six-game hitting streak with seven RBIs. "It was a good feeling. You just want to contribute if youre not playing," Jay said. "You want to stay ready so if your number gets called you can go out there and contribute." The move by manager Mike Matheny paid off. "A huge hit for us. Hes been swinging the bat well," Matheny said. "Hes had a nice season for us." Seth Maness (4-2) earned the win with one spotless inning of relief. Peralta hit his 16th home run to drive in Matt Adams, who led off the second with a single. That lifted Peralta into a tie with Edgar Renteria (2000) and Daryl Spencer (1960) for the St. Louis single-season record for home runs by a shortstop. The Padres tied the score with two runs in the sixth after loading the bases with none out. Venable scored on a fielders choice. Medica, who had doubled, came home when Rymer Liriano beat out an infield single with two outs. Both starters went seven innings. Cardinals right-hander John Lackey improved on his last start in Baltimore that resulted in nine earned runs over five innings. Lackey allowed five hits and two runs with five strikeouts. Eric Stults gave up two runs and four hits for San Diego. Stults has allowed three or fewer earned runs in nine of his last 10 starts. TRAINERS ROOM Padres: 1B Yonder Alonso was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained forearm, retroactive to Wednesday. San Diego recalled INF Jace Peterson from Triple-A El Paso. Cardinals: Adam Wainwright had a familiar catcher for his bullpen session in Yadier Molina. On July 11, Molina had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. Molina wore a brace on the thumb. He had yet to throw a ball or hold a bat without wearing the brace. ... Relief pitcher Jason Motte (strained lower back) is eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday, but he wont be ready. UP NEXT San Diego RHP Tyson Ross (11-10, 2.63 ERA) faces St. Louis RHP Lance Lynn (12-8, 2.97) in the second game of the four-game series Friday. STUMBLING ROOKIE Cardinals rookie Oscar Taveras was not in the lineup. Taveras went 2 for 20 on the recent six-game road trip, and his batting average dropped to .206. Robinson started in right. He made a running catch and used his bare hand to brace himself at the wall on a first-inning drive by Medica. Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Devils Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys Cheap Penguins Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Blues Jerseys Cheap Lightning Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Capitals Jerseys Cheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '