HOUSTON - James Harden loved how the Houston Rockets played in the first quarter Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Mike Ditka Youth 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. Gale Sayers Womens Jersey . Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers were left fretting over an MRI on the stars left knee. Paul George scored 21 points, Roy Hibbert added 19 and the Pacers used a dominant fourth quarter to blow out the Cavaliers 91-76 on Tuesday The Pacers (25-5) have won eight in a row over Cleveland, their longest active streak against any opponent. Mike Singletary Youth Jersey . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. http://www.chicagobearfootballauthentic.com/authentic-tarik-cohen-bears-jersey/ . Span, Danny Espinosa and Adam LaRoche had two hits apiece as Washington won the final two games of the series. The Nationals improved to 3-7 against Atlanta. They increased their division lead over the Braves to 1 1/2 games.Washington Capitals 4 Winnipeg Jets 2 (Jets 28-26-5, road 14-15-1) – The win was the sixth straight game that the Caps have beaten the Jets, snapping the Jets winning streak at three. The Jets have still won nine of 12, and five of seven on the road. They are 2-1 on this four game trip, with three straight games against Eastern Conference teams. They close with a divisional game in St. Louis Saturday afternoon. (TSN Jets, TSN 1290). Then its the Olympic break with the Jets back in action on Feb. 27 at home against Phoenix. With Vancouver losing, the Jets still sit two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the west. The Jets will close with 22 games in 44 days. Troy Brouwer and Bryan Little exchanged goals in the first, as the period ended 1-1 with shots favoured the Jets 14-11. Braden Holtby stopped the initial shot by Little, but the rebound bounced in off Martin Erat. For Little it was his 18th of the year. Andrew Ladd assisted on the goal to extend his point streak to four games, 1-4-5. The Jets took the lead in the second on a nice three-way passing play between Olli Jokinen, Devin Setoguchi and Dustin Byfuglien, Byfuglien getting the goal, his 13th of the year. Jets outshot the Caps 16-7 in the second. The third period started with the Caps on their fourth power play of the game, but they were unable to beat Ondrej Pavelec. But they seemed to build momentum off the maan advantage with Tom Wilson tying the game at 3:38. Akiem Hicks Bears Jersey. Then the leagues top goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin poked home a loose puck for his 40th of the year to give the Caps the lead. Toby Enstrom was tied up in front with Nicklas Backstrom who ended up on top of Pavelec, but the goal stood. Late in the period Brouwer with his second of the night put the game away. Caps outshot the Jets 12-6 in the third as the Jets appeared to run out of steam. The Jets had 50 hits in the game, 12 by Mark Stuart. Enstrom led the Jets in ice time at 25:07, Byfuglien in shots on goal with six. The Caps came into the game leading the NHL in power play goals, but the Jets penalty kill was again terrific, going four for four.?? In the last five road games the Jets are 16-for-16 on the PK. For the first time since Paul Maurice took over, Stuart and Jacob Trouba were on the minus side of the plus-minus stats. After not getting a power play in Carolina, the Jets just had one in this game. “They got some breaks and bounces,” said Maurice post-game. “Proud of our effort through two periods, couldnt make it three. We spent a lot of energy on the four penalty kills. They got better in the third, their “D” got involved. Well leave this game here and move on.” During the break the Jets have planned an outdoor practice that is free to the public at the Forks on Feb. 23. ' ' '