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HOUSTON - The Houston Rockets finished off the preseason with a solid defensive effort against the San Antonio Spurs.James Harden scored 25 points, and Houston used a big run before halftime to beat San Antonio 96-87 on Friday night.Harden struggled in the first half, going 2 for 9 from the field for five points. But he scored 20 in the third on 7-for-10 shooting, and then rested during the final period.The Rockets held the Spurs to 41 per cent shooting. They also forced 16 San Antonio turnovers, 13 in the first half.We got more physical, Houston coach Kevin McHale said. We got a little tighter. Everyone got into their guys. In the second, we had active hands and tried not to give them anything easy. Our defence has been solid as long as we keep our eyes on people and be aggressive.Isaiah Canaan had 18 points, including the final seven points after San Antonio had cut the lead to two. Terrence Jones had 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Trevor Ariza added 11 points and nine boards for the Rockets, who shot 42 per cent from the floor, including 15 of 35 from behind the arc.The Spurs did a good job of not giving up with the big lead we had, Canaan said. We just wanted to seal the deal, so I just made a couple shots to kind of put the icing on the cake.Marco Belinelli led the Spurs with 19 points, and Danny Green scored 14. Tim Duncan had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Tony Parker finished with eight points and 10 assists.We look very poor, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. We looked like were not very interested. Sure we look for our guys to kick it up a notch. We obviously dont want them to kick it down a notch.The Rockets used a 22-5 run over the final 9 1/2 minutes of the second to open a 49-32 halftime lead. Ariza had seven points in the surge.San Antonio had one field goal during Houstons big run, a Parker jumper with 6:52 remaining. The Spurs started the quarter 3 for 4 from the field but finished 1 of 11 and missed their final seven shots.Its the last preseason game, and I just cant wait until the season starts, Parker said. This was preseason, and it doesnt mean anything.The Spurs cut the lead down to two with two minutes left in the fourth on an Austin Daye 3-pointer, but they couldnt complete the comeback.Houston played without centre Dwight Howard, who suffered a laceration in his right forearm that required stitches. He is listed as day to day.TIP-INSSpurs: San Antonio signed forward Robert Vaden, who most recently played overseas for Belfius Mons-Hainault in Belgium, where he averaged nine points and 1.6 rebounds in 10 games this season. . San Antonio also signed forward Equan Edwin. Edwin, who played four seasons at Seton Hall, was on Oklahoma Citys Orlando summer league team.Rockets: Houston claimed forward Earl Clark off waivers and requested waivers for forward Josh Powell, general manager Daryl Morey announced.TIMEOUTPopovich used all five of his second-half timeouts in the third quarter. The Spurs were issued a technical in the fourth quarter for calling another timeout.UP NEXTThe Spurs and Rockets open the regular season on Tuesday night. San Antonio hosts Dallas, and Houston is at the Los Angeles Lakers. Derek Sanderson Jersey . The Raptors have been outscored 88-66 in the opening quarter over a three-game span to begin the month of February. Their most recent loss, 109-101 in Sacramento on Wednesday, was eerily similar to Saturdays defeat at the hands of the Trail Blazers. Ray Bourque Jersey . Canada will host the second stop on the circuit, the 2014 Skate Canada International in Kelowna, British Columbia from October 31 - November 2, 2014 at Prospera Place. http://www.thebostonbruinshockey.com/bra...-hockey-jersey/. Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up. David Pastrnak Jersey . Joakim Nordstrom and Garret Ross also scored for Chicago and Corey Crawford made 30 saves. Tomas Tatar scored twice for Red Wings (2-3-0), Jonathan Ericsson added a goal and Gustav Nyquist had three assists. Phil Esposito Jersey . The Durban-based Sharks withstood a furious second-half fightback to beat the Queensland Reds 35-20 for a fourth straight win which gave them a five-point lead atop the championship table. The Hamilton-based Chiefs scored two late tries to beat the Cape Town-based Stormers 36-20 for their third win, after the Stormers rallied from 24-6 down to 24-20 with six minutes remaining.Arizona could take the first loss of the season. Since no team had gone undefeated in more than three decades, it felt almost inevitable. Falling out of the top spot in the poll wasnt bad, either; the goal is to be No. 1 at the end of the season, not the middle. Losing Brandon Ashley, thats going to be a little tougher for the second-ranked Wildcats to take, a development that will force them to shuffle things around and potentially put a dent in their national championship aspirations. "Its a huge loss for us not to have Brandon for the rest of the season," Arizona centre Kaleb Tarczewski said. "But we still feel that even without him, we still have a great team." With Ashley, Arizona hummed along to the best start in program history, beating teams like Duke, Michigan, UCLA and San Diego State while winning its first 21 games. The Wildcats fortunes took a bad turn Saturday night in Berkeley, when they lost the game 60-58 on Justin Cobbs last-second shot and lost Ashley to an awkward landing while going up for a rebound in the first half. Ashley injured his right foot on the play and faces the possibility of surgery. Arizona (21-1, 8-1 Pac-12) now faces playing the rest of the season without one of its best, most versatile players. "No one expected us to do as well as we have this year; we kind of just let our play do the talking," Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell said. "People can write what they want and say that were not a national championship team, but were going to work hard every day and they cant take that away from us." A 6-foot-8 sophomore, Ashley was a difficult matchup for opposing teams on offence, an athletic player who could score in the post, driving to the basket and, after spending countless hours working on his shot during the summer, from the 3-point line. Ashley is Arizonas third-leading scorer at 11.5 points and in rebounding at 5.8 per game. He shot 47 per cent from the floor, including 36 per cent from the arc and often gave opposing teams fits with his ability to keep offensive rebounds alive with his long arms. Ashley also is one of the Wildcats most versatile defensive players, a long, mobile defender who has the reach to block shots inside and out, the agility to keep smaller players in ffront of him.dddddddddddd. "Are we going to miss Brandon Ashley? No doubt about it," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "But we still can be an excellent team." The loss of Ashley will force some shuffling for the Wildcats. Defensively, Arizona should be OK without him. Freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, whos expected to slide into Ashleys starting spot, is an active and willing defender. At 6-7, hes just an inch shorter and may be better at defending perimeter players than Ashley, playing that end of the floor more like an upperclassman than a first-year player. Replacing Ashleys offence may be a little tougher. Hollis-Jefferson isnt quite as polished as Ashley on offence and doesnt have the same range, hitting 1 of his 6 attempts from 3-point range this season while scoring most of his points on drives and putbacks. With Hollis-Jefferson in the starting lineup, 3-point specialist Gabe York moves into the sixth man role and the rest of the roster moves up a spot. Miller has kept a fairly tight rotation this season, so now players who hadnt seen many minutes outside of mop-up duty will be counted on more. Guard Jordin Mayes was a regular contributor the past two seasons, but has seen his minutes decrease this season. Matt Korcheck, who redshirted last season, is an active player with a solid build at 6-10, 230 pounds, though he has played in just 10 games this season. Freshman Elliot Pitts, whos appeared in eight games, will likely see more minutes as well. Miller said forward Zach Peters, a transfer from Kansas whos battled concussion issues, isnt ready for consistent minutes yet. Playing time among the players vying for minutes will likely be based on circumstance, depending on how well theyre playing, the opponent and what the Wildcats need during specific points in games. "If we did nothing different other than just give the players who have played, minus Brandon, more of an opportunity, thats part of our solution," Miller said. "With that in mind, we know foul trouble and fatigue can certainly weigh against you, but we dont have to do this for 30 games, just nine regular-season games and then were in the post-season." Arizonas stretch run without Ashley starts Thursday night at home against Oregon. ' ' '