DENVER -- Dishing the ball to the open man in the first half opened the door to Randy Foyes offensive surge in the second half. Foye scored 24 of his 30 points in the last 24 minutes, going 7 for 7 from the field in the third quarter, and the Denver Nuggets hung on to beat the Houston Rockets 123-116 on Wednesday night. Kenneth Faried had 23 points and Timofey Mozgov added 22 for the Nuggets, who beat the Rockets for the first time in three tries this season. Foye also had 15 assists, 11 of them coming in the first half. "I just think it was a Karma thing, where in the beginning, I had some shots where I could have come off (pick-and-rolls) and pulled up, but I passed it to Kenneth, passed it to Timo, got those guys going," Foye said. "That kind of opened everything up. When I was coming off pick-and-rolls later, they were so concerned with our bigs that I was coming off and knocking them down." Houston coach Kevin McHale said the Rockets have to play stronger defensively. "Our defence is bad," he said. "Faried and Mozgov were just running down the floor, posting us up and throwing us out of the way. We had no answers for them. In the third quarter, we got them somewhat under control and then Foye went crazy." Jeremy Lin led eight Houston players in double figures with 18 points. Both teams were missing key players heading into the game and the Rockets got a scare when James Harden, leading a fast break, banged his left shin in a collision with Aaron Brooks midway through the third quarter. Fouled on the play, Harden made both free throws and left the game briefly to have the leg tended to before returning to action, though he only played sparingly after the injury. "I guess I got kneed in the shin but it was pretty painful. For a couple of seconds, my leg was numb," Harden said. In the post-season, Harden said he would have finished the game. "But today was kind of pointless. Four more games left and were trying to stay (in the No. 4 playoff seed)," Harden said. Houstons Dwight Howard, bothered by a left ankle sprain, did not play for the 10th time in the last 12 games. Denver was without Wilson Chandler (left groin strain) and Ty Lawson (left ankle sprain). Trailing by 10 at the half, Houston pulled to 94-86 on a jumper by Chandler Parsons late in the third quarter. Foye, though, hit a long jumper, starting an 11-2 run over a 2 1/2-minute stretch that put Denver in front 105-88 heading into the fourth quarter. Houston made a late push, getting within 118-114 on a 3-pointer by Troy Daniels and a tip-in by Isaiah Canaan with 2:24 left to play. But Foye banked in a jumper and Evan Fournier connected on a 3-pointer in successive Denver possessions to fend off the Rockets rally. The Rockets, trailing by as many as 19 points earlier in the game, put together an 8-0 burst to cut the deficit to 58-53 with 1:44 left in the second quarter. Lin and Parsons each had 3-pointers in the stretch. Faried responded by converting a three-point play, helping Denver rebuild its lead to 68-58 at halftime. NOTES: The Rockets are 8-19 when trailing at halftime. ... Houston, which beat the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday, fell to 5-4 in the second game of back-to-backs this season. ... Foye scored 30 or more points for the second time this season. He had a season-high 33 on Jan. 29 against Charlotte. Adrian Sanchez Nationals Jersey . You can watch coverage on TSN, TSN2 and CTV beginning today at 3pm et/Noon pt. The championships will feature approximately 250 of Canadas best figure skaters in senior, junior and novice as they vie for spots on the national team, international assignments and will act as the final step in the 2014 Olympic qualification process. Jonny Venters Nationals Jersey . But its also a smart game. Theres more to the Kings than banging bodies. They take a toll mentally on their opponents. https://www.cheapnationals.com/707r-sean...ionals.html.com) - A pair of programs shooting for their 10th win of the season get together at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, as the NC State Wolfpack tangle with 22nd-ranked West Virginia during the challenge round of the Gotham Classic. Frank Robinson Nationals Jersey . Nine years later, he might have finally figured it out. He had only five rounds in the 60s in his previous eight trips. Brian Dozier Jersey . The Hockey Canada Foundation is donating $50,000, with Hockey Quebec contributing $15,000. Hockey Canada also announced it will hold a skills camp for all levels of minor hockey in Lac-Mégantic during the 2013-14 season. Representatives from Hockey Canada, the Hockey Canada Foundation and Hockey Quebec were on hand Tuesday night at a meeting of the AHM de Lac-Mégantic to make the announcement and presentation.MIAMI -- Maybe in a video game. Possibly in the pregame layup line. But shoot this way in the NBA Finals, against the two-time defending champions? "Its not something you can plan for," San Antonio reserve Manu Ginobili said. "There was no magic plays. We just moved the ball and every shot went in." Not quite every shot. But just about. Kawhi Leonard scored a career-high 29 points, and the Spurs made a finals-record 75.8 per cent of their shots in the first half in a 111-92 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night that gave them a 2-1 lead. The Spurs made 19 of their first 21 shots and finished 25 of 33 in the first half, bettering the 75 per cent shooting by Orlando against the Lakers in the 2009 finals. "Its a hit-or-miss league," Miamis Dwyane Wade said. The Spurs didnt do much missing. "I dont think well ever shoot 76 per cent in a half ever again," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. The Spurs led by as much as 25 and were only briefly challenged in their second lopsided victory in the series. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had 22 points for the Heat, who host Game 4 on Thursday. Returning to the arena where they were oh-so-close to winning a fifth championship last year, the Spurs came out playing like they were trying to build a lead that was impossible to blow. They shot 13 of 15 and led 41-25 lead after the first quarter, then hit their first six shots of the second in front of a stunned crowd in Miami to go ahead 55-30. Leonard scored only 18 points in the first two games, looking frustrated while getting into foul trouble trying to defend James in Game 2. But he had his outside shot working early, making his first six shots and finishing 10 of 13 from the field. "I just found a rhythm and my teammates found me the ball. I made shots," Leonard said. The last three NBA seasons ended in this building, the last two followed by Heat championship parades. The Spurs nearly cancelled the last one, building a five-point lead in the final half-minute of regulation of Game 6, a title seeming so certain that workers were already making preparations around the court. But the Heat rallied to win in overtime and took Game 7, leaving the Spurs with a summmer to think about the one that got away.dddddddddddd Theyre in good shape to get another chance. With the league scrapping the 2-3-2 format for the NBA Finals --in which the lower seed played three consecutive home games -- the Spurs would have a chance to wrap it up in San Antonio on Sunday in Game 5 if they can win Thursday. Chris Bosh took only four shots and scored nine points for the Heat, who for the second straight year will have to overcome a 2-1 finals deficit after being blown out in Game 3. This rout came on their home floor, where they had been 8-0 this post-season and had won a franchise-record 11 in a row since the Spurs beat them in Game 1 last year. San Antonio inserted Boris Diaw into the lineup, countering Miamis small lineup and creating more ball movement that clearly helped Leonard. The game got off to a crisp start, with the Spurs making their first five shots and Miami opening 4 for 4. Turned out the Spurs were just getting started. Coach Erik Spoelstra planned to communicate with James to make sure there were no lingering problems from the cramps that forced him to miss the final minutes of the opener. But there was no way he could rest James early, since he was the only one keeping the Heat in the game. He had 14 of their first 20 points, but even James couldnt keep up with the Spurs pace. The Spurs "came out at a different gear than what we were playing at, and it just seemed we were on our heels the most part of the first half," Spoelstra said. San Antonio led 71-50 at halftime. It was the first 70-point first half in the finals since the Lakers scored 75 against Boston in Game 2 in 1987. The Heat finally got into it in the third, running off 10 straight points to cut a 17-point deficit to 81-74 on a drive by Norris Cole, who had replaced an ineffective Mario Chalmers. That was as close as Miami would get, as the Spurs pulled away in the fourth. Notes: Wade appeared in his 150th post-season game and passed Dirk Nowitzki (3,455 points) for 17th on the post-season scoring list. ... The Heat fell to 68-20 in the post-season at American Airlines Arena. Their .782 winning percentage entering the game trailed only the Lakers .792 mark at Staples Center. ' ' '