Galerie » tor, the Steelers have finished in the top fiv

SALT LAKE CITY - Kobe Bryant might have called Dwight Howard soft but, just like the Lakers, the Utah Jazz had no one who could stop him.Howard had 22 points and 10 rebounds and the Houston Rockets beat the Jazz 104-93 on Wednesday night to spoil Quin Snyders NBA coaching debut.Howard made six of his first seven shots, many on spin moves for dunks. He was feeling good and it showed.My health is pretty good and I am moving better, Howard said.James Harden added 18 points and 10 assists, and Trevor Ariza had 20 points for the Rockets, who opened the season Tuesday night in Los Angeles with a 108-90 victory over the Lakers.Howard said he knows its early in the season but hes not shy about sharing the Rockets aim this year.I think all of us have one goal and that is to win a championship. You can see that. The way we talk to each other, the way we push each other, Howard said.Alec Burks led Utah with 18 points. Derrick Favors added 16, and Trey Burke had 15.Houston made 14 of 27 3-point attempts and held Utah to 33 per cent shooting in the final quarter. The Jazz missed 13 of their first 15 fourth-quarter attempts, and the Rockets broke open the tight game with 18-5 run.We set the tone defensively and then everything else took care of itself, Ariza said. We have pretty good basketball IQ out there so that makes it easier, but were still learning how each other plays.The Rockets led by as many 13 in the third quarter before Burke led a furious Jazz rally that drew them to 75-72 by the end of the period. The Utah point guard had nine points during the surge that had the sellout crowd on its feet.The Jazz have been tabbed by many experts to finish at the bottom of the Western Conference but their hustle got under the skin of the Rockets at times.To simplify it, they got into the lane and they hit some 3s, Snyder said. We have got to be more one them.Howard committed six turnovers and fouled out late in the game. He had words for the officials as he slowly made his way to the bench.TIP-INSJazz: Utah shot 60 per cent in the first half and still trailed 58-50 due to the Rockets long-range accuracy. ... The Jazz had 13 offensive rebounds, forced 18 turnovers and led 62-44 in points in the paint but was outscored by 33 points on 3-pointers. ...Recent signee Joe Ingles had only one practice with Jazz but appeared in the second quarter and missed his only field goal.Rockets: Papanikolaou, the Greek player in his second NBA game, made his first four 3-point attempts. .. The win marks the first time since 2008-09 that the Rockets have opened with two straight double-digit wins.UP NEXTUtah is at Dallas on Thursday night.The Rockets host Boston on Saturday night. Travis Sanheim Jersey . His fellow Finn, 21 years his junior, had just arrived in Anaheim and was hoping to stick with the Ducks. Robert Hagg Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. http://www.hockeyflyersauthentic.com/customized/ . -- The Chiefs have signed seven players to reserve/future contracts, including running back Joe McKnight, a former fourth-round pick of the New York Jets. Nolan Patrick Jersey . Vinci also beat Dulgheru last week in Bucharest en route to her first WTA final in a year. Vinci next faces sixth-seeded Kurumi Nara of Japan, who beat Czech qualifier Katerina Siniakova 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-2. No. Dave Schultz Jersey . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau has resigned as the defensive co-ordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.The 77-year-old LeBeau had been with the organization for 16 seasons, including serving as defensive co-ordinator from 1995-96 and from 2004-14. He was also the teams secondary coach from 1992-94.He was inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.In his 13 years as defensive co-ordinator, the Steelers have finished in the top five in total defence 11 times and five times the team had the top overall ranked defence. The team won seven division championships, four AFC championships and two Super Bowls, while making the playoffs nine times during that period.Linebackers coach Keith Butler is the most likely candidate to replace LeBeau.We want to thank Dick for his many years of service with the team and all that he has done for this organization, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement.dddddddddddd His coaching helped lead us to many successful seasons and championships. We are very appreciative of his efforts, and we wish him well.As a player, LeBeau had 62 interceptions in 14 seasons as defensive back for the Detroit Lions from 1959-72. He played halfback and cornerback for Woody Hayes at Ohio State.LeBeau was 12-33 as Cincinnatis head coach from 2000-02. He began his coaching career as a special teams coach with Philadelphia in 1973. He also was an assistant with Green Bay, Cincinnati and Buffalo.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '