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Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork. Cheap Jerseys 2020 .com) - James Harden poured in 30 points and led a long-distance barrage that carried the Houston Rockets to a 113-99 win over the slumping Brooklyn Nets. The Rockets rolled to their fourth consecutive victory on the strength of a 16-of-40 display from 3-point range, with Harden knocking down 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc and Trevor Ariza going 3-of-5 in a 12-point effort. Donatas Motiejunas contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds to the triumph, with Josh Smith chipping in 13 points off the bench for Houston. Brooklyn dropped its season-high sixth straight despite a big game from Mason Plumlee, who tallied a career-high 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds. Jarrett Jack and Bojan Bogdanovic each finished with 13 points in defeat. Every game the turnovers are hurting us and the missed shots are hurting us, said Nets head coach Lionel Hollins, whose team committed 16 giveaways. If youre not putting up 95, 100 shots, every turnover matters. Every missed shot matters. Nets forward Kevin Garnett played just four-plus minutes before being ejected for an altercation with Dwight Howard with 7:53 left in the first quarter. Howard received a technical foul for the incident. Houston started out red-hot, hitting its first seven shots en route to jumping out to a 23-14 lead. Tempers were heated as well, as Howard and Garnett were tangled underneath the basket during one stage of the stretch when the Brooklyn veteran tossed the ball at Howards direction after the All-Star center gave him a mild shove. The two then stepped towards one another, with Garnett delivering a head butt to Howards jaw and the latter retaliating with an open right hand to the face before both players were ultimately restrained. In the good old days, that was a play-on. Now, they throw people out, said Rockets head coach Kevin McHale of the skirmish. I didnt think it was a big deal. After order was restored, Houston was up by as many as 11 in the first quarter and owned a 37-28 advantage at periods end behind Hardens 15 points. The Nets cut into the deficit in the second, putting forth an 11-3 run to pull within 50-48 on a trey from Joe Johnson. However, the Rockets ended the half on an 8-2 spurt and took a 60-52 lead into the break following a Harden triple. Houston extended the margin in the third quarter with a strong showing from the perimeter. Motiejunas and Harden stroked back-to-back 3-pointers early in the frame to increase the lead to 68-54, and the margin later swelled to 18 after triples from Harden and Smith were part of a 7-2 stretch that made the score 86-68 in the stanzas final minute. The Rockets were in front by as much as 23 points several times in the fourth quarter, the last at 104-81 midway through the period before Brooklyn scored eight straight to close the gap. Game Notes Brooklyn went just 5-of-21 on 3-point attempts ... Harden ended 9-of-13 from the field, while Motiejunas made eight of his 11 shots ... The Nets played their third straight game without point guard Deron Williams, sidelined by a fractured rib ... Houston had won 14 straight in the series prior to a 105-96 loss in Brooklyn on April 1 of last season. Mike Fitzgerald Jersey Retro . According to MMAFighting.com, MacDonald needs an x-ray on his right ankle and doctors clearance to fight or he will be subject to a mandatory medical suspension that will end on August 22, 2014. Randy Coffield Jersey Retro .C. -- Al Jefferson knows few people will be giving the Charlotte Bobcats a chance to upset the Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. MASON, Ohio -- John Isners absence from the ATP top 20 will be brief. The 6-foot-10 American made sure of that Saturday, rallying to beat seventh-seeded Juan Martin del Potro 6-7 (4), 7-6 (9), 6-3 in a grueling Western & Southern Open semifinal. Isner, who fell from No. 20 to 22 this week, will return to the top 20 after a stimulating Cincinnati run that includes beating three straight top-10 players for the first time in his career while earning his second Masters 1000 series finals appearance and first in Cincinnati. His previous Masters 1000 final appearance was at Indian Wells in 2012. "Its awesome to be at this stage again," said Isner, who beat top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals and No. 8 Richard Gasquet in the second round. "Ive been playing pretty well this season, but this tournament is where Ive really started to put it all together. Im playing pretty well in all facets of the game." Isner, in his first appearance in the tournaments semifinals, had been 0-4 against the Argentine. Hell play third-seeded Rafael Nadal, who beat sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-5, 7-6 (4) in the other semifinal to reach the tournament final for the first time in nine appearances. "This is one tournament that Ive never been able to play well, so its something special to play well in a place I never did in the past," said Nadal, 3-0 in his career against Isner. "Im very happy for that. I am having the right feelings on court. Im playing aggressive, and the crowd here is great." Nadal extended his personal winning streak against the Czech to 14 matches while improving his overall season record 52-3, including 14-0 on hardcourts. After winning at Montreal last week, the Spaniard will be making back-to-back appearances in hardcourt finals for the first time in his career. Hes 15-1 against top-10 players this season. Top-ranked Serena Williams also will be making her first career appearance in the events championship match after ousting defending champion Li Na, 7-5, 7-5, in the first womens semifinal. Williams, seeking her ninth title of the year, advanced when Li double-faulted on match point. WWilliams improved to 60-3 this season. Buy Cheap Jerseys. "I really would not have predicted myself being in the finals here at all, so its definitely pretty exciting for me," said Williams, who clinched the 2013 Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series womens title with the win and can earn a $1 million bonus if she wins the U.S. Open. "Really unexpected for me, too. I came in here not playing my best, and now Im in the final. Its just almost weird." Williams will play second-seeded Victoria Azarenka in Sundays final. Azarenka beat 14th-seeded Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a semifinal that featured 23 service breaks in 27 games. Isner needed 2 hours, 47 minutes to improve to 16-3 since retiring from Wimbledon in the second round because of a left knee injury. He finished off the win when del Potro sent a backhand from the baseline into the net. Despite tossing into a persistent swirling breeze and bright sunshine, both players served so effectively early that the first set included just one break point, fought off by the 22nd-ranked Isner. The 6-foot-6 Del Potro came up with a crucial mini-break on the 11th point of the tiebreaker when Isner sailed his backhand volley wide to lose the set. Del Potro broke Isner in the eighth game of the second set to put himself into position to serve for the match, but he double-faulted on match point and Isner came up with his own break to stay alive and eventually force a tiebreak that he won when del Potro sent a forehand wide to the deuce court. "I think I lost the match in the second set," del Potro said. "That was my chance to beat him. He was fighting all the time and deserved to win the third set, but I missed my chance." "I know, at that moment, that the sun on that side was pretty bad," said Isner, who can become the first American to win the tournament since Andy Roddick in 2006. "We both struggled with that for about 30 minutes." Despite the loss to Nadal, Berdych still will move up a notch in the rankings to a career-high fifth, passing Roger Federer. "That makes it probably even more special," Berdych said. ' ' '