Heat bring Rockets back to earth, Paul injured

TheMiami Heat snapped Houston’s five-game NBA winning streak with a 101-99victory on Thursday in a game that saw Rockets point guard Chris Paulinjured again.The Rockets, coming off an 18-point victory overWashington on Wednesday in which they set a single-game record with 26three-pointers, were leading 45-37 in the second quarter when Paul,diving to regain control of the ball, clutched his left thigh andquickly left the game.The Rockets said Paul had a left hamstring strain and wouldn’t return.“It’ll be some time,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said of Paul, who is scheduled for an MRI exam on Friday.Thedefeat and injury were a double-blow for a Rockets team that had lookedto be turning the corner after a slow start to the season.With fivestraight wins they had risen from 14th to seventh in the WesternConference in the space of a week. But the loss of Paul could proveparticularly damaging.They lost games six and seven of the Western Conference finals last season after Paul suffered a right hamstring injury.“It’spart of the game,” Harden said of adjusting to life without Paul.“You’ve got to figure it out. Injuries happen — opportunities for otherguys to step up, keep going.”Josh Richardson led the Heat with 22points. Tyler Johnson added 19 — producing a layup, a big block and athree-pointer to pull the Rockets to a 96-92 lead with less than threeminutes remaining.James Harden led the Rockets with 35 points, 12assists and six rebounds, climbing off the floor after a frighteningfall midway through the fourth quarter to make two free throws thatpulled Houston into a 90-89 lead.But the Rockets couldn’t hang on.Miami star Dwyane Wade missed jump shots on the Heat’s last possessionand Houston’s Gerald Green corralled a rebound.Eric Gordon inboundedto Harden, who passed back to Gordon whose bid for a game-winningthree-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim.“We had a lot ofopportunities,” Harden said. “We gave them a lot of second chanceopportunities, especially in the first half (that) kept them in the gameand they made big shots in the end.”Clippers hold off MavsInLos Angeles, the Clippers piled more road misery on the DallasMavericks with a 125-121 victory, snapping a four-game losing streak.ForwardDanilo Gallinari led the Clippers with 32 points. Lou Williams added 26off the bench as the Clippers withstood 32 points from Mavs rookie LukaDoncic.Dallas center DeAndre Jordan, who played 10 seasons for theClippers, scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in his first gameat Staples Center against his former team.The Mavs trailed 89-82heading into the final period but reeled off eight straight points toseize the lead. That was the first of six lead changes in the final 10minutes.“Our intensity, our focus on the game plan especially ondefense,” Gallinari said of what ultimately made the difference for theClippers. “Offensively we got Lou back, that’s very important for us,especially in the fourth quarter — very good game.”For the Mavs itwas a fourth straight defeat, three of those coming on the road. Dallas,who have won just twice on the road this season, continue their currentroad trip with games against two-time defending champions Golden Stateand Portland tomorrow and Sunday.