HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets were on the verge of their third straight home loss after blowing a double-digit, second-half lead for the second consecutive game. This time, guard James Harden said, the Rockets found the will to win. Jeremy Lin scored 31 points off the bench, Dwight Howard had 18 points and 24 rebounds, and the Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 110-104 in double-overtime to snap a two-game losing streak. "(This game) was something," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We still are a little bit in the mud, but the guys came out defensively and did a really good job. We were grinding. We just found a way to win. Thats just kind of what we had to do." Lin shot 10 of 17 from the field and hit 8 of 9 from the free throw line. Harden finished with 26 points and 10 assists. Howard was just 4 of 12 at the foul line. Chandler Parsons had 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Rockets. Lin was the first player to score 30-plus points off the bench for Houston since Chase Budinger had 30 points against Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2011. "Midway through the third I was feeling pretty good," Lin said. "I got in my rhythm. I got a few shots to go down. Everything just kind of slowed down." Rudy Gay led the Raptors with 29 points and 10 rebounds but shot 11 of 37 from the field. DeMar DeRozan added 22 points, but he struggled as well, finishing 6 of 25. Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 10 points and 13 rebounds, Amir Johnson had 10 points and 10 boards, and Kyle Lowry netted 16 for Toronto, who shot 33 per cent from the field. "I love the way we fought," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "Anybody that didnt appreciate that, we had 30 more attempts. How many times have you seen that? We just have to make shots. We only shot 25 per cent in the first half, and we got back in the game with our defence." After Harden missed a jumper, Howard grabbed a rebound and gave it to Terrence Jones for a layup to give the Rockets a 106-104 lead with 1:13 to go in the second overtime. Gay missed a jumper, and Johnson missed the tip on the other end before Lin hit a floater with 33 seconds left to give the Rockets a four-point lead. Gay missed another jumper, and after review, Houston was awarded the ball with 26 seconds left. Patrick Beverley made one of two free throws with 20 seconds left, and Gay missed a 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining. Harden made one of two free throws to push the lead to six and ice the win. "We lost two at home," Harden said. "We cant lose three in a row at home. We are too much of a good team to lose three games. We did whatever it took to pull it out tonight." Harden scored seven of the Rockets first nine points in the second overtime, but Gay tied it at 104 with a 3-point play with 1:50 to go. Gay tied the score at 95 in the first overtime, hitting a tough 3-pointer from the top of the top of the arc with 0.9 seconds remaining, and Lin missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to a second extra period. "We fought with them obviously through two overtimes, and shots that we usually hit werent falling," Gay said. "You could say fatigue or a lot of different things, but they are a great team, and they played well. I just wish I wouldve hit the easy ones and maybe things wouldve worked out differently." Trailing 80-66 after Lins layup with 8:32 remaining in the fourth, Toronto knotted the score at 84 six minutes later on Terrence Rosss follow shot, capping an 18-4 run. Harden made one of two free throws to tie it at 87 with 34 seconds remaining before Gay missed a jumper with 12 seconds left, but the referees called a 24-second violation, saying the ball never hit the rim. After review, the ball hit the rim, and the officials jumped it up at midcourt, with the Rockets winning it, but Hardens jumper at the buzzer was short, sending the game to overtime. "It was a long, intense game," Harden said. "I think in the first half we did a great job defending. They only had 33 points at the half, but in the second half, we let up. Gave them confidence early in the second half when they started making shots. We have to battle it out and fight it out." NOTES: Toronto forward Steve Novak missed Mondays game with back spasms. . Houston guard/forward Francisco Garcia did not play in Mondays game as well with flu-like symptoms. . Harden was fined $5,000 Monday for violating the NBAs anti-flopping rules for a second time. Harden was cited for a fourth-quarter flop against the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday. Padres Jerseys China . Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin, Bode Miller and Tim Jitloff underlined the squads enormous potential on the Rettenbach glacier in Austria. Padres Jerseys 2020 . Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. https://www.cheappadresjerseys.us/.C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Custom San Diego Padres Jerseys .com) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos had an arthroscopic procedure performed on his right elbow last week, the teams official site reported Wednesday. Padres Jerseys 2019 . The judge sternly instructed the prosecutor to restrain himself and he apologized -- then went right back to trying to pick holes in the testimony of the double-amputee runner. It was a harsh day of cross-examination for Pistorius, challenged relentlessly about his account of the moments just before he killed Reeva Steenkamp, as well as circumstances related to several firearms charges against him, including the firing of a gun in a crowded restaurant.TORONTO – He was nowhere to be found in the fall of 2013. While the first day of Maple Leafs training camp got underway at the Mastercard Centre in west Toronto, Cody Franson sat at home in his apartment, waiting for 3pm practice with the Ryerson Rams. He was mired in the second of three contract struggles, this one finally coming to a close on Sept. 26, less than a week before the start of the regular season. "It was really weird," he recalled of the experience. "Ive had a couple negotiations go close to the wire, but never where I anticipated that Id actually have to leave, pack up my bags and actually leave the rink the day before camp rather than just feeling like somethings going to get done. That was an odd feeling to wrap my head around. Its unfortunate that thats the way that it had to go, but thats the business sometimes." Franson remained a restricted free agent this past offseason and though it took the threat of arbitration, he and the Leafs were able to come to terms on yet another one-year deal, this one for $3.3 million. And so unlike last fall and the fall before that, the now 27-year-old defender begins what he agrees is the most important season of his NHL career without a contract hiccup to worry about. "I think Franny knows and feels that he has to have a better season than he did last year," said head coach, Randy Carlyle following the first day of on-ice workouts. "When a guy misses camp it can have an effect over the course of an 82-game schedule that he doesnt start well or he has more valleys than peaks. We saw that and we experienced that with Cody Franson for periods of time [last season] and hell be the first one to admit it." Franson describes his 2013-14 campaign as an inconsistent picture, on point some nights, not so much on others. He bounced between a rotating cast of defence partners and troubled defensive strategy, ultimately unable to fulfill the top-four role (and increased competition) the club had hoped he might be capable of assuming. His possession numbers were amongst the best on the team and he remained the highest scoring defendeer in Toronto, but he never quite found the groove of a year earlier, when he broke out with 29 points in 45 games while holding down 19 minutes per night.dddddddddddd The stench of another collapse also lingered, almost to the point of no escape. Trips back home to tiny Sicamous, British Columbia this past summer brought with them the expected questions from friends and family, all curious as to how he and the Leafs could tumble so rapidly from a sure playoff position to yet another stinging miss last spring. "It just seems to be the common theme," he said of the meltdown, the third in as many years. That disastrous finish also left him wondering about his future in Toronto, especially precarious with new management in the fold. "When things happen like that you never know whats gonna happen," Franson said. "That opens a lot of doors that maybe typically wouldnt be open had we done well." His place with the organization has never really been all that secure. Signed to three one-year deals, each with a dispute of some kind, Franson has mostly been left wondering where exactly he fits in the Leafs big picture. And hed like to change that this season. In describing his goals for the coming year, Franson says he would like to keep up the offensive production, remain a physical presence, and become an improved all-around defender. Because the Leafs added Stephane Robidas and Roman Polak in the offseason, Carlyle may be able to employ him in a less demanding role, something closer to the third pairing duty and competition he excelled with in 2013 – be it alongside Morgan Rielly or Jake Gardiner. Set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time next summer, Franson has a lot riding on the year that follows. Its not a stretch to call it the biggest season of his career. "Oh, definitely," he said. "With [unrestricted] free agency next year Im out to prove that I can do the job that they need me to do. This is where I want to be. Im hopeful that something can get done. Ive got to have a big year in order for that to happen." ' ' '