Mason, OH (Sports Network) - Fourth-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal won back-to- back hard court finals in successive weeks for the first time in his career with a victory over unseeded American John Isner in Sundays title match at the Western & Southern Open. Nadal ran his record on hardcourts this season to 15-0 with a 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-3) triumph over Isner at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. The 12-time Grand Slam champion improved his head-to-head record against Isner to 4-0. The 27-year-old Nadal, last weeks Masters champion in Montreal, played in his 37th career ATP Masters 1000 final (26-11 in finals, 8-6 on hard). He also appeared in his 82nd career ATP World Tour level final (59-23 overall, 9-2 in 2013). Nadal became the second Spaniard to win the title here (Carlos Moya in 2002). He will move from No. 3 to No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday. The last time Nadal was No. 2 was the week of July 2, 2012 (second week of Wimbledon). Isner, meanwhile, was aiming for his fourth consecutive win over a Top 10 player this week after beating No. 10 Milos Raonic in the third round, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals and No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals. The 28-year-old Isner fell to 7-9 in title matches. Nadal took home $583,800 with the victory. White Sk8 Hi Vans Shoes . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. Slip On Vans Discount . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. http://www.cheapoldskoolwholesale.com/ . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. Black Vans Old Skool Sale . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Authentic Vans Old Skool . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. SAN ANTONIO -- When the San Antonio Spurs finally stopped James Harden, his Houston Rockets teammates came through on defense.Harden had a triple-double with 24 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds, and Houston made two late defensive stands to hold off San Antonio 101-99 on Wednesday night, handing the Spurs their third straight home loss.It was important for us, Harden said. The only way were going to get to where we want to go is on the defensive end. The game wasnt pretty at all, but defensively we got stops.Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points for the Spurs but missed his final two shots, either of which could have tied the game. After Leonard missed a layup in the final seconds, LaMarcus Aldridge missed a tip-in attempt at the buzzer.Aldridge finished with 14 points and five rebounds.It was a good play called, Leonard said of his last shot. I got to the paint, got a shot off, just didnt fall. (Aldridge) had a good chance, it just fell short, but well take that again.Leonard made 11 shots on a career-high 26 field goal attempts.San Antonio extended its longest skid at home since dropping three straight overtime games in December 2014. The Spurs did not lose at home last season until April 11 against Golden State and tied an NBA record by finishing 40-1 at the AT&T Center.Its tough to win in this building, Rockets forward Ryan Anderson said. Theyre a team that obviously has some great players. To get a win in here, youve got to be happy.The Spurs used a rotation spearheaded by Leonard and Danny Green to defend Harden, but found little success.Harden set an aggressive tone early with nine points, six assists and three rebounds in the first quarter.Hes always been a great passer, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. He has the ball in his hands a lot more as the point guard. He is one of the best players in the league. Very difficult to guard.When Harden wasnt draining jumpers and tossing in runners, he kicked the ball out to open teammates after drawing multiple defenders on his drives.The Rockets were 10 for 30 on 3-pointers and shot 47 percent overall in snapping a four-game skid at San Antonio.Anderson was 4 for 6 on 3-pointers and had 20 points. Eric Gordon scored 15 and fellow reserve Sam Dekker added 12.Coach is liable to call anybody and guys stepped up, Harden saiid.dddddddddddd Dekker hit some big shots.The Spurs sat Pau Gasol the entire second quarter in favor of a quicker lineup and it helped them erase a 13-point deficit to take a 51-50 lead.San Antonio employed the same strategy late in the third to pull within a point twice, but could not overcome the Rockets even when Harden struggled.He missed his final three shots as well as a pair of free throws and committed a turnover in the final 3 minutes, yet Houston was able to win with defense.They had my back, Harden said. But those turnovers, those cant happen consistently, or two missed free throws.TIP-INSRockets: Harden had his streak of four straight games with at least 30 points and 12 assists snapped. ... Houston played seven of its first eight games on the road. The last team to open with such an arduous schedule was Cleveland in 1970-71. ... Corey Brewer started his second straight game. Gordon started the teams first six games.Spurs: Tony Parker missed his third consecutive game with a sore right knee. Popovich expects Parker to play Friday at home against Detroit or Saturday in Houston. ... Manu Ginobili joined Rashard Lewis as the only second-round draft picks in NBA history with 13,000 career points and at least 1,300 3-pointers. Ginobili is the 15th second-rounder to reach 13,000 points. ... Green became the sixth player with at least one 3-pointer in 300 games for the Spurs. Parker, Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Matt Bonner and Sean Elliott are the others.GOOD FITHardens move to point guard has paid off for the Rockets, who are tied with the Spurs atop the Southwest Division at 5-3.Hes scoring a bundle and getting about 10 assists a game, Popovich said. I think anybody would take that. Thats pretty darn good.DANNY BOYGreen made his season debut for San Antonio, scoring eight points in his return from a strained left quadriceps. He missed his first 3-point try but drained his second from the right corner and finished 2 for 8 on 3s.I thought Danny was great, Popovich said. He hit big shots. He drove it a few times. He played good defense. I thought he looked really good.UP NEXTRockets: Host San Antonio on Saturday.Spurs: Host Detroit on Friday. ' ' '
