mphasized this move is not the result of anything

DALLAS -- James Harden walked the ball up the court in the final seconds of the third quarter, then decided he didnt want to set up the offense.The Houston star simply pulled up and hit a long 3-pointer for the first double-digit lead during a late-quarter run that put the Rockets in control for good.Trevor Ariza scored 27 points, Harden had 26 and Houston beat Dallas 106-98 with Dirk Nowitzki missing from the Mavericks home opener Friday night.Harden went scoreless while playing the entire first quarter, missing all five shots, before getting 10 points in the second and 12 in the third, including the punctuating 3 that followed two others on a 10-2 run to finish the quarter.I was in a groove and it was time to close out the quarter, Harden said. Think thats one of the things that were preaching is we got to end quarters the right way.Harrison Barnes, playing his first home game for the Mavericks after signing a max contract in the summer, had a career-high 31 points.Nowitzki didnt play for just the second time in 19 home openers with Dallas. The 38-year-old had a stomach ailment bad enough that coach Rick Carlisle wasnt sure he would make the trip to Houston for the Rockets home opener Sunday.Dirks not going to be around here forever. And were going to be sitting him sometimes this year, Carlisle said. The other guys have got to step up and step forward. And Im one of them. Weve all got to really raise the level of our game when a guy like thats not on the floor.Two nights after recording a career-high 17 assists in an opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden had eight assists and seven rebounds.Ariza was 5 of 7 from 3-point range, including one early in the fourth quarter to push Houstons lead back to nine points. He was fouled on 3-pointers twice and made all six free throws.TIP-INSRockets: Harden became the second player in NBA history with at least 30 points and 15 assists in an opener when he had 34 points and 17 assists in the 120-114 loss to the Lakers. Tim Hardaway had 32 and 18 for Golden State at Denver in 1990. ... Eric Gordon was the other double-figure scorer for Houston with 18 points. ... Clint Capela had nine rebounds.Mavericks: Dallas has the two highest totals for 3-point attempts in a game in league history after shooting 48 in the 130-121 overtime loss to Indiana in the opener. The Mavericks made 18 (38 percent). Dallas shot a record 49 on March 5, 1996, against New Jersey, also making 18 (37 percent). ... Andrew Bogut, a starter alongside Barnes at Golden State before both joined Dallas after the Warriors landed Kevin Durant in free agency, had a game-high 12 rebounds. ... Deron Williams had 14 points, but just one in the second half.FILLING IN FOR DIRKThe only other home opener Nowitzki missed was in 2012 when he sat the first 27 games recovering from knee surgery. Sliding over to power forward, Barnes was strong inside and out, going 13 of 23 from the field with five rebounds. I think he has a chance to be a very special player. Ive felt that all along, Carlisle said.DEFENSIVE TURNAROUNDAfter giving up 51 percent shooting in the loss to the Lakers, the Rockets allowed Dallas to shoot 52 percent in the first quarter while Barnes scored 12 points . But the Mavericks were held to 15 of 40 (38 percent) in the second and third quarters, when Houston outscored them 53-43. We cant just rely on offense or James bailing us out like he did a lot last year, Ariza said. We have to do it collectively on the defensive end.SHOOTING STRUGGLESDallas Wesley Matthews scored 13 points on a second straight bad shooting night. Hes 7 of 30 from the field through two games, including 3 of 18 from 3-point range.LONG-RANGE SUCCESSThe Rockets were 15 of 32 from 3-point range (47 percent). Ariza, Harden (4 of 9) and Gordon (3 of 6) combined to make 12 of 20 from beyond the arc. I think our legs were a little bit better, and well get more in shape as we play more games, first-year coach Mike DAntoni said.UP NEXTThe Rockets home opener Sunday against the Mavericks is their only home game in the first eight this season. One of three five-game road trips -- a season high -- follows. Terrell Owens Womens Jersey . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Kwon Alexander Youth Jersey . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Tom-Rathman-Jersey/ . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Solomon Thomas Jersey . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Terrell Owens Youth Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A Knoxville police officer who called Tennessee football coach Butch Jones during a rape investigation involving his players will no longer serve as the police departments liaison to the football team.Knoxville police chief David Rausch said Wednesday that Sam Brown was removed from that assignment as a result of the reported concerns about the relationship between the football program and the police department. Rausch said Brown had served as the departments liaison to the Tennessee football program for the past 19 years and that his role included providing security for the head coach, team and staff.In order for the program to move on and avoid further undue scrutiny, it was agreed that we should make the transition at this time, Rausch said in a statement.Knoxville radio station WNML first reported the decision.Rausch emphasized this move is not the result of anything that Officer Brown has done or not done.He is a man of great integrity and has been a dedicated public servant to the Knoxville community, Rausch said.Phone records released in March show that Jones received calls from Brown and Rausch the morning of Nov. 16, 2014, hours after a woman said she was raped. Jones spoke to A.J. Johnson, a linebacker on his team at the time, a few minutes after receiving the initial call from Brown..dddddddddddd.Johnson and defensive back Michael Williams were suspended from the team Nov. 17, 2014, and were identified as suspects the following day. They were indicted on aggravated rape charges in February 2015, and their cases are still pending.Knoxville police announced in April they were ending their practice of making courtesy calls to Tennessee coaches about incidents involving their players in the interest of transparency and to alleviate any appearance of conflict of interest. They said that going forward, in any incident involving a student at the university, police would make formal notification only to the schools law enforcement officials.Rausch said Wednesday that Brown has been on the citys two-year delayed-retirement program since February 2015 and has a final service date effective Jan. 31.He has been a mentor and guide to the young men in the program and has provided excellent professional service to those involved in the program, Rausch said.Rausch said Knoxville police would continue to provide support and serve the safety and security needs for the football program in partnership with the University of Tennessee police department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. ' ' '