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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Harden helps Houston hold off Warriors

Chandler Parsons scored 23 points for the Rockets on Friday. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

NBA: James Harden had 26 points and nine assists, Chandler Parsons scored 23 points and the Houston Rockets held off the Golden State Warriors 116-112 at Oakland, Calif., on Friday night.

Dwight Howard finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds while spending most of the night in foul trouble for the Rockets, who led by 13 points late in the third quarter before the Warriors briefly rallied ahead in the fourth. Patrick Beverley scored nine of his 16 points in the final period to help Houston hand Golden State its second loss in a week.

David Lee had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Stephen Curry collected 20 points and nine assists for the Warriors, who outrebounded the Rockets 56-32.

Thunder pound Lakers: Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Russell Westbrook added 19 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds and the host Oklahoma City Thunder rolled to a 122-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Los Angeles has lost all three games since the return of Kobe Bryant from a torn Achilles tendon. Bryant played 23 minutes and had 13 assists.

Parker helps Spurs keep T-wolves at bay: Tony Parker had 29 points to offset a season-high 42 points from Kevin Love and the San Antonio Spurs rallied for a 117-110 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.

Pacers stay perfect at home: Lance Stephenson had 20 points and 11 rebounds to help the Indiana Pacers improve their franchise-record home start to 11-0 with a 99-94 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Hayward’s big night helps Jazz topple Nuggets: Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 30 points to go with a career-high 13 rebounds, Derrick Favors had 19 points and the Utah Jazz rallied after blowing a big third-quarter lead to beat the host Denver Nuggets 103-93.

Luongo stumps Oilers as Canucks cruise

NHL: Roberto Luongo made 19 saves for his 65th career shutout and the host Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 for their sixth straight victory.

After losing a shutout bid in the final seconds Sunday in a victory over Colorado, Luongo moved within one of Hall of Famer Patrick Roy for 14th place on the career list. Luongo has three shutouts this season.

Daniel Sedin, Zack Kassian, Chris Higgins and Dale Weise scored to help Vancouver improve to 19-10-5 (43 points). Jason Garrison added three assists, and Ryan Kesler had two.

Penguins hold on: Pascal Dupuis scored 41 seconds into the game and the streaking Pittsburgh Penguins used a big first period to beat the visiting New Jersey Devils 3-2. Chris Conner and Jayson Megna also scored in the first for Metropolitan-leading Pittsburgh, which has won seven of eight.

Panthers get 10-round shootout win: Tomas Kopecky scored the winning goal in the 10th round of the shootout, lifting the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals at Sunrise, Fla.

Late bucket propels Iowa State over Iowa

College basketball: Georges Niang scored 24 points, including the go-ahead basket with 18.8 seconds left, and 17th-ranked Iowa State rallied to beat No. 23 Iowa 85-82 at Ames, Iowa.

Dustin Hogue had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Cyclones, who prevailed in the first meeting between the Cyclones and Hawkeyes as ranked teams in 26 years.

Dinwiddie keeps CU hot: Spencer Dinwiddie scored 17 points and No. 21 Colorado beat Elon 80-63 at Boulder, Colo., for its 10th consecutive win. Xavier Johnson added 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Buffaloes.

Portland placed in Champions League

Miscellany: The Portland Timbers will compete in CONCACAF’s 2014-15 Champions League after a change to the U.S. allocation system was approved.

Portland earned the spot as the MLS team with the best record in the conference opposite the Supporters’ Shield winner (regular-season points champion). Previously, that spot went to the MLS Cup runner-up. The other three U.S. spots remained unchanged, with the New York Red Bulls getting in as the Supporters’ Shield winner, Sporting Kansas City as the MLS Cup champion, and D.C. United as the U.S. Open Cup winner.

Notre Dame, Virginia advance to NCAA soccer final: Patrick Hodan led Notre Dame to its first NCAA men’s soccer final, scoring twice in the Fighting Irish’s 2-0 semifinal victory over New Mexico at PPL Park in Chester, Pa.

Notre Dame (16-1-6) will face Maryland (17-3-5) in the title game Sunday. Maryland, which is going for its third national championship in the last nine years, beat Virginia 2-1 in the second semifinal.

Perry, O’Hair share lead: Defending champions Kenny Perry and Sean O’Hair shot an 8-under 64 in modified alternate-shot play for a share of the first-round lead in the Franklin Templeton Shootout golf tournament at Naples, Fla.

The teams of Matt Kuchar-Harris English and Charles Howell III-Justin Leonard also shot 64 on the Ritz Carlton Resort’s Tiburon course. The 24 teams will play better ball today and finish with a scramble Sunday.