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CLEVELAND - The Houston Rockets played again without Dwight Howard. Unfortunately for the Cleveland Cavaliers, James Harden was in the building. Harden scored 37 points, including 17 in the third quarter, and the Rockets led from wire-to-wire in a 118-111 victory on Saturday night. With Howard out for a third straight game because of a sore left ankle, Harden provided a boost. He was 9 of 15 from the field, hit five 3-pointers, made all 14 of his free throws and had 11 assists without playing the fourth quarter after Houston built a 29-point lead late in the third. "Great players do that, they get going," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "Ive seen James do it countless times, but thats what separates him from a lot of players. He has the ability to do that." Harden dominated in just about every aspect of the game. He drove to the basket, buried shots from well beyond the 3-point line, converted free throws and found open teammates. "I just tried to be aggressive and be in attack mode to get to the rim," he said. "If the drive is there, I take it. If its not, Ill do something else. I just use my basketball instincts." Cleveland has lost four straight and played again without point guard Kyrie Irving, who has been sidelined for three games with a strained left biceps. Houston made its first four shots and took a quick lead in snapping a three-game road losing streak. The Rockets also strengthened their hold on the fourth spot in the Western Conference playoff race. Chandler Parsons scored 16 points for Houston while Patrick Beverly added 15. Dion Waiters led Cleveland with 26 points. Tyler Zeller added a career-high 23 points for the Cavaliers, who also played without forward Luol Deng (sprained left ankle). The Rockets played their reserves for most of the fourth and Cleveland cut into the margin. Harden had eight points and eight assists in the first quarter, which saw Cleveland coach Mike Brown call timeout twice in the first four minutes as Houston took a 17-4 lead. The margin reached 15 points in the second period and Houston shot 59 per cent in the first half. Cleveland scored the first seven points of the third quarter to cut the lead to 67-62, but Hardens five free throws sparked a 9-0 run and the Rockets regained control. His four-point play pushed the lead to 87-70. Harden hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key moments later, then added a dunk and another 3-pointer as the lead reached 101-72. "Obviously, Harden had a monster game," Brown said. Howard returned to practice Friday and participated in Saturday mornings shootaround, but didnt dress for the game. He played in each of Houstons first 66 games, but was a late scratch Monday, had a cyst removed from the ankle the following day and didnt play Thursday. "I dont think he feels quite good enough to play, but he feels much better," McHale said before the game. Houston is undefeated in the eight-time All-Stars absence. Howard scored 26 points and had six rebounds in the Rockets 106-92 win over Cleveland on Feb. 1. He averages 18.6 points and 12.4 rebounds for the season. Injuries and a brutal schedule have dropped Cleveland out of playoff contention. The Cavaliers are 2-8 in March and trail Atlanta by 6 1/2 games for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland, which has also dropped games to the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami and Oklahoma City in the streak, has lost eight of 10 and has dropped five straight at home. The Cavaliers fell behind by 24 points in Thursdays loss to the Thunder, a trend Brown is displeased with. "Thats two games in a row that weve come out and our first group has just been flat," he said. "Theyve been flat offensively, flat defensively. So its been an uphill battle, especially being short-handed." The difficult schedule continues Sunday when the Cavaliers travel to New York, which has won eight in a row. Cleveland was routed 113-86 on Jan. 30 at Madison Square Garden. The Rockets have won four straight and six of their last seven against the Cavaliers. Seth Curry, signed by Cleveland to a 10-day contract Friday, scored three points in eight minutes. Hes the younger brother of Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry. NOTES: Rockets guard Francisco Garcia isnt with the team because of personal reasons. ... In addition to missing Irving and Deng, the Cavaliers played without guard C.J. Miles (sprained left ankle) and forwards Anthony Bennett (strained left patellar) and Sergey Karasev (sore right knee). ... Seth Curry appeared in one game earlier this season for Memphis, playing four scoreless minutes. ... Houston plays at Charlotte on Monday. Sonny Jurgensen Redskins Jersey . 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UCI President Brian Cookson said Wednesday the commission will investigate allegations "that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past -- allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport.LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Joe Torre, Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox, baseballs winningest managers over the past four decades, were unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame on Monday by the expansion era committee. Each won more than 2,000 games and was selected on all 16 ballots when the committee met Sunday ahead of baseballs winter meetings. "Managing against them, you certainly learned things," said Torre, now an executive vice-president for Major League Baseball. "I am honoured to go into the Hall with these two guys." Induction ceremonies will be held July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y. Torre became the fifth manager to win four World Series championships, leading the Yankees to titles in 1996 and from 1998-00 -- beating Coxs Braves twice. After making only one trip to the playoffs in 14 seasons with the New York Mets, St. Louis and Atlanta, Torre guided the Yankees to the post-season in all 12 of his years in New York with a cool, patient demeanour. His popularity rankled owner George Steinbrenner, who didnt receive the necessary 75 per cent of the vote for election in his second appearance on the ballot. Torre finished his career by leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to two NL West titles in three seasons, retiring after 2010 with a record of 2,326-1,997. Hes the only manager to have more than 2,000 hits as a player -- he was the 1971 NL MVP -- and 2,000 wins in the dugout. "Joe taught a lot of us about how to win the right way and lose the right way," La Russa said. La Russa won World Series titles with Oakland in 1989 and with St. Louis in 2006 and 11, retiring days after beating the Texas Rangers in a seven-game thriller. Of the nine managers with three or more World Series titles, the other seven all have been inducted. La Russa finished with the third-most wins by a manager in a career that began with the Chicago White Sox in 1979 and ended with a record of 2,728-2,365. Coxs managerial career began in 1978 with Atlanta, but he was fired after four seasons -- only one above .500. A four-year run in Toronto ended in 1985 with an AL East title, and Ted Turner lure him back to the Braves as their GM. Cox returned to the dugout in 1990, and following one losing season he went on one of the most successful regular-season runs by any skipper, leading the Braves to 14 straight division titles and a World Series championship in 1995. He retired in 2010 fourth behind La Russa in career wins with a record of 2,504-2,001. Fiercely loyal to his players, Cox was ejected a major league record 159 times. Two of his pitchers during the remarkable stretch during the 90s, 300-game winners Greg Maddux and Tom& Glavine, head the newcomers on this years players ballot.ddddddddddddResults of voting by the Baseball Writers Association of American is scheduled for Jan. 8. "It would be quite an honour to go in with those two guys," Cox said. "I just hope Glav and Mad Dog can be on the stage with me. "That would be the final finishing touch, going in with those two." Marvin Miller, the pioneering head of the players association from 1966-81, was rejected for admission to the Hall for the sixth time he appeared on a committee ballot. He fell one vote short of induction in 2010 and received no more than six votes this year. And that disappointed Don Fehr, the executive director of the NHL Players Association. Fehr worked with Miller the final six-plus seasons he headed up the baseball players association before serveing as union head from 1983 until 2009. "Marvin should have been elected to the Hall many years ago," Fehr said in a statement. "It is a sad and sorry state of affairs that he has not been, and continues to reflect poorly on the very organization that has as its purpose recognizing and celebrating baseballs best." Tony Clark, the current head of the baseball players association, agreed. "Words cannot adequately describe the level of disappointment and disbelief I felt when learning that once again the Hall of Fame has chosen to ignore Marvin Miller and his unparalleled contributions to the growth and prosperity of Major League Baseball," he said in a statement. "Over the past 50 years, no individual has come close to matching Marvins impact on the sport. "Despite the election results, Marvins legacy remains intact, and will only grow stronger, while the credibility of the Hall of Fame continues to suffer." This years committee included Hall of Famers Rod Carew, Carlton Fisk, Whitey Herzog, Tom Lasorda, Paul Molitor, Joe Morgan, Phil Niekro and Frank Robinson; Toronto president Paul Beeston; retired club executive Andy MacPhail; Philadelphia president Dave Montgomery; White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf; Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau; Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle; BBWAA Secretary-Treasurer Jack OConnell; and retired Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Jim Reeves. This years ballot, chosen by a BBWAA-appointed historical overview committee, covers baseballs expansion era. Players, managers, umpires, executives whose most significant impact was from 1973 on were considered as part of a three-year cycle. The golden era (1947-72) will be voted on in 2014 and the pre-integration era (1871-1946) will be judged in 2015. ' ' '