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SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Haywards pinpoint shooting got the Utah Jazz off to their best start of the season and Marvin Williams made the plays at the end for their most impressive victory of the season. Williams scored five points in the final two minutes, Hayward broke out of a shooting slump to score 29 points and the Jazz earned their first back-to-back wins of the season with a 109-103 victory over the Rockets on Monday night. "What a huge win for us," Williams said. "Houston has been playing really, really well. For them to come into our building and put up a big-time fight and then for us to come out on top is a great feeling." With Utah clinging to a 101-98 lead, Williams stole James Hardens pass and raced down for a dunk with 2 minutes left. "Thankfully I was able to take advantage of a miscommunication on their part. It was a huge break for us," Williams said. Williams, who has been playing with a mask since breaking his nose last month, then hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 59 seconds to go to boost the lead to 108-100. "Gordon made a very, very unselfish play," Williams said. "I thought he was going to shoot it. He was really going and had been making plays all night for us. Im glad I stayed there and stayed ready." Rookie Trey Burke posted career highs of 21 points and six assists for Utah, which shot 54 per cent and made 10 of 17 from beyond the arc. The Jazz were coming off a 112-104 win over the Suns on Saturday Harden had 15 of his season-best 37 points in the fourth quarter to keep the Rockets close, but they couldnt get enough defensive stops. "We just didnt defend. We go through mental lapses where we dont lock down on the defensive end. We gave up too many points to fight our way back," Harden said. For a change, it was the Jazz making crucial plays at the end. "Were learning from the other games and not making the same mistakes twice," Hayward said. "Dont get me wrong, we still have a lot of improvement as a basketball team and as individuals, but its good to see we didnt let this one slip away like we did early in the year." Dwight Howard had 15 points and Francisco Garcia and Omri Casspi had 13 apiece as Houston lost for only the second time in its last 10 games. The Rockets have averaged 111 points on 51 per cent shooting during the stretch. Harden weaved through a trio of Jazz players and scored a crafty layup to tie the game at 86-all with 8:07 to play. Alec Burks answered with a 3-pointer and the Jazz led the rest of the way. Burke started the season on the injured list with a broken finger but has found his rhythm in the past few games. His hot play has coincided with Utahs best stretch of the season as the Jazz have won three of four after dropping 14 of their first 15 games. "Its a matter of the players and coaches having confidence in me and just taking what the defence is giving me," Burke said. The Jazz put the ball in the rookies hands and let him make plays down the stretch. In the fourth quarter, Burke had seven points and six assists and marked a career-best in points for second straight game. Add in Haywards savvy all-court game and the Jazz finally look like a formidable team at times. "The greatest thing was (Hayward and Burke) made plays for their teammates," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. "They attacked and were able to get everybody involved and it threw (Houston) off a little bit." Hayward made 12 of 18 shots to regain his shooting confidence. His early hot streak sparked the Jazz to lead by as many as 14 points in the first half. Over the previous nine games, Hayward made just 36 of 123 attempts for 29 per cent. "I got going early by getting some easy buckets in transition and anytime you see the ball go through the hoop like that, it sets the tone," said Hayward, who had 17 points in the first quarter. The Jazz shot 59 per cent from 3-point range, while Houston hit 32 per cent (9 of 2 Cool

from beyond the arc. The two teams played here exactly one month ago when Chandler Parsons scored 24 points and the Rockets outscored the Jazz 64-37 in the second half to win 104-93. Parsons sat out this game with a sore back and the Rockets had only Harden and Aaron Brooks, who had 13 points, as playmakers in the fourth quarter. "We had plenty of guys to win this game today. It had nothing to do with who wasnt there," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. Since Burke recovered sufficiently to play starter minutes, the Jazz have reached 100 points in three games for the first time all season. Before this run, Utah only had one contest in which they topped the century mark. NOTES: Jeremy Lin missed his third game with a sprained and bruised right knee. ... Houston was outscored 36-23 in the first quarter. ... The Rockets had 54 points in the paint. David Freese Dodgers Jersey . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. Austin Barnes Dodgers Jersey . This has become the Raptors mantra as they embark on a new era with a new regime and, in the not-so-distant future, a new image. https://www.cheapdodgersonline.com/185h-gary-sheffield-jersey-dodgers.html . I kind of got a taste of being able to pick a suit with the draft lottery, I went with the bow tie. Justin Turner Dodgers Jersey . The Durban-based Sharks withstood a furious second-half fightback to beat the Queensland Reds 35-20 for a fourth straight win which gave them a five-point lead atop the championship table. The Hamilton-based Chiefs scored two late tries to beat the Cape Town-based Stormers 36-20 for their third win, after the Stormers rallied from 24-6 down to 24-20 with six minutes remaining. Manny Mota Dodgers Jersey . Thats when the eight-time champion revealed that a painful back is slowing his serves -- and, all in all, giving him more trouble than his opponents so far.SAINT-ETIENNE, France -- Saint-Etienne made up ground in the race for a Champions League spot by defeating third-place Lille 2-0 Friday in the French league. Brazilian striker Brandao opened the scoring with a header in the 55th minute before winger Franck Tabanou volleyed home from close range to double the lead in the 61st. Lille was down to 10 men in the 62nd when midfielder Florent Balmont was red-carded for dissent. Saint-Etienne bounced back from a French Cup elimination against fourth-division side Cannes on Tuesday to pull within three points of Lille. "The team that wanted it the most tonight won the match," Saint-Etienne coach Christophe Galtier said. "We showed courage to make things happen. My players were rewarded for their efforts." The hosts struggled to provide some decent service to Brandao in a tactical first half. Lille centre back David Rozehnal cleared dangerous crosses from Saint-Etienne wingers Romain Hamouma in the 27th and Tabanou in the 33rd. The visitors did not create much either but were more threatening from set pieces. Lille defender Simon Kjaer headed a corner over the bar in the third minute before Salomon Kalou connected with a free kick from Balmont in the ninth for a header that Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier palmed away. One accurate final ball made the difference in the second half. A cross from Saint-Etienne lefftback Faouzi Ghoulam eluded the Lille defence, but Brandao beat the offside trap to head in at the far post.dddddddddddd Six minutes later, Tabanou converted a rebound after Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama parried a volley from Hamouma. Balmont spotted a foul from Tabanou in the build-up to the goal and argued with the referee, who sent off the Lille midfielder. "I told him there was a foul and that it was a disgrace," Balmont said. "In the heat of the discussion, I told him he was rubbish. To me, thats not an insult, thats what is frustrating. But he took it as an insult." Saint-Etienne could have added a third goal in the 78th but Tabanou failed to convert from six yards a low cross from Hamouma. Ruffier kept a clean sheet by saving a close-range effort from Lille substitute Ryan Mendes in the 86th. "We played for about an hour and then we faded after conceding that goal," Lille coach Rene Girard said. "We gave up. We will sort out those problems together. Its in the heads. We will have to put a few heads in the fridge. We must get back to things that are more down to earth." On Saturday, its: Marseille vs. Valenciennes; Bastia vs. Bordeaux; Lorient vs. Guingamp: Nice vs. Ajaccio; Rennes vs. Evian; and Sochaux vs. Montpellier. On Sunday, leader Paris Saint-Germain hosts Nantes, Monaco visits Toulouse and Lyon faces Reims. ' ' '