Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Austr

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Rockets will put their perfect record on the line tonight in their stiffest test to date, a home battle with the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. Later, two of the Western Conferences postseason teams from a season ago tangle early in this campaign when the Portland Trail Blazers welcome the Dallas Mavericks to the Moda Center. Both games can be seen on TSN2 beginning with the Rockets vs. Suprs at 8pm et/5pm pt. The Rockets can become the leagues first 6-0 team with a victory on Thursday. The Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors are also perfect in the early part of this campaign. Houston is supremely confident and should be against the Spurs. The Rockets swept the season series in 2013-14 and have won seven of the last nine at home versus the defending champs. The Rockets reached 5-0 in their toughest challenge before Thursday, toppling the previously undefeated Miami Heat, 108-91, in South Beach on Tuesday night. James Harden was a rebound shy of a triple-double, tallying 25 points and 10 assists for the Rockets. We showed tremendous confidence, especially in the fourth quarter, said Harden. We got stops when we needed to. Dwight Howard posted 26 points and 10 boards and Trevor Ariza nailed five 3- pointers and netted 19 points for Houston, which is off to its first 5-0 start since opening 6-0 during the 1996-97 season. Patrick Beverley returned from a two-game absence due to a hamstring injury and scored 15 points. The Rockets started the season against relative NBA lightweights, but the level rose with the four-time defending Eastern Conference champions. It gets even higher versus the NBA champions. Im happy with our progress, but were not satisfied, Howard said after the Miami victory. Weve got a tough game with San Antonio. We have to be ready for our next opponent. The Spurs were well-rested for their home tilt with the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. San Antonio had only played twice early in the campaign and it showed some rust, but escaped with a 94-92 win. You can make the argument on both sides, was there rust there, or is it good to get rest? opined Duncan. Luckily, we got the win and well build on that. With the score tied with 13.6 seconds remaining, Manu Ginobili drove the lane and kicked to the corner, but was fouled with 3.8 ticks on the clock. He buried a pair of free throws, then Boris Diaw blocked a last-second heave to allow the Spurs to survive. We need to be sharper, execute better, and today we just didnt, said Ginobili. Ginobili scored seven of his 12 points on Wednesday at the foul line. Duncan and Tony Parker each finished with 17 points, with the former grabbing 13 rebounds with six blocks, four assists and three steals. Kawhi Leonard and Diaw each scored 11 points in the win. Tiago Splitter returned from a calf injury, then left because he felt tightness in the area. His availability for Thursday night is undetermined. Mavericks and Blazers battle in Portland Two of the Western Conferences postseason teams from a season ago tangle early in this campaign when the Portland Trail Blazers welcome the Dallas Mavericks to the Moda Center. Theyre a great team, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. Theyre a playoff team, and theyre a different team than what weve seen with the quality of their big men and their 3-point shooting ability straight across the board. Its a tough matchup, and thats always a very difficult place to play. The Mavs begin this mini road trip on a roll, winning three straight and vaulting into the league lead in scoring at 111.8 ppg. Dallas will also visit the Utah Jazz on Friday before returning home. The Mavericks reached 3-1 Monday night with a 118-113 victory at home over the Boston Celtics. Chandler Parsons scored 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting, but the Mavs nearly squandered a 26-point lead. Jeff Green and Avery Bradley fueled the Celtics comeback, totaling 35 and 32 points, respectively. Bradley had a chance to tie things at the free throw line with 39.5 seconds to go but only made two of his three attempts. Monta Ellis, after fouling Bradley behind the arc, ended Bostons 9-0 run with a tough runner off the glass to give Dallas a 116-113 lead. He made two more free throws to seal the win. They are scrappy and you know that they are going to continue to fight back, Mavs center Tyson Chandler said of the Celtics. Dirk Nowitzki netted 27 points with seven rebounds while Ellis added 14 points for the Mavs. Chandler posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards, while Devin Harris managed 12 points. The Mavs shot 53.7 percent from the floor and 56 percent from long range. The Blazers got back on track Tuesday night. They halted a two-game slide with an emphatic statement game, a 101-82 home victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Needless to say, it was good to get a win, said Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts. But more importantly, it was how we got it, how we played. That looked like the team that we need to be. We withstood their barrage in the first quarter, stayed with our schemes and our coverages and the next 3 1/2 quarters, we did a great job defensively. We stuck with the defense and we got rhythm to the offense. It was a solid win at both ends of the court. The Cavs opened the game 10-for-10 from the field, but tailed off offensively. Cleveland never posted 20 points in the remaining three quarters and finished the contest with 13 points over the final 12 minutes. Damian Lillard busted out of his shooting slump with 27 points. He went 6- for-13 from the field, 5-for-10 from long range and 10-for-10 from the foul line. Its the same game that Ive been playing, said Lillard. The only difference was the shots just went in. It was pretty simple: just play the game. I thought we did a great job of moving the ball and everybody defended well. Wes Matthews (21), Robin Lopez (19) and LaMarcus Aldridge (16) finished in double figures. The Blazers also held the fabled James to just 11 points. The Mavs won two of three against the Blazers last season and have captured 10 of the last 15 meetings. Dallas is 12-6 in its last 18 in Rose City. Custom Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . Louis Blues, having added Ryan Miller and Steve Ott from Buffalo, remain the No. Nikita Kucherov Jersey . Or, for that matter, the aged. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/ . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Andrei Vasilevskiy Jersey . "I was so nervous," Hadley said Sunday after winning the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour victory. "I did not eat well last night. Brayden Point Jersey . Dr. James Andrews is to operate next week on the 24-year-old pitcher, who made the AL All-Star team last year. Moore will be the first Rays pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery since Jason Isringhausen in June 2009.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. The reigning U.S. and French Open champion and world No. 1 Nadal took the first set from Bernard Tomic, 6-4, before the Aussie decided to retire to a chorus of boos, citing a groin injury, on a hot Day 2 at Melbourne Park. The 21-year-old Tomic was a runner-up in Sydney last week. Nadal captured his lone Aussie Open title in 2009 and was the runner-up here in 2012. He missed last years edition due to injuries. Up next for the 13-time major champion will be 17-year-old Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis. Meanwhile, the fourth-seeded and three-time Aussie Open runner-up Murray made short work of Japans Go Soeda, routing him 6-1, 6-1, 6-3, while a sixth- seeded Federer dominated Aussie James Duckworth 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour, 46 minutes at Rod Laver Arena. Murray, who lost to Novak Djokovic in last years Melbourne finale, will face Frenchman Vincent Millot on Thursday. The Swiss legend Federer, who owns a mens-record 17 major titles and is appearing in a record 57th straight Grand Slam event, is looking to win for a fifth time in Melbourne and for the first time since 2010. He was also a runner-up here to Nadal back in 2009. Asked how he handled the heat on Day 2, the 32-year-old Federer said: "Im here. Im speaking. Actually, its not crazy. Im feeling OK right now. "It was very dry, just hot, stinging sort of sun. Depending on where you come from it has a bigger effect on you, this type of heat. So its very personal, and it can become just a very mental thing -- you just cant accept that its hot." The former world No. 1 Federer, who has reached the semifinals or better in Melbourne every year since 2004, will meet Slovenian Blaz Kavcic in his next outing. Last weeks Sydney champion, fifth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, was a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 winner over American Rhyne Williams. Up next for the former U.S. Open champ will be Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. Former Aussie Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, seeded 10th this year, cruised past Italian Filippo Volandri 7-5, 6-3, 6-3, while 11th-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic downed Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 7-6 (7-2), 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. Wiinning the Auckland title last week may have taken too much out of 13th- seeded John Isner.dddddddddddd. The highest-seeded American lost the first two sets to Slovak Martin Klizan, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), before retiring because of a foot injury on Tuesday. Isner did not appear in last years Aussie Open due to a bone bruise in his right knee. Fans sat through temperatures that reached well over 100 degrees and watched local favorite Lleyton Hewitt fall to 24th-seeded Andreas Seppi, who saved a match point before winning 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 7-5 in a grueling 4-hour, 18-minute affair. The former No. 1 Hewitt was making his 18th straight appearance in the event, where he finished as a runner-up back in 2005. Sixteenth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan outlasted Aussie Marinko Matosevic 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in 3 hours, 41 minutes. In other action involving seeds, No. 18 Gilles Simon outlasted German Daniel Brands 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 16-14; No. 22 Grigor Dimitrov grounded American Bradley Klahn 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3; No. 25 Gael Monfils dismissed American Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; No. 26 Feliciano Lopez topped Indian Somdev Devvarman 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2); No. 27 Benoit Paire doused Canadian Frank Dancevic 7-6 (14-12), 6-3, 6-4; and No. 31 Fernando Verdasco overcame Chinese Ze Zhang 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Several other men reached the second round including Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, Croat Marin Cilic, Aussie Nick Kyrgios, Romanian Victor Hanescu, last weeks Auckland runner-up Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei, and Americans Donald Young and Jack Sock. Young defeated Dutchman Robin Haase 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 1-0, retired, while Sock subdued German Tobias Kamke 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. The second round will get underway Wednesday, as the second-seeded former world No. 1 Djokovic will take on Argentine Leonardo Mayer. The formidable Djokovic is seeking a fourth straight and fifth Aussie Open title in seven years. In other Wednesday action involving top-10 seeds, No. 3 David Ferrer will meet Frances Adrian Mannarino, No. 7 Tomas Berdych will battle Frenchman Kenny De Schepper, No. 8 Stanislas Wawrinka will be opposed by Colombian Alejandro Falla, and No. 9 Richard Gasquet will take on one-time world No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko. 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