Da Costa trailing the play. He jabbed at the puc

HOUSTON -- Coach Kevin McHale said it first and then player after player echoed his sentiment: Early in the season Houston wouldnt have won the type of game they did Sunday night. James Harden scored 41 points, Jeremy Lin had 26 and the Rockets rallied for a 118-113 overtime win against the Portland Trail Blazers. "Theres no way we win this game early on in the year," Chandler Parsons said. "So I think that shows a lot about our growth and maturity and just how much were coming together and how well were playing right now." The Trail Blazers led by 3 in overtime after two free throws by Wesley Matthews. Houston took over from there, using an 8-2 run with a 3 from Harden and four points from Lin to make it 116-113 with 35.4 seconds left. Lin added two free throws after that to help the Rockets secure their fifth straight win. "We didnt have a lot of zip in us tonight ... but the guys just kept battling and kept fighting," McHale said. "Sometimes you just have to go out there and gut your way through a win." Houston trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter before using a big spurt to close the gap. Portland regained the lead 106-103 before Harden hit a 3-pointer with seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime. "The first three quarters we were basically just out there running around," Harden said. "The last quarter we got more physical and created some opportunities for our defence." LaMarcus Aldridge led the Trail Blazers with 28 points and 12 rebounds, but managed just two points in OT. Its the second straight loss for Portland, following a 103-98 defeat at Dallas on Friday. "There are a lot of angry faces because we shouldve had that game," Aldridge said. "Weve had two tough losses on the road and we definitely felt like we didnt do everything we could tonight, so of course guys are angry right now." Dwight Howard added 17 points with 12 rebounds and Chandler Parsons had 16 points for Houston. Harden also had 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals. After the win, a couple of Rockets said they feel like they are as good as any team in the league right now. But Howard, who at 28 is one of the teams oldest players, cautioned against getting too confident. "You just want to hold up that trophy come June," he said. "Youve just got to stay humble. Thats the message. Stay humble and stay hungry and continue to do the small things to help us win games." Damian Lillard opened overtime with a 3-pointer for Portland, but picked up his sixth foul on a charge a few seconds later. A basket by Chandler Parsons cut the lead to 1 before Patrick Beverley fouled out, too, leaving both teams without their starting point guards. Harden knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner off the inbounds pass with 8 seconds left in the fourth and Matthews in his face to tie it. A turnover by Nicolas Batum gave Houston a chance to win it in regulation, but Beverleys jump shot clanged off the rim at the buzzer. Matthews had 26 points for Portland and Lillard 21. Houston trailed by 11 points with about eight minutes left in the fourth before going on a 12-3 run, powered by nine points from Harden, to get within 97-95 with about 3 1/2 minutes left. The only thing that slowed Harden during that span was an offensive foul that erased one his buckets. Lin got Houston within 1 on a layup with two minutes left in the fourth before a free throw by Robin Lopez. Lin gave Houston its first lead of the game -- 102-101 -- with a 3-pointer with 1:25 remaining. Lillards basket put Portland on top after that and Hardens turnover led to a pair of free throws by Matthews on the other end. Lin made one of two free throws to make it 105-103 before another free throw by Matthews. Portland was up by 12 points in the third quarter before a 5-1 spurt, with a 3-pointer by Matthews, extended the lead to 77-61. Houston got its offence going a little bit after that, scoring five straight points. But Aldridge made four quick points to push the lead up to 81-66. Portland got off to a quick start, building a 10-0 lead with five points from Lillard. Houston missed four shots and had two turnovers as the Trail Blazers built the lead. NOTES: McHale received a technical for arguing a foul call in the second quarter, and Williams and Hamilton also received technical fouls later in the second. ... Aldridge, who is from Dallas and played at the University of Texas, has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 12 regular-season trips to Houston. Bill Russell Jersey . Following the Ford Womens World Curling Championship gold medal match that attracted record-breaking audiences to TSN, the networks exclusive live coverage of the tournament begins Saturday at 7am et/4am pt with Canadas opening draw against Denmark. John Havlicek Celtics Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. http://www.celticssale.com/kids-kevin-mchale-celtics-jersey/ .A caravan greeted the former Boston Red Sox pitcher at the airport and took him to a public park in Santo Domingo, where a crowd lined a 19-mile stretch of highway to catch a glimpse of him.Once at the park, Martinez went on stage accompanied by players David Ortiz and Robinson Cano as merengue music played and fireworks lit up the sky. Robert Parish Jersey . Zdeno Chara scored with 13 seconds left in regulation after David Krejci tied it late, lifting the Bruins to a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night in a game that saw Orpik taken from the ice on a stretcher. Bob Cousy Celtics Jersey . The Redblacks are taking on the Edmonton Eskimos in their second regular season game Friday night. Catch the game live on TSN as the back end of a doubleheader starting at 10pm et/7pm pt.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In a game in which both teams badly needed a win to stay in the playoff picture, Jason Spezza did what captains do. Spezza scored a power-play goal with 5 minutes left and Stephane Da Costa had the other two goals to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. "It was a tie game and we got a faceoff play and then a little bit of puck luck in front of the net," Spezza said. "Johnny on the spot." After Nathan Horton went off for tripping at 13:08, the Senators took advantage late in the power play. Colin Greenings pass through the crease was deflected by Blue Jackets defenceman Fedor Tyutin, with Spezza closest to the loose puck. His first shot was blocked by Tyutin, but he took another whack at it and got it past McElhinney for the tiebreaker. Spezza, named captain in September, is having a solid if unspectacular season. He also picked up his 23rd assist to go with his 14th goal. But he came into the game with a minus-21 plus/minus rating. "No doubt Ive had much better years in the past," he said. "But theres a lot of hockey left, and I have a lot to give." Craig Anderson had 34 saves for the Senators, who had lost two in a row and four of five but picked up a critical win against another team theyre battling for contention in the Eastern Conference. "Youve just got to be patient," Anderson said while improving to 17-10-7 on the year. "Thats the key to any position, especially goalie. You start chasing (the puck), they can make you look silly or foolish. Patience is a virtue." Down a goal headed into the third period, the Blue Jackets tied it on a power play. Anderson turned away one hard shot by James Wisniewski from the top of the right circle, but moments later the Columbus defenceman got another chance and this time he found the net. Matt Calvert helped set it up with a screen that completely blocked Andersons vision. The goal was Wisniewskis fifth of the year and came at the 7:16 mark. But that just set up Spezzas big goal.dddddddddddd Anderson made several clutch saves in the waning moments after the Blue Jackets pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. Up 1-0 after the opening period, the Senators made it 2-0 at the 6:24 mark of the second -- and again it was Da Costa getting the goal. Spezza corraled a loose puck along the back wall and waited patiently before feeding Da Costa for his second of the night and second of the season. "Its real good to see him score," coach Paul MacLean said. "He was a good player for us tonight. Since hes come up, hes been good." Calvert carried the puck around the back of the goal and fed it to the point, eventually getting it back at the right doorstep. He slipped a blind, between-his-legs and backward pass to Atkinson, who had an empty net for his 16th at the 12-minute mark. Ottawas Milan Michalek split two defenders in the high slot but lost the puck, with Da Costa trailing the play. He jabbed at the puck and got it through heavy traffic at the 8:06 mark of the first period. The first one was just lying there on the power play so I kind of jumped on it," said Da Costa, playing only his eighth game with the Senators this season. "The second one was a real good pass from Spez to the backdoor and I just tapped it in." The Blue Jackets, playing their third game in four nights and second of a back-to-back, looked tired and sluggish most of the evening. "It took a long time (to get everyone skating) and some guys still arent going," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "To me, thats it right there. Were a good team when we have 18 skaters going and we were missing too many tonight." NOTES: Columbus LW Blake Comeau saw his first action after missing nine games with a sprained medial-collateral ligament in his left knee. ... Ottawa improved to 12-9-5 on the road this year, better than the 11-11-5 the Senators are at home. ... Senators D Chris Phillips did not play after suffering a minor injury during Saturdays 6-3 loss at Carolina. ' ' '