He thought he had earned an early night off, but didnt mind returning to the court after Los Angeles trimmed a 25-point lead to 11 in the final minutes.

(SportsNetwork. Daniel Carrico Jersey .com) - The San Jose Sharks hope to avoid a fifth straight loss and secure the first victory of their current homestand on Saturday night as they take on the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks followed up consecutive shootout losses to Florida and Arizona with a 2-0 setback to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. That dropped them to 0-1-2 on a six-game homestand and 2-4-2 as the host this season. Antti Niemi made 17 saves, getting beat just once as Calgarys Jiri Hudler scored on a wrister in the slot with 2:44 to go in the second period. Hudler scored again into an empty net and Flames netminder Karri Ramo stopped all 32 shots he faced. The Sharks havent given their defense much to work with as they have not scored more than three goals in nine straight games since a 5-3 win at Dallas on Nov. 8. They are 2-5-2 since. Its disappointing. We want to win, we want to get out of this, said Sharks center Joe Pavelski The harder we try the worse its going. Niemi was backed up on Wednesday by San Jose resident Ryan Lowe, who was signed to a goaltending contract after Troy Grosenick was injured in practice on Tuesday and unable to dress for the game. The 31-year-old Lowe last played professionally in Australia. Grosenick had been serving as the backup to Niemi with Alex Stalock out following left knee surgery. Niemi is 11-9-0 with a 2.51 goals against average and .908 save percentage in his career versus the Ducks. Looking to break out of their slump, the Sharks have won six of their last eight over the Ducks that includes a 4-1 victory in Anaheim on Oct. 26. Niemi made 33 saves in that triumph. San Jose has won five in a row at home versus Anaheim. The Ducks, who are 7-2-2 as the guest this season, are hoping to reverse that trend Saturday and return to the win column after having a three-game win streak snapped the last time out. Anaheim had a chance to go 3-0 on a three-game homestand but dropped the finale 4-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday afternoon. The Ducks were outshot 38-24 in the loss, the clubs first regulation setback since a 6-2 home setback against Florida on Nov. 16. Chicago put up all the offense it would need in the first 14 minutes of the game, as Brad Richards and Andrew Shaw helped the visitors grab the early 2-0 lead. Patrick Kane added two goals later to keep the Ducks at bay. Hampus Lindholm scored the only goal of the game for Anaheim, while Frederik Andersen allowed three goals on 37 shots in the loss. During Fridays game the Ducks announced they had acquired defenseman Eric Brewer from Tampa Bay for a third-round pick in the 2015 draft. Brewer, who has four assists in 17 games this season for the Lightning, could help add depth for an Anaheim club that has been without blueliners Francois Beauchemin and Clayton Stoner. Beauchemin will miss 4-to-6 weeks with a broken finger sustained earlier this week against Calgary, while Stoner is day-to-day with the mumps. Brewer could be available to play for the Ducks tonight, as he is expected to join his team in San Jose. The Ducks are only on the road for tonights game in Northern California before heading back down the coast for a two-game homestand against Boston and Philadelphia. Anaheim begins that brief residency Monday versus the Bruins. Danilo Pereira Jersey . -- Andy Granatelli, the former CEO of STP motor oil company who made a mark on motorsports as a car owner, innovator and entrepreneur, has died. Silvestre Varela Jersey .Impact president Joey Saputo confirmed Thursday that he is part of a group of investors whose offer to buy the 105-year-old Italian club was accepted by the teams board of directors. http://www.soccerportugalshop.com/world-cup-bruno-alves-football-jersey/ . In the opening game of his fourth-round match at the U.S. Open, the owner of 17 major titles got passed at the net twice, sailed a backhand long, then missed two forehands to get broken.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - After James Harden lit up the Los Angeles Lakers for the first three quarters, he returned in the final minutes to keep the Houston Rockets focused on their finish.Kobe Bryant used to do that job for the Lakers, and they might find out Monday whether hell do it again this year.Harden had 37 points and eight rebounds, and the Rockets rolled to a 99-87 victory without Dwight Howard on Sunday night, sending Los Angeles to its eighth straight defeat.Harden hit four 3-pointers, and the NBAs leading scorer added five assists in the Rockets third victory in four games. He thought he had earned an early night off, but didnt mind returning to the court after Los Angeles trimmed a 25-point lead to 11 in the final minutes.Its my job to be not only a scorer, but a facilitator, said Harden, who scored at least 33 points in his fourth straight game. Make sure everybody is happy, getting good shots. Weve got to do a better job closing out games. Its definitely getting there. Were more than capable of being the best defensive team in the league, but weve got to focus on it every game.Josh Smith and Jason Terry had 11 points apiece as Houston cruised to its fourth straight road victory over the Lakers even without Howard, who sat out after injuring his right ankle two days ago.I thought in the first half, we ran a lot more, Houston coach Kevin McHale said. I think our focus kind of waned later on in the game.Carlos Boozer scored 18 points for the Lakers, who are on their longest losing streak in nearly 10 years.The Lakers werent terribly competitive until the fourth quarter of their latest game without Bryant, who could be out for the season after tearing his right rotator cuff last week.Los Angeles, which committed 21 turnovers and went 1 for 13 on 3-pointers, hadnt lost eight straight games since March 2005. The Lakers missed the playoffs that season for the only time in Bryants career before last year.The effort, that hasnt been an issue, coach Byron Scott said. The turnovers, that has been an issue. When were turning the ball over at that high of a rate, were not givinng ourselves a chance. Fabio Coentrao Jersey. The Lakers could find out Monday whether Bryant needs season-ending surgery. Scott hasnt given up optimism for an eventual return by the third-leading scorer in NBA history.I think we all hold out hope that it goes well, (and) they say he doesnt need surgery or anything like that, Scott said. Maybe rehabilitation for a few weeks or a month or whatever the case may be. But thats the positive part of me hoping that happens.TIP-INSRockets: Joey Dorsey started in Howards place, scoring four points. ... McHale is uncertain when Howard will return to the lineup. At least his absence spared him the relentless booing hell likely face from Lakers fans for the rest of his career after he spurned the club in free agency in 2013. ... Harden is a Los Angeles native who attended Artesia High School.Lakers: Scott showed up slightly late to Staples Center after forgetting that the Lakers Sunday game time is an hour earlier than every other night. The 53-year-old coach claimed he had a senior moment. ... Rookie big man Tarik Black, who was waived by Houston last month, had three points and five rebounds for the Lakers. He had missed the last two games with a sprained right ankle.SWAGGY SADNick Young played just nine minutes for the Lakers and went scoreless, getting benched for the entire second half. The entertaining shooting guard gave an unsatisfactory answer to a halftime question about a defensive assignment from Scott, who said Young looked to me like he didnt want to be here. Young hadnt played in a game without scoring since he joined his hometown team before last season. Young left Staples Center without speaking to reporters.POINT GUARD POPRookie Jordan Clarkson had eight points on 2-for-10 shooting and five turnovers in his second start for the Lakers, while Jeremy Lin had 14 points and six assists off the bench after being a healthy scratch in Fridays loss at San Antonio. Scott intends to keep his current starting lineup together for the next 15 games or so.UP NEXT:Rockets: Host Dallas on Wednesday.Lakers: Host Washington on Tuesday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '