HOUSTON -- Terrence Jones said he is feeling more comfortable and confident on the floor. It has showed the last two games. Jones scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to their third straight victory, 109-85 over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night. Jones, who tied his previous career high with 14 points Saturday against Denver, was 10 of 12 from the field as the Rockets shot 57 per cent as a team, including 72 per cent in the first half in building a 24-point halftime lead. "Im just trying to make the simple plays and trying to be there for cuts and offensive rebounds," said Jones, who has started the last four games. "Im just trying to do all the things to help us win." Patrick Beverley chipped in 16 points, James Harden added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Dwight Howard had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons each had 11 points as the Rockets raced out to a 17-point, first-quarter lead and were never threatened. Houston also never trailed in its 122-111 victory over Denver and has not trailed since falling behind New York 61-60 with 7:41 remaining in the third quarter Thursday, a span of 112 minutes, 19 seconds. Houston coach Kevin McHale said he hoped his team was catching a rhythm. "I think the guys have done a really good job of being attentive and making corrections," McHale said. "Weve still got a long way to go, but were getting better all the time. Thats the encouraging thing. We have a lot of room for improvement still, but I can feel us starting to jell a little bit." Courtney Lee had 17 points, Avery Bradley added 11 and Jared Sullinger had 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Boston, which lost its fourth in a row. The Celtics shot 32 per cent. Boston coach Brad Stevens said he didnt have anything he was excited about from Tuesdays game. "I want to make sure we dont play like that again, so I never look at it as it was just one of those things because there is something behind when you dont play the way youre supposed to," Stevens said. "There are games where things just dont go your way, but were letting one end affect the other, and you dont do that against good teams." The Rockets jumped out to an 18-1 lead in the first 5 minutes, capped by a follow dunk by Jones, who had six in the game-opening run. Beverley had five points in the stretch for Houston. Howard pointed to Houstons defence as the reason the Rockets ran out to the big lead. "Terrence and myself tried to do a better job of protecting the paint and forcing teams to only get one shot," Howard said. "Once we do that, our young guys can get out and run. They did a good job of that tonight, of getting out and running early. We set the tone. Thats what we have to do." Boston got its first point of the game on Jordan Crawfords free throw 45 seconds in after a Houston defensive 3-second call, but the Celtics missed their first nine shots and had three turnovers before Bradley hit a jumper with 6:46 left in the first to cut the lead to 18-3. "It was a slow start," Lee said. "We werent making shots, and were not executing our offence, and Houston got out and were running and were making easy layups, and everything they were running was working against us. It was definitely a bad start for us." Boston, which shot 24 per cent in the first quarter, cut the lead to 28-18 on Sullingers layup with 2:28 left in the period. However, Houston, which shot 80 per cent in the first quarter, responded by ending the quarter on a 12-0 run capped by Omri Casspis 3-pointer to lead 40-18 after one. Houston pushed the lead to 43-18 on a 3-pointer by Beverley a minute into the second quarter and Boston never got the lead below 18 the rest of the way. The Rockets led 68-44 at the half and stretched the lead to 35 at 88-53 on Howards follow shot with 4 minutes to go in the third. NOTES: Houston C Omer Asik, who has been the subject of trade rumours, played Tuesday after missing the last two games. "I was just frustrated," Asik said at Tuesday mornings shootaround about missing the previous two games. "It is behind me now. Im looking forward to help my team win." Asik would not discuss reports that he asked to be traded. ... High school senior Carly Wright, who has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, was granted a wish by the Rockets and the Make-A-Wish program as she attended shootaround and the game and met the team, including her favourite player, Parsons. Jordan Whitehead Jersey . Indeed, must be among the greatest challenges in all of sports. The pressure he applies, from set to set, game to game, point to point, shot to shot. M.J. Stewart Buccaneers Jersey . -- Isaiah Pead took a stutter step forward, then raced to the left sideline and travelled 60 yards up the field before finally getting tripped up by a leg tackle. http://www.thebuccaneersfansclub.com/customized/ . - Justin Turner is at his best with runners in scoring position, and he delivered again in a big spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Buccaneers Jerseys . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Chandler Catanzaro Buccaneers Jersey . "He came up to me and said, I want to train," said Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen. The 26-year-old midfielder is expected to play Saturday night when Toronto hosts D.C. United, returning to his Major League Soccer squad with mixed feelings about the Americans World Cup run -- sad that it ended when it did but proud of his teams performance.MANCHESTER, England - Rio Ferdinand brought his trophy-filled, 12-year stay at Manchester United to an end on Monday by announcing he would be leaving Old Trafford to continue his playing career. The 35-year-old Ferdinand, who became Englands most expensive player when he joined United from Leeds for 29.1 million pounds in 2002, has not been offered an extension to his contract that expires next month. He suggested, however, that his departure was on his own terms, saying in a statement: "I have thought long and hard over the last few months about my future, and after 12 fantastic years playing, for what I regard, as the best club in the world, I have decided the time is right for me to move on." A tall, elegant, ball-playing defender, Ferdinand made 454 appearances for United — his last coming in the 1-1 draw at Southampton on Sunday in the final match of the season. He had been marginalized by the club this season, making just 14 appearances. Ferdinand won six league titles, two League Cups, one Champions League and a Club World Cup with United and forged one of Premier Leagues great centre-back partnerships with Nemanja Vidic, who will also leave this summer to join Inter Milan. With left back Patrice Evra soon out of contract, too, whoever comes in as the full-time replacement for fired United manager David Moyes faces a huge task to rebuild the defence. Ferdinand has had injury problems in recent years — particularly with his bacck — and has been following a strict training regime to extend his career, but he signalled he is not ready to retire.dddddddddddd "I am feeling fit and healthy, ready for a new challenge and looking forward to whatever the future holds for me," he added in the statement. While Vidic was afforded an emotional farewell at Old Trafford in his final home match, receiving a memento from club great Bobby Charlton before last weeks Premier League game against Hull and a rousing ovation from Uniteds fans, Ferdinand will leave without any ceremony. Sections of the British media reported Monday that Ferdinand was told in the dressing room after the Southampton match that he wouldnt be offered a new deal. "Circumstances didnt allow for me to say goodbye the way I would have liked," he added in the statement, "but Id like to take this opportunity to thank my teammates, staff, the club and the fans for an unbelievable 12 years that Ill never forget. Winning trophies I dreamed about as a kid came true at this great club." The low point of his spell at United undoubtedly came in 2003 when he was banned for eight months after being found guilty of missing a drugs test. But he will be remembered by United fans as one of Alex Fergusons best defensive purchases, despite his hefty price tag, with Ferdinand breaking the mould for English centre backs with his touch, athleticism and ability to play the ball out of the back. 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