HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets are heading to the playoffs for the second straight year and believe wins like the one they picked up Friday night will help them when they get there. James Harden scored 39 points and the Rockets ended a three-game skid and clinched a playoff berth with a 111-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder "It was a great win for us ... just to give ourselves confidence, especially going into the playoffs," Harden said. "We might see them. It was a big win for us. It shows the resilience we have." Kevin Durant scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 40th straight game with at least 25 points, the longest streak since Michael Jordan also did it 40 consecutive times in 1986-87. But he was in no mood to talk about matching the feat after the game. "We lost the game thats all Im worried about," he said. "I dont care. We lost." The normally mild-mannered Durant, who leads the NBA with 32.1 points a game, talked a little trash afterward when asked if he was frustrated by the physical defence Houstons Chandler Parsons and Francisco Garcia played on him. "Those dudes cant check me 1-on-1," he said. "They know that. I aint afraid to say it either. They know that. So I was playing the double-teams, triple-teams, but you still got to find a way to do it. Theyre physical just like everybody else and Ive been playing against physical players my whole life, so its nothing different." The Thunder, who had already secured a playoff berth, clinched their fourth consecutive Northwest Division title with a loss by Portland later Friday. Durants 3-pointer cut Houstons lead to one with 1:01 remaining, but Houston answered with four straight free throws. He made another 3 with 16 seconds left, but Harden made two free throws to push the lead to 111-107. Harden was 17 of 20 from the line and had nine rebounds and seven assists. The Rockets were playing without Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, who both missed their fourth straight games. Howard has missed seven games recently because of a left ankle strain and Beverley is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his right knee. "Theres all kind of adversity in playoff games and playoff runs," coach Kevin McHale said. "Youve got to be resilient and thats what Ive been preaching with the guys and the coaching staff. Youve just got to stay in the fight and keep swinging. When we do that, were OK." Serge Ibaka tied a career high with 27 points in a game that Russell Westbrook didnt play because the Thunder were playing the second night of a back-to-back. Parsons added 23 points for Houston and Terrence Jones had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Oklahoma City was up by one before Houston scored seven straight points to take a 104-98 lead with less than three minutes left. The Rockets made four free throws before a 3-pointer by Garcia. The Rockets started the fourth quarter with 3-pointers by Jeremy Lin, Isaiah Canaan and Harden for a 9-2 spurt which gave them a 91-86 lead with about 10 minutes left. Durant scored the next four points to get Oklahoma City within 91-90. Houston scored the last six points of the third quarter to cut the lead to 84-82 entering the fourth quarter. The Thunder scored 39 points in the third quarter to take the lead after trailing the entire game. They opened the second half with a 9-0 run punctuated by a dunk by Ibaka to make it 54-52. Houston went right back on top with a 3-pointer by Parsons, but a 9-2 spurt by the Thunder gave them a 63-57 lead with about seven minutes left in the quarter. The Thunder trailed through the first quarter and cut it to three points early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Caron Butler before an 11-0 run by Houston pushed the lead to 43-29 about five minutes before halftime. Harden scored the last seven points in that span and capped it by making a 3-pointer with Derek Fisher right in his face. Durant scored Oklahoma Citys final five points to get the Thunder within 50-45 at halftime. The first three points of that run came when Durant was fouled on an off-balance layup he made with his back to the basket and then made the free throw. NOTES: The 39 points the Thunder scored in the third quarter were the most anyone has scored against Houston this season in the quarter. ... Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon watched the game from a courtside seat. ... The win was Houstons 50th, giving them the 10th 50-win season in franchise history. Wholesale Nike Zoom Australia .C. United on Saturday night and boost the Unions playoff hopes. Nick DeLeon scored in the 36th minute for United (3-23-6), which had ample opportunities to build on its lead but went its 10th straight match without a victory. Cheap Nike Zoom Shoes . The 20-year-old Barkley, whose impressive form this season could earn him a place in Englands World Cup squad, was hurt in Evertons 4-0 win over Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup on Jan. http://www.wholesalenikezoomaustralia.com/. Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans. Nike Zoom Wholesale . Fognini won 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after Argentinas Carlos Berlocq had beaten Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 on the outdoor clay surface. Doubles are set for Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday to decide which team reaches the quarterfinals. Nike Zoom Womens Australia . Sopoaga hit the upright with his first shot at goal from 15 metres. He then kicked nine goals in succession -- two conversions and seven penalties -- before being replaced in the 62nd minute, three points short of the Highlanders record for most points in a match.London, England (SportsNetwork.com) - World No. 1 Rafael Nadal started slow again at Wimbledon but recovered to beat Mikhail Kukushkin on a rainy Saturday that has wreaked havoc with the schedule. With the Centre Court roof closed, Nadal lost a first set for the third time in as many matches at this grass-court Grand Slam. The second-seeded Spaniard and two-time Wimbledon champion, however, secured a spot in the fourth round by rallying for a 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 win. Nadal sent a backhand long, giving an opening set that featured no break points to Kukushkin, who had won only seven games in two previous matches against Nadal. The man from Kazakhstan erased the matchs first break point in the fourth game of the second set, but a long forehand gave Nadal a second break chance and he converted with a strong return on a second serve to go up 3-1. Nadal broke again with an incredible forehand winner and closed out the set with an ace. Kukushkin slipped during the opening game of the third set and wound up neetting a forehand to get broken again.dddddddddddd After a strong service game by Nadal, Kukushkin finally managed to hold serve, ending a string of seven straight games won by Nadal. Nadal won 82 percent of the points on his first serve in the third set. Kukushkin had an opportunity to get back in the fourth set, but Nadal fought off two break points to go up 3-0. He ended the match with a forehand winner. Nadal will next play the winner of the match between wild cards Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Czech Jiri Vesely. Kukushkin fell to 1-14 all-time against Top 10 opponents. Seven-time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer cruised into the round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win over Colombian Santiago Giraldo on Centre Court. The fourth-seeded Federer served eight aces and converted 5-of-9 break points in the 81-minute match. The Swiss stars next opponent will be either 15th-seeded Pole Jerzy Janowicz or 23rd-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo. Rain suspended play on the outside courts for several hours. ' ' '