Howard and his heavily favoured team play like gangbusters each

WASHINGTON -- Dwight Howard played the role of NBA rain delay entertainer, playing one-on-one with some kids from the front row and playfully rejecting their shots.Chris Johnson . Maybe a baseball team should borrow him the next time some summer storms are in the forecast. The pair of stoppages, due to a leak in the Verizon Center roof on a rainy day, would have been more than enough to make the game memorable, but why stop there? Lets have Howard and his heavily favoured team play like gangbusters each time the water was mopped up. Then blow a 25-point lead. Then come from five down in the fourth quarter to win it. Yep, that Houston Rockets 114-107 win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night was somethin else altogether. "The craziest game ever?" Howard said. "Yeah, I would say that." Long after the delays of 35 and 22 minutes, James Harden tied the score with a driving layup with 2:33 to play, then gave the Rockets the lead again -- this time for good -- with a three-point play with 1:54 remaining. He finished with 25 points to lead the Rockets, who made only four field goals in the final period yet closed with a 17-5 run. "It was a long game," Harden said. "A leakage in the court. Ive never been a part of something like that before." Neither had Howard, who ran the gamut of good and bad. He did the most to keep the fans engaged during the interruptions in play, signing an autograph or two and playing with the youngsters. The crowd reacted with exaggerated gasps when Howard would slap a shot in the seats -- "They told me to protect the house," Howard joked -- and cheered when one of the kids scored. "Ive got to work on my defence," Howard deadpanned, "if I want to get defensive player of the year." Howard also dominated the game well into the second half before falling apart in the fourth quarter, committing four turnovers and missing both of his field goals and all four free throw attempts. He finished with 23 points. "I did OK," Howard said. "I think in the second half I didnt finish like I needed to. I wasnt as aggressive as I was in the first half." Terrence Jones added 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Jeremy Lin added 18 points and eight assists for the Rockets, who are 1-1 halfway through a four-game road trip. John Wall led Washingtons comeback and finished with 23 points and 10 assists, Trevor Ariza had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Kevin Seraphin -- another catalyst in Washingtons surge -- had all of his season-high 18 points in the second half. The Wizards lost their fourth straight home game and fell to 2-14 against teams that are currently .500 or better. "Now I wish they would have just cancelled it," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. The leak caused the officials to hit the pause button 9 seconds into the second quarter and again at the start of the second half. Trash cans and an array of towels were spread at the midcourt line close to the scorers table. Several people were in the rafters, apparently trying to solve the problem. The wet mess was an obvious black eye for the Wizards franchise, and the team seemed intent on matching it with their play. After shooting 62 per cent in the first quarter, Washington made only 6 of 24 field goal attempts (25 per cent) for the rest of the half. The Rockets went on a 34-13 run to seemingly break open a tie game after the first delay. The towels and trash cans reappeared after halftime. Wittman said the leak was finally stopped after a tarp was laid on the arenas roof. The Rockets, already with a 17-point lead, again were able to get themselves in gear faster than the Wizards, going on a 15-7 run after the restart. But the Wizards eventually regrouped and came back. Then the Rockets came back. The wet floor never did. "Obviously weve had a lot of rain here," Wittman said. "And obviously theres a hole up there somewhere." NOTES: The Rockets are 11-3 against the Eastern Conference; the Wizards are 3-9 against the West. ... Houston F Chandler Parsons missed his third consecutive game with a sore right knee. ... Washington has lost seven of eight at home, another frustration for Wittman. "We just go out and play like its an AAU game," the coach said. Stephen Hill . Only when prodded by an Indians teammate did Kluber crack. "Did you smile after the game?" pitcher Justin Masterson yelled to Kluber. Ryan Quigley . The South scored five times in the top of the ninth inning to post a 7-0 win over the South in the AAs edition of the mid-summer classic before 6,889 fans at Shaw Park Tuesday night.The Toronto Blue Jays are leaning on a young arm during their chase for the American League East title. The Blue Jays hope that Marcus Stromans second career start versus the Boston Red Sox is as good as his first with the clubs set to resume their three-game series tonight. The 23-year-old Stroman has emerged as an anchor for Torontos rotation, going 6-2 with a 3.21 earned run average on the season. He is 3-0 over his last six starts and has not allowed a run in back-to-back starts (14 innings) and in three of his last four outings. Stroman came into his own in a big way last Thursday versus Boston, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Shane Victorino led off the frame with a bloop single. It was the only hit the right-hander allowed as he got David Ortiz to fly out before Mike Napoli hit into a double play to end the inning and Stromans outing. "We know hes got what it takes. He pitched a hell of a game today," said Toronto catcher Dioner Navarro. Stroman also walked two and struck out seven in the 8-0 win. "Hes pitching like a veteran whos been around a long time and hes been very successful. He shuts down good hitting teams. Hes a great competitor," said Jays manager John Gibbons. Rubby De La Rosa had the unfortunate task of going up against Stroman last week and will try to keep a better pace with the Jays hurler tonight. TThe 25-year-old righty had his worst start in eight outings this season, lasting four-plus innings and giving up seven runs -- six earned -- on nine hits and two walks. Jace Amaro. He fell to 3-3 with a 3.54 ERA on the year. De La Rosa was facing the Blue Jays as a starter for the first time following two previous relief appearances. The Red Sox will hope for a better effort on the mound tonight after the Blue Jays slugged their way to a 14-1 victory on Monday. Melky Cabrera hit a pair of homers, including a three-run shot during a nine-run sixth inning. Cabrera also launched a two-run blast and Ryan Goins went 4-for-5 with four RBI for the Blue Jays, who have won eight of their last 10 games and are 2 1/2 games out of first place in the AL East. R.A. Dickey struck out 10 and allowed a run on three hits and a walk over seven innings to notch the win. Clay Buchholz surrendered seven runs on seven hits and four walks over five- plus frames for Boston, which has dropped six of its last seven games. "It was an ugly night from the mound," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. Toronto has won eight of 11 against the Red Sox this season, sweeping a three- game set in Boston from May 20-22. With the non-waiver trading deadline less than two days away, watch SportsCentre on TSN tonight at 6pm et/3pm pt as baseball analyst Steve Phillips looks at what the Jays might do. ' ' '