HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard is happy and healthy in Houston, and coach Kevin McHale is pleased with how his superstar centre has played so far this season. Custom Houston Rockets Jerseys . Howard scored 23 points, James Harden and Chandler Parsons each had 19 and the Rockets used a big third-quarter run to pull away for a 109-94 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. "Hes just got a nice rhythm," McHale said of Howard. "When he goes fast there is a reason to go fast. When he goes slow, hes setting guys up. Basketball is such a game of rhythm and hes in a nice flow right now." Howard joined the Rockets in July after one tumultuous season with the Lakers. He said hes feeling good, but has been spending extra time after practice working on his post moves in an attempt to improve. "I love it here," he said. "Its a great place to be. Were having some early success, but were not happy with where were at. We want to continue to get better. We dont want to get satisfied." The Rockets are 17-9 and in second place in the Southwest Division behind San Antonio. The Bulls trailed by three with 5 1/2 minutes left in the third before their offence went cold. Houston took advantage of the scoring drought, using a 15-1 spurt to make it 83-66 entering the final period. "That was tremendous," Harden said. "Weve been striking out these last couple of games in closing quarters and Coach has been preaching to us to make sure we go on a little run to close every quarter out. Tonight we did it and weve got to be consistent with that." Chicago missed six shots and had five turnovers in that decisive stretch, while Omri Casspi scored seven points to power Houstons offence. The Rockets picked up the victory in the return of McHale, who had missed the previous three games following the death of his mother. Jimmy Butlers 20 points tied his season high and led the Bulls, who have dropped three in a row and 12 of 15. "Were losing, so mentally its tough," Chicagos Joakim Noah said. "When you lose, its not fun but we have to keep battling. The games keep coming and nobody feels sorry for us and we cant feel sorry for ourselves." Harden started despite spraining his left ankle Sunday night. He had scored at least 25 points in five consecutive games. Harden said he got stepped on again on Wednesday night and was very sore after the game. He figures hell feel worse on Thursday. "Probably," he said. "I try not to think about it. Well wait until tomorrow and see how it feels." Howard had nine rebounds and Harden had six assists and three steals. Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich missed his third consecutive game because of back stiffness. D.J. Augustin, signed on Friday, made his first start for Chicago in Hinrichs place. He finished with eight points and nine assists. Luol Deng scored 18 points for Chicago. Carlos Boozer had 17 and Taj Gibson added 14. "At the end of the day it comes down to the fact that we have to get guys healthy," Boozer said. "It seems like we are always missing somebody, but well do the best we can to fight through it." With 11 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Deng scored Chicagos first basket since there were more than 5 minutes left in the third. Casspi scored four points soon after that to extend Houstons lead to 89-70. Patrick Beverley had 15 points, Casspi added 11 and Terrence Jones had a career-high six assists for Houston. The Bulls used a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 68-65 with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the third. Augustin scored five points in that stretch and Butler added a 3-pointer. Casspi ended the run with a 3 and Howard tacked on a dunk a minute after that to start Houstons big surge. Deng got Chicago within eight points late in the second quarter, but Beverley extended Houstons lead to 57-46 at halftime when Deng fell down and he sank an off-balance 3 at the buzzer. Officials at first said it didnt count, but a review showed he got it off in time. NOTES: Houston PG Jeremy Lin missed his second straight game with back spasms. ... Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he doesnt expect Hinrich to be out for an extended period. Hakeem Olajuwon Jersey . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will be assigned upcoming games in Sochi by the IIHF as part of their 28-man officiating roster comprised of 14 refs and 14 linesmen. Gerald Green Rockets Jersey . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday. http://www.therocketsofficial.com/Authentic-Clint-Capela-Rockets-Jersey/ . The Ravens werent about to let it happen again. Carleton picked up its fourth straight national mens basketball title, and 10th in the last 12 years, with a 79-67 victory over its crosstown rival on Sunday.VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks re-signed forward Zack Kassian and defenceman Yannick Weber on Friday. Kassian, who had 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) and 124 penalty minutes in 73 games last season, signed a US$3.5-million, two-year deal. The 23-year-old native of Windsor, Ont., has 50 points (25-25) and 226 PIM in 156 career NHL games. "Zack is a skilled, young player and an important member of this team," Canucks general manager Jim Benning said in a release. "He has the ability to impact a game both with his talent and size. We look forward to seeing him continue to develop as a Canuck." Kassian won a silverr medal for Canada at the 2011 IIHF world junior championships and helped the Windsor Spitfires win a MasterCard Memorial Cup in 2010. Robert Horry Rockets Jersey. He will receive $1.5 million next season and $2 million in 2015-16. Weber, who split last season between Vancouver and the Utica Comets of the AHL, had 10 points (6-4) and 16 PIM in 49 games for Vancouver. The 25-year-old Swiss blue-liner has 42 points (11-31) in 164 career NHL games with the Canucks and Montreal Canadiens. His one-year contract is worth $850,000. Also Friday, the Canucks re-signed goaltender Joe Cannata. He spent last season with the Comets, his third in the AHL. ' ' '