DENVER -- Dishing the ball to the open man in the first half opened the door to Randy Foyes offensive surge in the second half. Foye scored 24 of his 30 points in the last 24 minutes, going 7 for 7 from the field in the third quarter, and the Denver Nuggets hung on to beat the Houston Rockets 123-116 on Wednesday night. Kenneth Faried had 23 points and Timofey Mozgov added 22 for the Nuggets, who beat the Rockets for the first time in three tries this season. Foye also had 15 assists, 11 of them coming in the first half. "I just think it was a Karma thing, where in the beginning, I had some shots where I could have come off (pick-and-rolls) and pulled up, but I passed it to Kenneth, passed it to Timo, got those guys going," Foye said. "That kind of opened everything up. When I was coming off pick-and-rolls later, they were so concerned with our bigs that I was coming off and knocking them down." Houston coach Kevin McHale said the Rockets have to play stronger defensively. "Our defence is bad," he said. "Faried and Mozgov were just running down the floor, posting us up and throwing us out of the way. We had no answers for them. In the third quarter, we got them somewhat under control and then Foye went crazy." Jeremy Lin led eight Houston players in double figures with 18 points. Both teams were missing key players heading into the game and the Rockets got a scare when James Harden, leading a fast break, banged his left shin in a collision with Aaron Brooks midway through the third quarter. Fouled on the play, Harden made both free throws and left the game briefly to have the leg tended to before returning to action, though he only played sparingly after the injury. "I guess I got kneed in the shin but it was pretty painful. For a couple of seconds, my leg was numb," Harden said. In the post-season, Harden said he would have finished the game. "But today was kind of pointless. Four more games left and were trying to stay (in the No. 4 playoff seed)," Harden said. Houstons Dwight Howard, bothered by a left ankle sprain, did not play for the 10th time in the last 12 games. Denver was without Wilson Chandler (left groin strain) and Ty Lawson (left ankle sprain). Trailing by 10 at the half, Houston pulled to 94-86 on a jumper by Chandler Parsons late in the third quarter. Foye, though, hit a long jumper, starting an 11-2 run over a 2 1/2-minute stretch that put Denver in front 105-88 heading into the fourth quarter. Houston made a late push, getting within 118-114 on a 3-pointer by Troy Daniels and a tip-in by Isaiah Canaan with 2:24 left to play. But Foye banked in a jumper and Evan Fournier connected on a 3-pointer in successive Denver possessions to fend off the Rockets rally. The Rockets, trailing by as many as 19 points earlier in the game, put together an 8-0 burst to cut the deficit to 58-53 with 1:44 left in the second quarter. Lin and Parsons each had 3-pointers in the stretch. Faried responded by converting a three-point play, helping Denver rebuild its lead to 68-58 at halftime. NOTES: The Rockets are 8-19 when trailing at halftime. ... Houston, which beat the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday, fell to 5-4 in the second game of back-to-backs this season. ... Foye scored 30 or more points for the second time this season. He had a season-high 33 on Jan. 29 against Charlotte. George Gervin 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. Chimezie Metu Jersey . The Raptors second-year forward has been one of the primary beneficiaries of the early-season trade, breaking out and becoming a vital part of his teams success on both ends of the floor. Around the league, teams are starting to take notice and feature Ross more predominately in their pre-game scouting reports but its not just the opposition that hes impressing. http://www.cheapspursjerseys.com/.com) - The Oakland Athletics needed to rely on a lot of young pitchers to win an American League West title this season. Tony Parker Jersey . And thats good news for Canada. Kelly, who plays No. 8 at the back of the scrum, is captain of the Canadian womens team. DeMar DeRozan Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch.INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts understand what Arian Foster is capable of.The Indianapolis defence has focused on stopping the rush all season, but the Texans running back poses a different challenge.He has the speed and can break tackles, Colts defensive co-ordinator Greg Manusky said. Great eyes, great vision, hes great out of the backfield. Hes an individual thats a pretty good player in this league that we have to take care of this week.The Colts (9-4) can clinch the AFC South title with a win or tie over Houston (7-6) on Sunday. First, Indy must find a way to contain Foster, who has proved what he can do with big games against Indianapolis.He averages 6.4 yards a carry in games against the Colts and has topped 100 yards five times, including 109 yards — with two touchdowns — in the Colts 33-28 win on Oct. 9.Four years ago, Foster piled up 231 yards against the Colts — the last time the Indianapolis allowed a rusher more than 200 yards. Now hes one of the top running backs in the AFC and leads the conference with 92.6 yards rushing per game since 2010.For linebacker Jerrell Freeman, keeping Foster from getting into a groove is simple.Everybody just has to do their job, he said. Everybody has to know their gaps, stay in it.The Colts have held opponents under 100 yards rushing in seven of 13 games this season, but Indy allowed the Texans to run for 136 yards when the two teams met in October.dddddddddddd Foster was upgraded to limited practice time on Thursday after missing Wednesday with a groin injury.Freeman said the best thing the Colts can do is to just stick to the same defensive approach the team has gone with all season.Just be disciplined, he said. I think thats the big thing. Be disciplined, know your job, and do your job. As long as we just play together, well be able to stop the run.Colts safety Mike Adams has seen Fosters ability unfold right in front of him before. He saw in Indys first meeting with the Texans this season when Foster scored on a 12-yard run.I see him just reading the defence and just reading us, Adams said. And thats what he does and thats what hes good at — cutting back, one stop downhill, taking off. Hes been doing that for a while and thats definitely what I see. I can see him about to make his cut or in the process of making his cut.NOTES: Sergio Brown, LaRon Landry, and Darius Butler didnt practice Thursday because of an illness. . Cornerback Vontae Davis returned to full practice after missing all last week with a concussion. . DQwell Jackson (ribs) and Mike Adams (back) was upgraded to full practice, and Erik Walden (knee) was upgraded to limited practice. . Hugh Thornton (knee) and Joe Reitz (ankle) didnt practice for the second straight day.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '