Chat » Houston led by 11 points with about eight minutes left in

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres have agreed with former Detroit Tigers closer Joaquin Benoit on a $15.5 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is pending Benoit passing a physical. In his first season as Tigers closer, Benoit had 24 saves in 26 chances. But in Game 2 of the AL championship series, he allowed a tying grand slam by Bostons David Ortiz that was a turning point in the series. A starter early in his career, Benoit has been strictly a reliever since 2006 while with the Texas Rangers. He is 44-35 lifetime with a 4.11 ERA and 37 saves. Benoit, who turns 37 on July 26, is expected to replace setup man Luke Gregerson, who was traded to Oakland for outfielder Seth Smith. He could also be insurance for closer Huston Street, whos been on the disabled list three times the last two seasons. Street is entering the final year of a $14 million, two-year deal. The Padres hold a $7 million option for 2015. Custom Winnipeg Jets Jerseys . - The Oakland Athletics say they are stopping negotiations to extend their lease at the Coliseum. Bobby Hull Jersey . Leverkusen said on Friday it signed Schmidt on a two-year contract. He guided Red Bull Salzburg to the Austrian championship this season. http://www.officialwinnipegjetspro.com/ . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. Laurie Boschman Jersey . But when it was all over they had wasted another lead, seen another pitcher flame out on the mound and lost their fourth straight at home. Patrik Laine Jersey . - The Carolina Panthers believe Steve Smith lost "top-end" speed, a big reason the franchise parted ways with its all-time leading receiver.HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets havent had a drop-off offensively despite top scorer James Harden being sidelined with a sore foot for the last three games. Houstons role players have stepped up in each game to make up for his lost points. On Wednesday night it was Francisco Garcia and Aaron Brooks who came through, each scoring 21 points to help the Rockets cruise to their third straight win, 113-84 over the Atlanta Hawks. The 29-point win was their largest of the season. "Its just the way it is," Brooks said. "We are a talented team. A lot of guys are working out and have a lot of energy that are ready to play." Garcias 21 points were a season-high and Brooks has been great in two of the three games with Harden out, scoring 26 points in the first before adding 21 on Wednesday. "Weve got good chemistry going right now," Garcia said. Houston didnt trail for its fourth straight home game and again used a balanced scoring attack with Harden out. "Their bench was the difference in the game," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said after Houstons reserves outscored his 67-32. "They have some depth and they have a good team. All those guys came in and contributed." The Rockets went up by 12 on John Jenkins 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter. Then Brooks outscored the Hawks 8-4 over the next 1 1/2 minutes to extend Houstons lead to 90-74. "The fourth quarter we made a strong effort to come out the first three minutes and kind of put it away a little bit and thats what we did," Brooks said. Houston shot almost 52 per cent from 3-point range with Brooks and Garcia combining to make seven of Houstons 14 3-pointers. Paul Millsap had 16 points for Atlanta and Cartier Martin, who grew up in Houston, started in place of an injured Kyle Korver and had 14. Chandler Parsons and Terrence Jones had 14 points each and Dwight Howard hadd 11 points and eight rebounds for Houston which improved to 11-5.dddddddddddd Al Horford scored 14 points and had eight rebounds as Atlanta dropped its third straight game. The Rockets were up 77-67 entering the fourth quarter. "I think for three quarters we put ourselves in some positions where we had some opportunities and battled," Budenholzer said. "In the fourth quarter we werent able to find a way to sustain that effort and keep it close." Harden was out with a sore left foot. Jeremy Lin started for Harden, who is averaging 24.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists. But Lin sustained a right knee bruise and left the game with about eight minutes left in the first quarter and did not return. Coach Kevin McHale said X-rays were negative and he would know more about his status for Fridays game on Thursday. Houston led by 11 points with about eight minutes left in the third quarter before Atlanta used an 8-2 run to get to 65-60. Millsap had four points in that span and Martin capped it with a jump shot. The Rockets scored the next five points to push their lead to 70-60 with about four minutes remaining in the third. Along with Korver (rib contusion), the Hawks were also without Shelvin Mack (sprained left ankle) and Lou Williams (right knee rehabilitation) who did not travel to Houston. Korver was injured on Tuesday night after extending his streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 88. He needs one more to break the NBA record set by Dana Barros from 1994-96. Budenholzer didnt have any details on Korvers injury and said he isnt sure how long hell be out. Houston jumped out to a 20-9 lead thanks to nine early points from Jones and was up 56-45 at halftime. NOTES: Parsons has scored in double figures in 11 straight games. ... McHale said before the game that Harden was feeling better on Wednesday and that he doesnt expect him to be out for any extended time. ' ' '