News » Friday, but both players were inactive. Houston dealt

Orlando Magic have named Frank Vogel as their new coach. The 42-year-old former Indiana Pacers coach succeeds Scott Skiles, who resigned last week after the Magic went 35-47 in his only campaign as coach. Orlando has endured four losing seasons in a row, but the Magic were 10 games better last season than the previous season and there is hope Vogel can make more progress.This group is ready to make that next jump, said Vogel.My intention is to come in and make this happen for this group right away and make that jump (to the playoffs) this year. This is going to be a season about being on a mission and winning a lot of games.Vogel is known for emphasising defensive work. Indianas past five teams were among the NBAs top six each season in shooting percentage defense and all six were in the top 10 for defensive efficiency.Frank is a terrific fit for our organization, Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said. He is a strong, hard-working and experienced leader who will continue to instill smart, physical, unselfish and defensive-minded basketball in our group.Vogel went 250-181 with the Pacers and reached the playoffs five times, going so far as the Eastern Conference finals in 2013 and 2014 but losing to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat each time.In Frank, we feel we have someone with tremendous perseverance, character and great balance, Magic chief executive Alex Martins said.Hes an effective communicator who brings a wealth of strategic and postseason experience and is incredibly excited to embrace the journey ahead. Dries Mertens Belgium Jersey . -- Ryan Millers debut for the St. Eden Hazard Belgium Jersey . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. http://www.soccerbelgiumteamonline.com/Romelu-Lukaku-UEFA-European-Belgium-Jersey/ . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. Michy Batshuayi Belgium Jersey . Vonn flew back to Vail, Colo., last week after hurting her surgically repaired right knee at a downhill race in France. "Her knee was swollen again after Val dIsere," U.S. womens head coach Alex Hoedlmoser told The Associated Press. Simon Mignolet Belgium Jersey . The injury will keep the Finnish forward out of the Olympics. The 29-year-old has 20 goals and 41 points in 56 games this season, his first with Tampa Bay.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Portland Trail Blazers will carry a five-game winning streak into Mondays crucial Western Conference showdown against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. The Blazers havent lost since Dec. 12 in Chicago and are 2-0 on this current four-game road trip. Portland will wrap up the sojourn Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. Portland started the roadie with a 129-119 triple-overtime victory in San Antonio over the reigning NBA champion Spurs. One night later, with tired legs, the Blazers were extremely impressive in a 114-88 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. There was no hangover for Portland, as LaMarcus Aldridge poured in 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in its wire-to-wire victory. Damian Lillard, fresh off his 43-point performance against San Antonio, scored 17 points, and the Blazers led by as many as 34 by shooting 57.1 percent from the field over the first three quarters. I think that was an impressive back-to-back with the win last night with how we won that in triple overtime and then to come out with the energy and focus that we had tonight, from beginning to end, that was a very impressive back- to-back win for us, said Portland coach Terry Stotts. Chris Kaman chipped in 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting for Portland, which has won three in a row on the road. The Rockets have dropped two straight, both at home. Mondays contest will complete their homestand and things dont get easier as the Rockets visit the Memphis Grizzlies and Spurs. On Saturday, Houston fell to the Atlanta Hawks, 104-97. The Rockets lost back- to-back home games for the first tiime since November of last season and also had a 19-game home winning streak against Eastern Conference opponents halted.dddddddddddd Dwight Howard paced the Rockets with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while James Harden supplied 18 points and a career-high 14 assists. Jason Terry and Patrick Beverley each had 14 points in the loss. Harden left the game briefly in the first half with a strained hamstring but returned to action. He leads the NBA with 26.3 points per game. The Rockets acquired Corey Brewer from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Alexey Shved from the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, but both players were inactive. Houston dealt Troy Daniels and some cash to acquire the two wings. The Rockets waived Francisco Garcia to make room for their newest additions. The first half we were just slow to everything and they were knocking down shots, said Harden. (Then) we started playing our brand of basketball. Beverley tied the game at 90-90 on a 3-pointer with 3:08 left in the contest. Terry then committed a traveling violation before Al Horford found Paul Millsap inside for a bucket and Kyle Korver nailed a triple on the following possession to make it a five-point game with 1:29 to play. Terrys floater was off the mark out of a timeout, then Dennis Schroder netted a pair of free throws at the other end to increase the cushion. The Blazers bested the Rockets in six games during the first round of last seasons playoffs. The Rockets have won nine of the last 12 against the Blazers in the regular season. Houston has taken six of the previous eight as the host in this series. ' ' '