But Houston countered with eight straight points powered by two 3-pointers fr

How did Arsenal’s new signing Granit Xhaka get on in Switzerland’s 1-0 win over Albania at Euro 2016? Gunners fans are likely to have been encouraged by what they saw… Swiss edge past 10-man Albania Switzerland got their Euro 2016 campaign off to the perfect start with a 1-0 win over 10-man Albania Since Arsenal announced the signing of Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach, supporters have heard plenty about his leadership qualities - most memorably illustrated by the curious claim that hed received the house keys before his elder brother Taulant.The build-up to Saturdays Switzerland and Albania game understandably focused on the fact that this brother would be lining up for the opposition. But once the game kicked off, Arsenal fans got some answers to what they really want to know - will he help them win? Switerlands Xhaka was up against brother Taulant, playing for Albania On this evidence, expect there to be a buzz. Arsenals physicality in midfield has been the subject of criticism and not without reason. They ranked among the bottom five for tackles last season, while Leicester and Tottenham were both among the top three tacklers in the Premier League.Xhaka looks capable of changing those numbers. With six red cards in his Gladbach career, theres no questioning his combative approach and a big tackle on Amir Abrashi early on was every bit as aggressive as anything seen by Francis Coquelin in an Arsenal shirt. Xhaka challenge on Albanias Amir Abrashi was particularly strong Just before the 20-minute mark, Xhakas reaction to losing possession was impressive too - pressing one man and then the next in order to win back the ball, eventually robbing his brother before getting up off the ground quickly to build the attack once more.Arsenal legend and Sky Sports pundit Thierry Henry liked what he saw. He showed that he doesnt care whether hes playing against his brother or against his roots, said Henry, covering the game for the BBC. He just wants to win the game. Man of the match Granit Xhaka was named UEFAs official man of the match in Switzerlands win over Albania. Even that brief passage of play was evidence of Xhakas twin talent for tough tackling and positive passing. Indeed, the 23-year-old completed more passes than any other player on the pitch - 101 of them. Nobody else managed more than 70.While there was little wrong with his ball-retention skills, what was particularly striking is that Xhaka looked forwards where possible. He played a game-high six accurate long passes before the break, spraying balls left and right in an attempt to beat Albanias pressing. Switzerland 1 Albania 0 Player Team Completed passes Granit Xhaka Switzerland 101 Fabian Schar Switzerland 70 Valon Behrami Switzerland 62 Haris Seferovic really should have guaranteed Xhaka an assist but he failed to finish chances threaded through to him in the left channel either side of half-time. The midfielders total of three chances created was the joint-most of any player.Tackling and passing. Creativity and presence. The tales of Xhakas character - its emerged that he gives 80 per cent of his salary straight to his parents - will no doubt continue. But this was a welcome reminder that the player can bring plenty to Arsenal on the pitch too. Also See: Swiss edge past 10-man Albania Kante would complete Arsenal Pittsburgh Penguins Pro Shop . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale Penguins Jerseys .Connor Graham, Alex Lintuniemi and Sam Studnicka also scored for Ottawa (11-8-2). Liam Herbst made 21 saves for the win.Brendan Lemieux had both of Barries (10-10-2) goals. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ . Its the second straight year he has decided not to play as he cuts back his schedule. Stricker was replaced in the field by Ryo Ishikawa of Japan. Penguins Jerseys 2020 . Fifth-seeded Cilic gained his fourth title in Zagreb and became the third Croat overall to win at least 10 career titles. Cilic also lifted his career record in Zagreb to 22-4, winning 20 of his last 21 matches at the event. Penguins Jerseys 2019 . Cornet won six straight games to rally from a 2-0 deficit and take the first set. The 25th-ranked Frenchwoman broke back twice in the second set before Bacsinszky saved a match point at 5-4. HOUSTON -- The last time the Houston Rockets scored more than 70 points in a first half they followed it with a franchise-low 19 points after halftime. They had no such letdown Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. Chandler Parsons scored a season-high 31 points and Dwight Howard added 24 to lead the Rockets to a 126-113 win over Portland that snapped the Trail Blazers five-game winning streak. The Rockets scored a season-high to win their second straight, building a big lead early and answering every time Portland made a run. James Harden added 22 points and had five assists and Patrick Beverley returned from a broken hand to score 17 points. Parsons added 10 rebounds and seven assists while finishing one point shy of his career-high. Harden talked about the difference between Monday night and last weeks loss to Oklahoma City, when they set an NBA record for the largest scoring differential between two halves. "We just held our composure," Harden said. "We couldnt worry about what they were doing or anything. We had to figure out a way to fight through it and play harder, push the tempo a little harder and play defence." LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 20 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who have won seven of their last 11 games. "We got close and we just couldnt get over that hump," Aldridge said. "Our shots didnt fall for us and they made tough shots and were able to get the win." Houston was up by 18 points after a 3-pointer by Harden with about eight minutes left. The Trail Blazers used a 9-2 run over the next two minutes to cut it to 115-104. The Rockets struggled in that stretch, missing two layups and committing a turnover. Houston missed two 3-pointers on one possession after that before Beverley hit a jump shot. Howard gave Houston a 119-104 lead when he grabbed an alley-oop from Harden and finished with a two-handed slam. Damian Lillard added 24 points for Portland and Wesley Matthews had 18. A 7-0 run by Portland midway through the third quarter got the Trail Blazers within six points. The Rockets scored the next seven straight to pad their lead to 93-80. "They made a run in the third quarter and instead of us complaining, we got to the bench and we talked about what we needed to do and we got a good win against a very, very good team," Howard said.dddddddddddd Jeremy Lin made a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds left in the third quarter to make it 106-91 entering the fourth. Harden was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws before hitting a 3-pointer for a 6-0 run that pushed Houstons lead to 79-61 early in the third quarter. The Trail Blazers answered with a 9-0 spurt to cut the lead to 79-70. Aldridge had a 3-point play during that stretch and Lillard capped it with two free throws when he was fouled by Howard, who also got a technical on the play. The Rockets scored for the first time in almost three minutes on a layup by Parsons with about seven minutes left in the quarter. Nicolas Batum made a layup before Parsons added a 3-pointer to extend Houstons lead to 84-72. Mo Williams got Portland within seven points when he opened the second quarter with a jump shot. But Houston countered with eight straight points powered by two 3-pointers from Omri Casspi to push the lead to 45-30. Five straight points by Matthews a couple of minutes later cut Houstons lead to 12 points. The Rockets responded again, scoring seven points in a row to extend the lead to 60-41. Casspi scored five quick points soon after that to extend Houstons lead to 71-49. Portland scored the last seven points of the half to get within 71-56 at the break. The Rockets made 10 of 13 3-pointers in the first half to help them to score more than 70 points in a half for the second time in a week. Houston scored on its first 11 possessions to build a 25-11 lead. Beverley, who returned to the starting lineup after missing 14 games following surgery to repair a broken right hand, had two 3-pointers in that span and Harden had one. NOTES: Houstons Terrence Jones, who scored a career-high 36 points in the last game, sat out with a deep thigh bruise. Donatas Motiejunas started in his place and finished with nine points and nine rebounds. ... The Trail Blazers have scored at least 98 points in 29 games in a row. ... Batum injured one of his fingers and said he "felt it crack" but wasnt sure of the extent of the injury after the game. ' ' '