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NEW ORLEANS - Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers proved they can still summon the type of competent, passionate and feisty football associated with teams pushing for post-season berths.After six straight mistake-filled losses, Carolina could not afford to wait any longer than its trip to the Big Easy to make piling up yards and points look — well — easy again.Newton passed for three touchdowns, incited a scuffle after soaring over the pile for another score and let running back Jonathan Stewart do the rest in a 41-10 rout of the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.When you execute like that, its fun to watch. And when you dont, its hard to watch, said Newton, who was an efficient 21-of-33 for 226 yards with no interceptions and no sacks.The victory pulled Carolina (4-8-1) closer to NFC South Division leader Atlanta (5-7), which plays Monday night at Green Bay.Newton also scrambled for 83 yards and Stewart rushed for 155 yards on 20 carries, highlighted by his 69-yard run that made it 31-3 early in the third quarter.When the offensive line is playing as well as they did today, and our running backs are running like they were, and our guys are catching the ball like they were, its hard to lose, Newton said.For Saints coach Sean Payton, it was hard to watch as New Orleans (5-8) lost its fourth straight home game to fall a half-game behind the Falcons.Obviously, thats embarrassing — how we played, how we coached. You pick an area, you pick a phase and it was awful, Payton said. It couldnt have started any worse and couldnt have finished any worse.The Panthers scored an NFL-low 30 first-quarter points during their first 12 games combined. Against New Orleans, Carolina scored on its opening series for only the second time on Kelvin Benjamins 9-yard touchdown catch. The Panthers wound up scoring 17 points before 9 minutes had elapsed, thanks in no small part to Saints turnovers.Mark Ingrams fumble on the New Orleans 25 led to a field goal. Bene Benwikeres interception of Drew Brees led to Newtons rushing TD, which in turn led to a brief melee behind the end zone.Newton was jawing with defensive end Cam Jordan, then linebacker Curtis Lofton shoved Newton just as the quarterback broke into his Superman celebration. The scrum that ensued burst through a closed gate behind the goal post and spilled into a tunnel.Tight end Brandon Williams was ejected for punching Jordan.Newton said the scuffle resulted from a lot of testosterone on that field at one time.Lofton, who was penalized but not ejected, said he didnt regret his shove and was not going to stand for what he viewed as Newton was taunting Jordan.Some more things to know about Carolinas demolition of the Saints:NEWTONS TURNAROUND: During Carolinas six-game skid, Newton threw nine interceptions and just six touchdown passes, and was sacked 25 times. Against the Saints, he had his fourth career game with at least 200 yards passing, multiple touchdown passes, 80-plus yards rushing and a touchdown run. Only two other players have done that multiple times. Michael Vick and Russell Wilson each have done it twice.STAGNANT SAINTS: Saints quarterback Drew Brees 235 yards passing and completion rate of 59.2 per cent were both season lows. The Saints were also held under 100 yards rushing for only the third time this season.BIG GAINS: Carolina gained 271 yards rushing and its 497 total yards were a season high, as were its 41 points. Newtons other touchdown passes went for 16 yards to tight end Greg Olsen and 26 yards to running back Fozzy Whittaker.We have got to keep this formula going. This is who we are and this is what we are good at, Olsen said. We had good rhythm and a good mix of pass and run.DISHEARTENED Defence: The Saints entered the game second-to-last in the NFL in yards allowed, only to see their average yards allowed ruse from 390.5 to 398.7 — still slightly better than Atlantas average of 403.2.PLAYOFF PICTURE: Despite losing four of five games, the Saints will remain tied for first place in the NFC South if Atlanta losses to the Packers on Monday night. Carolina, meanwhile, would sit a half game behind both the Saints and Falcons. 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"At the end of the day I want to win a championship and I want to win it now, and four years is a little too long for me.WASHINGTON -- Dwight Howard played the role of NBA rain delay entertainer, playing one-on-one with some kids from the front row and playfully rejecting their shots. Maybe a baseball team should borrow him the next time some summer storms are in the forecast. The pair of stoppages, due to a leak in the Verizon Center roof on a rainy day, would have been more than enough to make the game memorable, but why stop there? Lets have Howard and his heavily favoured team play like gangbusters each time the water was mopped up. Then blow a 25-point lead. Then come from five down in the fourth quarter to win it. Yep, that Houston Rockets 114-107 win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night was somethin else altogether. "The craziest game ever?" Howard said. "Yeah, I would say that." Long after the delays of 35 and 22 minutes, James Harden tied the score with a driving layup with 2:33 to play, then gave the Rockets the lead again -- this time for good -- with a three-point play with 1:54 remaining. He finished with 25 points to lead the Rockets, who made only four field goals in the final period yet closed with a 17-5 run. "It was a long game," Harden said. "A leakage in the court. Ive never been a part of something like that before." Neither had Howard, who ran the gamut of good and bad. He did the most to keep the fans engaged during the interruptions in play, signing an autograph or two and playing with the youngsters. The crowd reacted with exaggerated gasps when Howard would slap a shot in the seats -- "They told me to protect the house," Howard joked -- and cheered when one of the kids scored. "Ive got to work on my defence," Howard deadpanned, "if I want to get defensive player of the year." Howard also dominated the game well into the second half before falling apart in the fourth quarter, committing four turnovers and missing both of his field goals and all four free throw attempts. He finished with 23 points. "I did OK," Howard said. "I think in the second half I didnt finish like I needed to. I wasnt as aggressive as I was in the first half..dddddddddddd" Terrence Jones added 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Jeremy Lin added 18 points and eight assists for the Rockets, who are 1-1 halfway through a four-game road trip. John Wall led Washingtons comeback and finished with 23 points and 10 assists, Trevor Ariza had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Kevin Seraphin -- another catalyst in Washingtons surge -- had all of his season-high 18 points in the second half. The Wizards lost their fourth straight home game and fell to 2-14 against teams that are currently .500 or better. "Now I wish they would have just cancelled it," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. The leak caused the officials to hit the pause button 9 seconds into the second quarter and again at the start of the second half. Trash cans and an array of towels were spread at the midcourt line close to the scorers table. Several people were in the rafters, apparently trying to solve the problem. The wet mess was an obvious black eye for the Wizards franchise, and the team seemed intent on matching it with their play. After shooting 62 per cent in the first quarter, Washington made only 6 of 24 field goal attempts (25 per cent) for the rest of the half. The Rockets went on a 34-13 run to seemingly break open a tie game after the first delay. The towels and trash cans reappeared after halftime. Wittman said the leak was finally stopped after a tarp was laid on the arenas roof. The Rockets, already with a 17-point lead, again were able to get themselves in gear faster than the Wizards, going on a 15-7 run after the restart. But the Wizards eventually regrouped and came back. Then the Rockets came back. The wet floor never did. "Obviously weve had a lot of rain here," Wittman said. "And obviously theres a hole up there somewhere." NOTES: The Rockets are 11-3 against the Eastern Conference; the Wizards are 3-9 against the West. ... Houston F Chandler Parsons missed his third consecutive game with a sore right knee. ... Washington has lost seven of eight at home, another frustration for Wittman. "We just go out and play like its an AAU game," the coach said. ' ' '