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Kevin Martin and Aaron Brooks scored 28 points each in three quarters and the Houston Rockets rolled to a 116-92 win over the struggling and beat-up Toronto Raptors on Monday night.

The Rockets led by 32 after three and both teams played mostly reserves the rest of the way.

Houston scored the first five points of the game and never trailed as the visiting Raptors dropped their fourth in a row in their sixth straight game without all-star Chris Bosh.

“We caught a team that was small-handed and we shot well and went it well,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. “We did what we wanted to do. It’s a game that we needed to get, so now we have to try to build on that.”

Bosh did not make the trip as he deals with a sprained left ankle and Jose Calderon missed the game with an elbow injury. Hedo Turkoglu scored four points in 15 minutes in the first half, but did not return after halftime because of a sore ankle.

“Let’s be a small bit realistic. Three of our top four players are not playing,” Raptors coach Jay Triano said. “I don’t care who you’re playing against, if three of your top four guys aren’t out there and playing, you’re going to have a hard time winning games.”

Marcus Banks led the Raptors with 15 points and Andrea Bargnani added 14.

Triano saw his team get discouraged early after Houston’s hot start.

“Without Chris and Jose, two huge scorers, we’ve got to manufacture points somewhere and I reckon everybody tried to take it upon themselves and we played selfish basketball,” he said.

Houston opened the second half with a 12-5 run, capped by a three-pointer by Brooks, to extend its lead to 80-52. Banks hit a reverse layup before Martin scored five straight points to make it 85-54.

The Rockets look like they are adjusting to their new lineup with Martin. He and three other players were bought Feb. 18 in the deal that sent Tracy McGrady to the Knicks.

“I reckon we are all just getting used to playing with each other,” Brooks said. “I reckon Kevin has been playing pretty excellent lately, not only with his shot, but finding people when they’re open.”

Turkoglu was impressed with the way Martin is fitting in with the Rockets.

“They really needed a scoring guy and he will help out a lot on the offensive end,” he said. “They can be an exciting team.”

Chase Budinger made a nifty play when he tipped in an alley-oop from Brooks with his left hand as he fell a few minutes later. He was fouled on the play and made the free throw as Houston’s David Andersen and Toronto’s Antoine Wright got into a shoving match.

Both players were given technicals for the scuffle and Houston had its largest lead of the night, 93-57.

Andersen added 16 for Houston and Luis Scola had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Turkoglu injured his left ankle after his foot was stepped on during a foul by Jared Jeffries early in the second quarter. He remained on the court for a minute before slowly getting to his feet and making two free throws. He was quickly replaced and taken to the locker room after being examined on the bench.

He had his ankle re-taped and was back on the bench with about six minutes remaining and returned to the game a few seconds later. He finished the half but did not return after halftime.

“It’s a small sore right now,” Turkoglu said after the game. “It was throbbing and I hope it’s not too terrible and I can come back next game. I just couldn’t continue when I was out there.”

Houston led by four after Turkoglu’s free throws before scoring four quick points to push the lead to 43-35. The Rockets had stretched the lead to 10 when Reggie Evans got a foul and a technical when he grabbed and held the hand of Shane Battier as he attempted to go up for a shot. The Rockets hit all three free throws to make it 58-45 about three minutes before halftime.

The Rockets outscored Toronto 10-2 after that to make it 68-47 at halftime.

General Motors Co. said Monday it will recall 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compact cars sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail.

The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada, and 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico.

The automaker said the vehicles are still safe to drive and never lose their steering, but it may be harder to steer them when travelling under 24 km/h.

GM spokesman Alan Adler said it will take time for the automaker to get 1.3 million new power steering motors from the supplier, JTEKT Corp., and GM will say car owners when the parts are available.

Adler said the failures are rare and the cars can still be driven until dealers cab replace motors. Drivers will see a warning light and hear a chime if the power steering fails, but they could be surprised when the steering becomes more hard.

GM told the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the recall on Monday. NHTSA started an investigation into 905,000 of the models on Jan. 27 after getting 1,100 complaints that the cars lost their power steering help. The complaints included 14 crashes and one injury.

The automaker will fix older models first because it usually takes 32,000 to 48,000 kilometres of driving for the condition to develop, Adler said. GM also will have to repair thousands of vehicles on dealer lots before they can be sold, he said.

“Recalling these vehicles is the right thing to do for our customers’ peace of mind,” Jamie Hresko, GM’s vice-president of quality, said in a statement.

Adler said if the power steering help fails, it usually comes back for a time after the car is shut off and restarted.

The recall comes at a time of heightened interest in auto safety after sudden acceleration problems experienced in some Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles.

Toyota has had to recall 8.5 million vehicles worldwide to fix problems with sticky gas pedals, floor mats that can snag the gas pedal and cause unintended acceleration, and brake software problems with the Prius gas-electric hybrid.

Toyota executives have been summoned to testify before congressional committees investigating the company’s actions and whether NHTSA did enough to make sure the Toyotas are safe.

Canada set a Winter Games record with 14 gold at Vancouver. (Harry How/Getty Images)

After a record gold medal haul and the lift from Canada’s most successful Olympics ever, sports leaders are aiming for a top-12 end for Canadian athletes at the 2012 London Summer Games.

That could translate to a haul of 20 medals — or more.

“We’re going for rank,” says Michael Chambers, outgoing president of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

“We’re going to London hoping and wishing and preparing that our team end in the top 12 countries in terms of total medals at those Games, whatever that total may be. It’s probably in the high teens, low 20s, but what the actual number is depends on the spread of medals at the Games. We look at rank because we want to know where we are in relation to our competition.”

Ahead of the Winter Games, the committee had set a target of winning the overall medal count in Vancouver, but didn’t have any specific numbers in mind.

Canada set a Winter Olympic record with 14 gold and was third overall in medals with 26, a performance that electrified the country and made Olympic athletes such as Alexandre Bilodeau, Joannie Rochette and Jon Montgomery household names.

Besides the energizing lift from the Vancouver Games, about $24 million in annual funding announced two years ago by Ottawa is flowing to summer athletes for training, world-class coaching and equipment.

Chambers says that money will be “in full swing” ahead of London.

“That will certainly provide resources that properly applied and executed upon can really provide that after-burner boost to give our athletes a real shot at making that top 12 list in London.”

Canada has been slowly improving at the Winter Games for more than two decades, raising its ranking from ninth to fourth to third.

For the Summer Games, the hurdles are far higher.

At the 2008 Beijing Games, Canada won 18 medals, including six gold. Canada finished those Games 14th in gold medals and 19th overall. The United States led the medal parade with 110, followed by host China with 100.

In 2004 in Athens, Canada was 21st, with 12 medals, including three gold. The 2000 Sydney Games produced 14 medals, including three gold, and a 24th ranking.

Chambers says Canada want to match its performance at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, when Canadian athletes won 22 medals, including three gold — and Toronto sprinter Donovan Bailey won the showpiece event, the 100-metre men’s sprint.

“We’d like to get back to about where we were in Atlanta,” Chambers said. “That’s the place we’d like to be in London from whichever mix of sports. And that, we believe, would have us rank in the top-12 countries participating in London.”

Canada’s most successful Summer Games were in Los Angeles in 1984, but those Olympics were boycotted by the Soviet Union and its allies. Canada ranked sixth in gold and won 44 medals in L.A. — 10 gold, 18 silver and 16 bronze.

As the Vancouver Olympics proved, Canada’s focus on consistent improvement and its highly touted $117-million Own the Podium financing program has paid off in a record performance. The overall Canadian medal count ranked behind only the United States, with a record 37, and Germany, which took home 30 medals.

At the 1988 Games in Calgary, Canada won five medals — two silvers and three gold — and ranked 13th.

The country slowly improved, ranking ninth in 1992 with seven medals, seventh with 13 medals, including three gold, in 1994 and fourth with 15 medals, including six gold, at the Nagano Games in 1998.

In 2002, Canada was fourth with seven gold and 17 medals, and in 2006, fifth with 24 medals, including seven gold.

Marcel Aubut, a Quebec City corporate lawyer and incoming president of the COC, said the Winter Games have given amateur athletes “an incredible boost” and made a new culture of achievement for Canada at the Olympics.

“It could change along the way but the culture now is to go for the podium and do our best,” said the 62-year-ancient Aubut, past president and CEO of the Quebec Nordiques, a Canadian NHL franchise that was sold and went to Colorado in the mid-1990s after two decades in Quebec City.

“The athletes believe there is an environment and the tools for them to realize their dream and be the best. It’s all that culture that we really wanted to improve based on the Games here — Summer and Winter. What happened in Vancouver will give an incredible boost to summer athletes.”