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Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - Wesley Matthews matched a season-high with 28 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 101-79 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday. Nicolas Batum checked in with 17 points, Chris Kaman had 13 and Joel Freeland deposited a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for Portland. The Blazers, who played without forward LaMarcus Aldridge (upper respiratory illness) for a second straight game, improved to 14-1 against the Eastern Conference this season. Tim Hardaway Jr. paced the Knicks with 17 points, while Cole Aldrich finished with 12 points and career-highs of 19 rebounds and four steals for New York, which dropped its eighth straight game. The Knicks close out their three-game West Coast road trip with a meeting against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. Carmelo Anthony finished with 13 points and five rebounds in just one half of action. He sat out the second half due to left knee soreness. I think the guys showed some grit and some toughness, said Knicks coach Derek Fisher. Matthews, Damian Lillard and Batum each hit a 3-pointer as the Blazers jumped all over the Knicks in the early going for a 16-6 lead. Matthews then buried two more from beyond the arc before Batums triple made it 27-13 with 4:20 to play in the first. Thats our thing. Thats our game. Weve had a long streak of 20-plus assists, said Matthews. Thats the kind of team that we are. New York closed to within 31-22 after 12 minutes, but Portland scored the first nine points of the second to take control. Anthony scored the final four points of the half and his night to cut the deficit to 55-41 at the break. The Blazers led by as many as 27 in the second half and coasted to the finish. Game Notes The Blazers scored 16 points off 11 turnovers ... Lillard had 11 points with six assists in the win ... Portland improved to 20-2 when holding the opposition under 100 ... The Blazers shot 46.9 percent and limited New York to 33 percent shooting ... The Knicks are 2-15 on the road. DeMarcus Cousins Kings Jersey .com) - One point guard will return, while another will sit when the Minnesota Timberwolves visit American Airlines Center to take on the Dallas Mavericks. Peja Stojakovic Kings Jersey .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan had ideal preparation for the playoffs at the Ford World Curling Championships with a pair of hard-fought wins over tenacious opponents Thursday. https://www.kingslockerroom.com/Jason-Williams-City-Edition-Jersey/ . The traditional pre-Masters event was halted early due to inclement weather. Harrington, who tied for first in 2003 and won in 2004, became the first three-time champion of the event. Caleb Swanigan Jersey . -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are bringing back quarterback Chad Henne -- and making him the starter. Richaun Holmes Kings Jersey . First reported by FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal, its unknown if the impetus for the deferral proposal came from players or management, but it never left the preliminary stages.PHILADELPHIA -- Steve Mason was about to tee off on the back nine when Brayden Schenn interrupted with a breaking report. "Have you heard the news," Schenn asked. A puzzled Mason had no clue what Schenn was about to spill: Ilya Bryzgalov had his contract bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers. When it comes to Flyers goaltenders, Mason is suddenly the leader in the clubhouse. Mason finished his round with a solid day on the course and the realization that he is, for now, Philadelphias No. 1 goalie entering next season. Sure, his solid month as a Flyer after he was acquired from Columbus merited a deeper look from the organization. But the Flyers mostly wanted to get rid of the flaky Russian who never performed up to the $51 million, nine-year deal he signed in 2011. Mason has the chance to prove hes more the goalie who was the NHLs rookie of the year in 2008-09 and not the one who posted a goals-against average of 3-plus each of the next three seasons. "Im prepared to be the No. 1 guy," Mason said by phone from Toronto. "I feel Ive come a long way in the last few years in the growing-up process of being a goaltender in the NHL." Mason had it all figured out when he went 33-20-7 with 10 shutouts and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2008-09, the only season the Blue Jackets have made the playoffs. But Mason and Columbus could never recapture that fleeting success again. He fell to 20 wins and five shutouts the next season, and hasnt had a winning record since he was a rookie. He bottomed out in 2011-12 with a 16-26-3 mark. Mason lost his job to eventual Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, a former flyer, and was traded away by Columbus in April. He called the last few years "extremely humbling." "You almost hit rock bottom in terms of the way you feel about yourself as a goaltender," Mason said. "It got to the point in Columbus where I was struggling to find my confidence and also, struggling to come to the rink happy about playing hockey." Only 25, Mason appreciated a fresh start in Philadelphia. He instantly bonded with goalie coach Jeff Reesse, and a 4-2 record with a 1.dddddddddddd90 goals-against made him a hit with his teammates and management. He signed a $1.5 million, one-year extension shortly after the trade. "Im a big Steve Mason fan," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. "I know theres a short window that we got to watch him here, but he played very well. Even the game he lost, he played well." Holmgren has to add another goalie to play with Mason. But he expected the bulk of the playing time to be thrust on Mason. The Flyers went 23-22-3 and were 10th in the Eastern Conference with 49 points in this lockout-shortened season. "I looked at coming to Philadelphia as a great new challenge," Mason said. "Regardless of the length of Bryzs contract, I was confident that if I played well, I was going to get an opportunity to play a lot of hockey games." Theres been a revolving door in net for Philadelphia for decades. They Flyers -- and their fans -- thought that was solved with Bryzgalovs arrival. Perhaps Mason can finally take that honour. "I was going to prepare myself this summer," Mason said, "to have the mindset of being able to handle the pressures of playing in Philadelphia and the pressures of being a No. 1 goaltender again in this league." Bryzgalov was 52-33-10 with a 2.61 goals-against and a .905 save percentage in the two seasons for Philadelphia, which failed to make the playoffs this year. Bryzgalovs quirky personality and sometimes brutal honesty with the media didnt always endear him to teammates. But the Flyers say that didnt factor into this decision. Coach Peter Laviolette and Holmgren have each checked in with Mason this summer, though not since the trade. "It was an extremely easy team to come into," Mason said. "and feel welcomed." Example? Mason was invited along with captain Claude Giroux and other Flyers to play in Scott Hartnells charity golf tournament in Canada. Thats when word hit that Bryz was out -- and Mason was in. "It wasnt a celebration," Mason said. "It was, heres an opportunity and go with it." ' ' '