Dein erstes Forum » was carry-over every game," Melvin

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Just when it appeared Portland was cruising to a victory that would avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season, Torontos DeMar DeRozan put a scare into the Trail Blazers. Holding a 16-point lead with 7:41 remaining, Portland suddenly had to mount a rally of its own, hitting four free throws during the final 11.8 seconds to pull out a 106-103 win Saturday night. LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 15 rebounds and Damian Lillard hit a go-ahead free throw with 11.8 seconds left to help end the Blazers two-game losing streak. Lillard and Wesley Matthews scored 21 points apiece for Portland and Nicolas Batum added 18. DeRozan was a one-man wrecking crew down the stretch, scoring 30 of his 36 points during the second half. DeRozan, who also had 12 assists, scored 16 points during the third quarter and 14 in the fourth. The fourth-year All-Star guard had a hand in 22 of Torontos 26 second-half baskets, with 12 field goals and 10 assists. Kyle Lowry added 23 points for Toronto. The dramatic win helped Portland end its worst offensive slump of the season. The Blazers, the NBAs top scoring team at 108.4 points, came into Saturday having scored season lows of 81 and 88 points in their past two games. Aldridge said there wasnt a sense of relief despite the hair-raising finish. "We know that we had control from the beginning so it was just about staying solid the whole game and trying to close it out. We did that," Aldridge said. Matthews said after losing back-to-back games, to Golden State and Memphis, "this was a must-win game, and that was the sense of urgency we took into shootaround and the urgency we start the game with." DeRozan and the Raptors nearly spoiled Portlands breakout game. Trailing 57-40 at halftime and by as many as 19 points during the second half, Toronto made a prolonged charge at Portland. During the third quarter, the Raptors got as close as six points before Portland hit four 3-pointers during a four-minute stretch to regain a double-digit lead. Then DeRozan led Toronto on a fourth-quarter rally, when a 16-2 run over a five-minute stretch gave the Raptors a 103-102 lead on two free throws by DeRozan. "He was voted an All-Star for a reason. Hes capable of getting hot and carrying a team," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. Despite the near-comeback, Toronto coach Dwane Casey said the Raptors were sunk from a poor first half. "It wasnt us. We picked it up in the second half, but you cant spot a good team like Portland that many points and expect to survive," Casey said. With Portland trailing for the first time in the game, Lillard went on the offensive, drawing a foul while driving to the basket with 11.8 seconds left. Lillard hit both free throws to give the Blazers the lead, then Portlands defence stepped up when Matthews forced DeRozan into a turnover. Matthews said all he could think about during the final few minutes was making a play to stop DeRozan. "We blew a 20-point lead, and we did a similar thing when we played out there in Toronto. DeRozan made tough plays, the rest of the team make tough plays. We just got the timely stop we needed," Matthews said. Batum hit two free throws with 0.1 seconds left to seal the win. At the games outset, the Blazers got their sluggish offence going by turning up their defence, holding Toronto to 35 per cent shooting (14 of 40) during the first half. Aldridge kick-started Portlands performance with 12 points and 11 rebounds during the first quarter to stake Portland to a 31-19 lead. Helped by two Portland technical fouls, Toronto went on a 10-2 run midway through the second quarter to cut the deficit to 43-34. But Lillard went to work, punctuating a 12-point second quarter with a driving windmill dunk to put the Blazers in front 50-36. NOTES: Toronto reserve guard Greivis Vasquez missed Saturdays game with flu-like symptoms. Vasquez, acquired from Sacramento in a Dec. 9 trade, is averaging eight points and 4.5 rebounds a game for the Raptors. . Aldridges 11 first-quarter rebounds is one short of the franchise record for a quarter, held by three different players. . Portland is one of five NBA teams not to lose three consecutive games this season. . The Blazers won their sixth consecutive game in Portland over Toronto. The Raptors last won in Portland in 2006. Fake Jerseys From China .com) - The Dallas Mavericks had a five-game winning streak snapped last time out, but theyll try to get back into the winners circle Sunday evening when the Milwaukee Bucks pay a visit to American Airlines Center. Fake NHL Jerseys . They never thought it would take some blood, too. Kevin Love grabbed his 4,000th career rebound as part of a 19-point, 13-board effort to lead the Timberwolves over the Utah Jazz 112-97 on Tuesday night. https://www.fakejerseys.us.com/ . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List. Fake NBA Jerseys .com) - Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James will sit out Thursdays game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with left knee soreness. Fake Soccer Jerseys . Pospisil, the seventh seed, saved match points in each of the last two sets before falling to the unseeded Dutchman. "I wasnt very happy with the way I was playing,"said Pospisil. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Eric Sogard and the Oakland Athletics finished off their answer to a three-game sweep by Texas on the West Coast last week. Emphatically. Jesse Chavez allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings, Sogard matched his season total with three RBIs on Wednesday night and the Oakland Athletics completed a sweep in Texas with a 12-1 rout of the sloppy Rangers. Yoenis Cespedes had two doubles, scored twice and drove in two runs for the As, who scored 10 runs combined in the third and fourth innings to complete the sweep in a series that started with the teams tied atop the AL West. "We didnt enjoy them coming in sweeping us and then losing the last two in Houston," Sogard said. "It kind of really made us wake up a little bit. Our pitching was fantastic and we were able to put some runs on the board." The Rangers matched a season high with four errors, including one of two by shortstop Elvis Andrus on what could have been an inning-ending double play in Oaklands seven-run third. Chavez (2-0) walked one and struck out eight, allowing only Prince Fielders soft line-drive single to right-centre field in the first inning. The As improved to 6-0 in his starts. "Weve seen that game a few times already this year," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "Quality stuff all the time. Mechanics are terrific. Keeps guys off balance." Robbie Ross (1-2) gave up 11 hits and 10 runs in 3 1-3 innings, the shortest outing of the left-handers first season as a starter. Just six runs were earned because of Andrus second error in Texas fourth straight loss. "It snowballed on me quick," Ross said. "This is one of those games where you want to forget about and move on. Thats what everyone tells me." Alberto Callaspo and Derek Norris had three hits each among a season-high 17 for Oakland. Two of Norris hits were infield singles on choppers to Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre and played big roles in Oakland building a quick 10-0 lead. The burly catcher hustled to beat Beltres throw for the fifth straight Oakland hit in thee third.dddddddddddd Two runs scored on the next one an inning later. Craig Gentry came home as Beltres throw skipped past Fielder, and right fielder Alex Rios got the second error on the play when his throw to try to get Cespedes at home went to the backstop. Andrus, who went 0 for 2 before coming out after five innings and has one hit in his past 28 at-bats, had his other error in the first inning when Josh Donaldsons routine grounder jumped up and hit his hand and the throw went several feet over Fielders head. "Theres going to be times either defence or offence are not on the same level," Andrus said. "Today was both." Cespedes had a two-run double for a 3-0 Oakland lead in the third before the first of Norris infield hits. Callaspo followed with an easy grounder to Andrus, but the ball went between his legs into centre field. Sogard later made it 7-0 with a two-run single and added an RBI single in the fourth as Oakland outscored Texas 25-4 in the three games. "It seems like there was carry-over every game," Melvin said. "The quality of our at-bats throughout the whole lineup. Everybody contributed. Thats when were at our best." Coco Crisp hit his third homer of the season, a solo shot to right field in the sixth for a 12-0 lead. It was the only homer of the series in a ballpark thats never had a three-game set without at least one home run. Texas ended the shutout in the eighth when Josh Wilsons double off reliever Luke Gregerson scored Leonys Martin. NOTES: As RHP A.J. Griffin had elbow-ligament replacement surgery in Houston on Wednesday, becoming the second Oakland starter lost to the season-ending procedure this year. Jarrod Parker underwent the same surgery before the season. ... Rangers manager Ron Washington said Shin-Soo Choo would return to LF on Friday at the Los Angeles Angels. Choo was DH for the second straight game after being out of the starting lineup for a week with a sprained left ankle. ... Josh Reddick walked in the third to snap Ross streak of 21 1-3 innings without a walk. ' ' '