Inland Waterways » be tough if one of those guys

OKLAHOMA CITY -- LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 14 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-94 in a showdown of Western Conference heavyweights on Tuesday night. Damian Lillard added 21 points and 11 assists and hit a pair of clinching free throws with 2.1 seconds left for Portland, which beat Oklahoma City for the second time in December. Portland (25-7) snapped a two-game losing streak but still trails Oklahoma City (25-6) by a half-game in the Northwest Division standings. Kevin Durant had 37 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder, which had won 12 of its last 13 and 20 of its last 22 games before Tuesday. But Durant managed only one point in the fourth quarter and missed an 11-foot jumper that would have tied the game in the final seconds. The Thunder, who scored only 16 fourth-quarter points, lost for the first time in six New Years Eve home games since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City led by 13 points midway through the third quarter, but Portland chipped away at that lead and took its first lead since the first quarter at 87-86 on two free throws by Aldridge with 3:58 left. Reggie Jackson answered with a jumper to put Oklahoma City back ahead, but Nicolas Batums 3-pointer gave Portland a 90-88 lead and the Blazers never trailed again. Portland led 94-90 after Robin Lopez hit two free throws with 59.1 seconds left. Jackson, who entered the game as the third-best free-throw shooter in the NBA, went 1 of 2 from the line at the other end. Portlands Wesley Matthews missed a 3-point attempt and Lillard rebounded, but Thabo Sefolosha stole the ball from him and Lillard fouled him. Sefolosha hit both free throws to pull Oklahoma City within 94-93 with 23.6 seconds left. Portlands Mo Williams missed two free throws with 15.8 seconds left and Serge Ibaka rebounded for the Thundeer, but Lopez swatted the ball away and it went to Matthews, who was fouled by Durant and made two free throws with 9.2 seconds left. Durant went to the line with 8.2 seconds left and made the first free throw, but missed the second. The rebound was tipped to him, though, and he had an open look but left the shot short. Sefolosha fouled Lillard, who made both free throws to clinch the win. Portland 16-game streak of 100-point offensive outings ended, though, as the Blazers shot an uncharacteristic 39.6 per cent from the field (36 of 91) and 24.2 from 3-point range (8 of 33). Before Tuesday, the Trail Blazers had lost consecutive games for the first time all season, having fallen to Miami on Saturday and at New Orleans on Monday. Portland ended a three-game losing streak to the Thunder in Oklahoma City. The Thunder is 2-1 since All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook underwent his third surgery since injuring his knee during the playoffs in April. This season, Oklahoma City is 4-2 without Westbrook, who the team has said will be out until after the All-Star break. There were 10 lead changes in the games first eight minutes, but the Thunder used a 12-2 run to build a 34-24 lead early in the second quarter. Portland rallied within 40-36 at the 5:30 mark but went more than four minutes without scoring. Portland coach Terry Stotts burned two timeouts while trying to stop a 12-0 run by Oklahoma City and the Thunder led 54-42 at halftime. Matthews finished with 16 points and Batum added 15 for Portland. Serge Ibaka had 17 points and Reggie Jackson added 12 points and six assists for Oklahoma City. Notes: Four days removed from his most recent surgery, Westbrook made an appearance in the Thunders locker room before the game and was using a crutch . Ibaka picked up a quick technical foul from official Joey Crawford after Ibaka complained being called for a personal foul with 5 minutes left in the first quarter . Portland is 6-2 this season against the other 20-win teams in the NBA . Mark King, a Guymon native and the guitarist for rock band Hinder, performed the national anthem. Rashaan Melvin Raiders Jersey . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said. Doug Martin Raiders Jersey .Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday it is inevitable that the league will one day take after European sports and have sponsor names on team jerseys. http://www.footballraidersmall.com/Youth-Kyle-Wilber-Elite-Jersey/ . Osmond, of Marystown, N.L., fell in the middle of her routine and placed fifth in the ladies free skate at Iceberg Skating Palace (110.73 points), but that was all the Canadians needed after a strong performance by Kevin Reynolds in the mens free earlier Sunday. Tahir Whitehead Raiders Jersey . Ricciardo made it only halfway around the Jerez track before his RB10 rolled to a stop and began spouting smoke from the back. After team mechanics tended to the car, Ricciardo went back out for a mere two trips around the circuit before calling it quits. Marcus Gilchrist Jersey . Phoenix originally signed Barbosa to a 10-day contract on Jan. 8 after Eric Bledsoe injured his knee and then signed him to another 10-day deal.ATLANTA - Paul Millsap played like one of the leagues best players.Now, hell wait to see if hes picked for his second straight All-Star game.Millsap had 28 points and 15 rebounds, five other Atlanta players scored in double figures, and the Hawks stretched their franchise-record winning streak to 17 games in a row with a 113-102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.Paul was aggressive, said teammate Al Horford, who also had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. When he plays like that, were tough to beat.Atlanta (38-8) has won 31 of 33 and leads the Eastern Conference by a commanding seven games. This was a bit tougher than expected against the struggling Nets, who kept it close most of the way.The Hawks pulled away in the final quarter, leading by as many as 15. Millsap finished off Brooklyns last run with a 3-pointer from the corner with 2:34 remaining, pushing Atlanta to a 109-98 edge.Millsap, who was more of a role player in Utah, had taken a lead since signing with the Hawks. He earned his first All-Star appearance a year ago and is expected to be among at least three Atlanta players getting in when the East reserves are announced Thursday night. Horford and Jeff Teague are favoured to get in, and Kyle Korver could make it as well.Weve definitely got a lot of guys who are deserving, Millsap said. Its going to be tough if one of those guys doesnt make it.Joe Johnson led the Nets with 26 points. It wasnt enough to prevent Brooklyns 11th loss in 13 games.Thats why theyve won 17 in a row: theyve produced every night consistently and their defence had been consistent every night, Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. We had some stuff that gave them trouble, but they kept scoring and we couldnt stop them.Korver had 17 points for the Hawks, connecting on five 3-pointers and having another taken away with a video review showed he shot after a foul was committed on a teammate. Teague and Dennis Schroder had 13 apiece, while DeMarre Carroll added 12. Atlanta outrebounded the Nets 45-35.Brook Lopez scored 18 for Brooklyn off the bench, and Jarrett Jack chipped in with 14 points and 13 assists.The Hawks got off to a sloppy start, committing six turnovers in the first 7 minutes. But they seized control before the break, closing the second quarter on a 21-9 run that sent them to the locker room with their biggest lead of the half, 64-53.dddddddddddd.Atlanta has built a double-digit lead in every game during its winning streak, and improved to 33-1 this season when up by at least 10 points.Amazingly, the Hawks have already matched their win total for all of last season, when they slipped into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed with a 38-44 record.And its not even the All-Star break.Were trying to grow and improve, said coach Mike Budenholzer, who will lead the East in New York. We want to keep our mindset there, just play each night, go out there and compete. Thats been good for us so far.TIP-INSBrooklyn: The bus carrying Hollins got caught in traffic trying to get to Philips Arena and didnt arrive until 6:43 p.m. for the 8 p.m. tipoff. A poultry convention at the adjacent Georgia World Congress Center clogged traffic. ... F Mirza Teletovic travelled home after being hospitalized last week in Los Angeles with blood clots in his lungs. The Bosnian will miss the rest of the season, but is expected to make a full recovery.Atlanta: Schroder will represent the Hawks in the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star weekend. The second-year point guard from Germany is one of the most improved players in the league, playing a key role off the bench as Teagues backup. ... Atlanta finished with 13 turnovers, only seven coming in the final 41 minutes. ... The Hawks, who lead the league in points allowed, have surrendered 100 in their last two games after eight straight below the century mark.MILESTONESTeague made one 3-pointer to tie Jamal Crawford for eighth place on the teams career list with 282. Horfords double-double was the 182nd of his career, moving him past Dikembe Mutombo into sole possession of ninth in franchise history. Carroll went past 2,000 points in his career, while Teagues 11 assists pushed him to 2,005 overall.UP NEXTBrooklyn: Head home Friday night to face the Toronto Raptors.Atlanta: Host the Portland Trailblazers on Friday night, the next-to-last game in a seven-game homestand.___Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 Cheap Warriors Jerseys Authentic Cavaliers Jerseys Cheap Spurs Store Celtics Jerseys Online Cheap Bulls Jerseys Cheap Nets Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Wholesale Raptors Jerseys Cyber Monday Pistons Jerseys Wholesale Team USA Basketball Jerseys Cheap Celtics Jerseys Cheap Nets Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Raptors Jerseys From China Cheap Bulls Jerseys Cavaliers Jerseys From China Wholesale Pistons Jerseys Bucks Jerseys From China Pacers Jerseys Outlet Authentic Hawks Jerseys Cheap Hornets Jerseys Cheap Heat Jerseys Cheap Magic Jerseys Authentic Wizards Jerseys Cheap Nuggets Jerseys Timberwolves Jerseys Outlet Wholesale Thunder Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Discount Warriors Jerseys Wholesale Clippers Jerseys Wholesale Lakers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Kings Jerseys Discount Mavericks Jerseys Authentic Rockets Jerseys Discount Grizzlies Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Spurs Jerseys From China ' ' '