With over a

[Cl11234566]

games in 2013. HOUSTON -- LaMarcus Aldridge had just fouled out late in overtime after scoring a career-high and franchise playoff-record 46 points when he went to Portland teammate Damian Lillard with a simple message. "I said: Take it over," Aldridge said. Lillard did just that, finishing with 31 points and making the go-ahead free throws in overtime to lift the Trail Blazers to a 122-120 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night in a thrilling first-round series opener. Aldridge fouled out with about a minute left in overtime and Lillard, who was making his playoff debut, scored Portlands next five points and put the Trail Blazers on top by one point with a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left. "When youve got your best player playing like that, it fires you up," Lillard said. "When he went out of the game, I felt like our team ... had to have L.As back and come through for him." Joel Freeland made one of two free throws seconds after Lillards free throws to give the Blazers the win in their first trip to the post-season since 2011. Game 2 is Wednesday night in Houston. Aldridge, who was playing in his home state, also had 18 rebounds and two blocks. "Hes been a handful for us all year long," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We just didnt have any answers for him." James Harden and Dwight Howard each scored 27 points for Houston, and Howard grabbed 15 rebounds. Houston could have tied it, but Harden missed a short jump shot at the buzzer. He had missed a 3-pointer on Houstons second-to-last possession. "Ive got to play better," Harden said. "I didnt shoot the ball well ... Ive got to shake it off, but it will be better in Game 2." It was a physical game with the teams combining for 79 free throws. A three-point play by Lillard gave Portland a one-point lead with 44.5 seconds remaining. Francisco Garcia and Howard both made one of two free throws after that to give Houston a 120-119 lead 20 seconds later. Aldridge fouled out when he knocked Patrick Beverley to the floor setting a pick with 1:04 left in overtime. An emotional Aldridge continued to yell at the referees even after he went to the bench. "This is one of those games where I could show my team that I wanted to lead," Aldridge said. Beverley re-injured his right knee on the play where Aldridge fouled out and McHale said the Rockets would know more about the guards status after an MRI exam on Monday. Beverley missed eight games late in the season because of a torn meniscus in that knee. A dunk by Robin Lopez gave Portland a 116-114 lead before he fouled out seconds later. Howard made both free throws to tie it. Houston scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, with the first four from Howard, to make it 86-73. But Portland used a 10-0 run, with the help of the Hack-A-Howard defence of intentionally fouling the centre, to tie it at 98 with 2:46 remaining. Howard missed four straight free throws as Portland cut the deficit. A 3-pointer by Lillard had tied it at 104-all before Harden put Houston up with two free throws. Aldridges tip-in with 2.9 seconds left tied it at 106. Houston had a chance to win it in regulation, but Hardens shot was off. Howard and Jeremy Lin both made three-point plays to start overtime before Aldridge and Nicolas Batum hit consecutive 3s to tie it back up. Portland trailed by 11 when it used a 9-2 spurt to get within 73-69 with about two minutes left in the third quarter. Aldridge started the run with four points and Wesley Matthews finished it off by scoring the last five and capping it with dunk on a fast break. The Rockets had a four-point lead early in the third quarter when Harden heated up, scoring 10 points of a 12-3 run that extended Houstons advantage to 66-53 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the period. NOTES: Rockets Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston Texans star J.J. Watt watched the game from courtside seats. ... Houston general manager Daryl Morey asked local rappers Slim Thug and Bun B if they could make a remix of the 2005 hit "3 Kings" for the Rockets, and the pair came through in just one day. The two did a concert before the game across the street from the Toyota Center and dropped the track, which mentions several players by name, to wrap up the show as Morey bobbed his head and sang along. Nike Cortez Mens Clearance .The team had a meeting prior to facing Russia at the world junior hockey championship and got the effort theyve been looking for by defeating the Russians 4-1 to advance to the quarter-finals. Air Max 97 Mens Sale . Rinehart joins safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler as potential unrestricted free agents who are remaining with the team. http://www.nikeshoesoutletwholesale.com ... e.html.500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders. Yeezy Boost 700 Cheap . JOHNS, N. Vans Shoes Wholesale .That is precisely what they got Sunday.The Ravens trailed at halftime and never built a comfortable lead against lowly Jacksonville, yet did just enough to squeeze out a 20-12 win to stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Mark Giordano scored the game-winning goal with 53 seconds left in overtime, Johnny Gaudreau tallied his first career hat trick and the Calgary Flames erased a three-goal deficit for a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. Jonas Hiller made 31 saves while Jiri Hudler and Dennis Wideman each supplied two assists for the Flames, who halted an eight-game skid for their first win since Dec. 4. You know, we fell behind but the guys were great on the bench, they were great in the room and we felt like we had a chance, Flames head coach Bob Hartley said. Johnny is so smart and so competitive. Were all talking about his speed and his skill, but look how competitive he is. Marian Gaborik, Jamie McBain, and Trevor Lewis each scored for the Kings, who had their two-game win streak come to an end. The score was not a good indication of the game, Kings head coach Darryl Sutter said. Halfway through the game they had a lot more desperation than our team. Jonathan Quick stopped 24-of-28 shots in defeat. Down 3-1, Calgary pulled its netminder with over two minutes to play. Gaudreau tracked down the puck behind the net and beat Quick on the wraparound for a one-goal game with 2:12 remaining. Hiller was yanked in favor of an extra attacker once again and it was Gaudreau who sent the game into overtime with his third goal of the night. The energetic rookie forward backhanded the puck off Kings defenseman Drew Doughtys skate and into the net with 59 seeconds to play.dddddddddddd With over a minute gone in the extra session, Hudler and Gaudreau raced in on a 2-on-0, but Quick made a pad stop on Gaudreaus offering. As time began to tick down towards a shootout, Giordano cut in from the left boards, made a power move on net and slipped the puck past Quick to complete Calgarys furious comeback. The Kings wasted no time getting on the board as Lewis shot from the right boards fooled Hiller 2:26 into the game. Anze Kopitar emerged from below the goal line and slipped a cross-crease pass to Gaborik, who whacked the puck into the net for a power-play goal with 2:10 remaining in the first. On the man advantage, McBain charged in from the point and one-timed Dustin Browns feed at the right circle for a 3-0 Kings lead at 4:32 of the middle stanza. The Flames had a late advantage and though Jarret Stoll blocked Widemans point blast, but the puck dribbled to Gaudreau, whose slapper from the right circle got the Flames on the board with 1:58 remaining in the second. Game Notes Gaudreau posted his first NHL hat trick through 36 career games, but had just one through 119 games spanning three seasons at Boston College ... Gaborik has scored a goal in five straight games, tying for the second-longest streak in the league this season after Dallas Jamie Benn did so from Oct. 14-24 ... Calgary has won three straight at Staples Center ... The two teams will resume their season series on Dec, 29 at the Saddledome. ' ' '