Basisphilosophie » San Antonio lost its first

PORTLAND, Ore. -- With Portland trailing Utah to start the fourth quarter, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard did what an All-Star is supposed to do. Lillard scored 14 points in the final period and finished with 28 for the short-handed Trail Blazers in a much-needed 102-94 victory over Utah on Friday night. "I definitely feel like theres times I have to assert myself," he said. Lillard grabbed attention last weekend by taking part in a record five All-Star events. Last-seasons Rookie of the Year was a first-time All-Star, earning a spot on the West team by vote of the conferences coaches. The Blazers need Lillard to take over games like he did against the Jazz in the absence of fellow All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, who sat out with a left groin injury. Robin Lopez had 12 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Blazers, who avoided a season-high fourth straight loss as they struggle to keep pace in the Western Conference. "When youre going through a tough stretch, its hard to get back on track sometimes," Lillard said. "This win will get us back on track." Enes Kanter matched his career-high with 25 points and added 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost their second straight after a three-game winning streak. Utah opened the final quarter with a 73-64 lead, but Portland answered with a 7-0 run to close within 73-71 and went ahead on Lillards 3-pointer with 9:18 left. Energized by regaining the lead, Lillards alley-oop dunk off a dish from Nicolas Batum made it 80-75 with 6:07 left. "Hes always in attack mode," Utahs Trey Burke said of Lillard. Utah kept it close down the stretch, with Richard Jeffersons 3-pointer narrowing the gap to 85-83. Batum answered with a 3-pointer for the Blazers. Kanters jumper got Utah within 94-91 with 1:21 to go, but Mo Williams jumper extended it again for the Blazers, who cruised the rest of the way. Portland outscored the Jazz 38-21 in the final period. "I thought in the fourth quarter we had a nice cushion," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "They just came out right from the beginning of the fourth and got a turnover and made a 3-point shot. We made another mistake and they scored on it, and they ran from there." Portland was playing its second game without Aldridge, who leads the team with 23.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. He is expected to sit out Sunday nights game against Minnesota before he is reevaluated. Dorell Wright started in Aldridges place. The Blazers also were without forward Joel Freeland, who has a right knee sprain, and Meyers Leonard, who sprained his left ankle in practice on Monday. Portlands front court got even thinner when Batum, who has been fighting the flu, retreated to the locker room late in the first half. Will Barton started the second half, but Batum returned late in the third quarter. The Jazz were without forward Derrick Favours, who missed his second straight game because of hip issues. Favours is averaging 12.9 points and nine rebounds a game. Kanter started in his place and led both teams with 15 points at the half. The Blazers led by as many as six points in the first quarter, but the Jazz closed in and went ahead 19-18 on Diante Garretts driving layup. Portland reclaimed a 28-25 lead midway through the second quarter on Bartons fast-break 360-degree dunk. Lillards 3-pointer extended the lead to 43-37. Both teams wrestled for the lead through the third quarter, until the Jazz appeared to make a move, going up 62-57 on Trey Burkes deep 3-pointer. It was Utahs biggest lead of the game to that point. Utah extended the lead to 68-60 on Alec Burks layup. NOTES: Blazers coach Terry Stotts wore a plaid sportcoat and an open-collared shirt in honour of Dr. Jack Ramsays 89th birthday. Ramsay coached the Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA title, hence the throwback outfit. "Im not much of a fashionista, but I think he was able to pull it off," Lopez said. ... The Blazers have won the first three meetings against the Jazz for the first time since 1997-98. ... Portland was 17-of-17 from the free-throw line. Air Max Clearance . - Andrew McCutchen went 4 for 5 and finished a home run short of a cycle, and Jordy Mercer drove in a career-high four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-2 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Air Max Canada . Granada defender Diego Mainz barged into the back of Villa to send the Spain striker to the ground inside the area and Costa stepped up to the spot to score his 12th league goal in the 38th minute. Costa showed no effects of the news that his Brazilian citizenship may be revoked after he elected to play for Spains national team, as the forward was a constant threat for Atletico and forced several saves from goalkeeper Roberto. http://www.cheapairmaxcanada.com/ . Marian Gaborik had two goals and an assist and Martin Jones made just 17 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season as the Kings snapped a three-game losing skid with a 3-0 victory over the lowly Oilers on Thursday. Air Max Sale Cheap .C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third Sprint Cup race hes skipped since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. Air Max Cheap Canada .C. -- Ryan Sproul scored the winner late in double overtime to lift the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 2-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Friday in Game 1 of their American Hockey League playoff series.(SportsNetwork.com) - The San Antonio Spurs are one win away from yet another title and they will go for it Sunday night against the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at AT&T Center. You can catch the action live tonight on TSN at at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt., you can also listen to Game 5 on TSN Radio 1050. The Spurs are knocking on the door of a fifth franchise title thanks to a pair of road drubbings of the Heat in South Beach. On Tuesday, the Spurs set an NBA Finals record by shooting almost 76 percent in the first half of a 111-92 waxing of the Heat. Then, with Miamis season basically on the line, the Spurs came out in Thursdays Game 4 and put on another clinic, demolishing the two-time reigning champs, 107-86. San Antonio hasnt won a title since 2007 and the Heat ripped the Spurs collective heart out one year ago. The Spurs held a 3-2 series lead in the Finals and had the lead with five seconds to go in Game 6. Ray Allen hit a crazy 3-pointer to force overtime of Game 6, which the Heat eventually won. Miami took Game 7 in South Beach and San Antonio lost its first Finals with this historic group. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Gregg Popovich have seen it all in Alamo City. Duncan and Popovich won their first title together in 1999 and they are cementing their status as a true dynasty. But, with the memories of last years Finals debacle still fresh, the Spurs take nothing for granted. "I think we go back to last year and we learn from that. Were 30 seconds away. We feel that we have it in the bag and it slips out of our fingers," Duncan said Saturday. "So I think we learn from that, and we draw on that, and we say, Hey, its not over till its over. Our goal right now is to just win one more game. Wed love to do it tomorrow. Wed love to do it in one game. But luckily weve put ourselves in a situation where we have a couple opportunities and were going to take whatever it takes. Theyre going to come out and give us their best punch possible." The Spurs got into this position thanks to dominating road performances. Tuesdays Game 3 was an offensive exhibition, but Thursdays victory was an overall gem. Kawhi Leonard, who scored a career-high 29 points in the Spurs Game 3 win, had another monster game with 20 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks, three assists and three steals to lead San Antonio. Parker scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half, Patty Mills added 14 points off the bench and Duncan contributed a 10-point, 11-reebound double- double in the win.dddddddddddd Boris Diaw, who was inserted into the starting lineup before Game 3, nearly recorded a triple-double with eight points, nine assists and nine rebounds. "We thought we could come in here and win these games," Duncan said when asked about the lopsided wins in Miami. "We came in here tonight with great focus and put a great game together." Duncan passed Magic Johnson for most double-doubles in postseason history with 158 and also passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most minutes played in a postseason career. History is on the Spurs side with a 3-1 series lead. Teams that have gone up by that margin are a perfect 31-0 in Finals history. "We need to win one game. Thats all we can think about," Miamis LeBron James said after practice Saturday. "We cant think about forcing a Game 7. We have to win one game. Game 5, being here in a hostile environment, we know if we lose, the season is over." James scored 19 of his 28 points in the third quarter of Game 4, though San Antonio had the game well in hand by halftime. "They smashed us two straight home games," James said. "They put you in some difficult situations." Chris Bosh tallied 12 points and Dwyane Wade finished with 10 on 3-of-13 shooting in the setback. With Game 4 a desperation scenario for the Heat, the Spurs dominated, especially in the critical categories, San Antonio shot 40-for-70 (57.1 percent) from the floor and outrebounded Miami, 44-27, Thursday night. The Spurs bench outscored Miamis reserves, 41-30, with James Jones netting 11 points off the bench in the final minutes and the Spurs owned a 46-30 edge in the paint. And now the Heat face the tallest of challenges in a bid to three-peat. They did win Game 2 in San Antonio, so theres cautious reason for optimism. "There is a point where no team came back from a 3-1 or 3-0 deficit in the ALCS, and then the Red Sox did it against the Yankees," said James. "So history is made to be broken, and why not me be a part of it? That would be great. That would be a great story line, right? But well see what happens. Ive got to live in the moment, though, before we even get to that point." The Spurs are in the process of becoming one the NBAs greatest champions. Just dont tell them that. "I dont think about legacy very often or at all, I guess," deadpanned Popovich. Game 6, if necessary, would be Tuesday night in Miami. 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