Herausforderungen » atthews stepped in front of Patrick Beverle

The Portland Trail Blazers will try to win a playoff series for the first time since 2000 on Wednesday night when they visit the Houston Rockets for Game 5 at the Toyota Center. Portland won Game 4 Sunday night at the Moda Center and are now up 3-1. The last time the Blazers won a playoff series came in the 2000 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz. They fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games in the Conference Finals, but since, Portland has lost six times in the first round. That could all change on Wednesday. The Trail Blazers won the first two games in Houston, then fell in Game 3 at home. Portland is on the precipice of advancement, but its been a tough trek to get to this point. Three of the first four game went to overtime, including Game 4, which the Blazers won 123-120. "Its not exhausting if you win, its exhausting if you lose," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said of the series three overtime games. "And weve lost two of the three." LaMarcus Aldridge scored a game-high 29 points for the fifth-seeded Blazers, followed by 25 from Nicolas Batum. Damian Lillard had 23 and Wesley Matthews added 21. James Harden had 28 points to lead the Rockets, Chandler Parsons scored 26 -- but just seven after halftime -- and Dwight Howard ended with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Portland took its first lead since 6-5 when Batum spun Parsons around with a crossover dribble and knocked down a 3-pointer from the high right side to make it 99-97 with 4 1/2 minutes left in regulation. Later, Howards only two blocks of the game came before Harden made four foul shots in a row to give Houston a 104-102 edge with 50.9 seconds on the clock. After Batum missed a 3, Jeremy Lin rebounded the ball for the Rockets but was stripped by Mo Williams. Matthews missed a layup, but Lillard got the rebound and kicked it to Williams, who knocked down a 3 to give Portland a one-point lead with 18.9 seconds left in the fourth. Howards game-tying dunk came after Dorell Wright missed one of two foul shots for the Blazers, and Williams missed a 3-point try at the buzzer for Portland. Matthews opened overtime by wrestling the ball away from Howard and called a timeout, Parsons smacked Aldridge across the face at the other end for a Flagrant 1 foul and Aldridge made his free throws for the first points of overtime. Still, the game was tied until Batum scored five straight to spark a 7-0 run that gave the Blazers the lead for good. He made a 3-pointer after Aldridge stripped Howard under the Rockets basket, then found Lillard in transition for a layup and 117-110 lead with 2:19 to play. Troy Daniels, the former D-League player and unexpected hero for the Rockets in Game 3 when he hit the winning 3 in the closing seconds of overtime, made his first three NBA foul shots to get them within a point with 8.9 seconds left. After Williams made two free throws at the other end, Matthews stepped in front of Patrick Beverley just beyond midcourt and knocked the ball loose, sealing the win -- Portlands second in overtime in the series. "It was another terrific game and I think its obvious that both teams are pretty evenly matched," said Portland coach Terry Stotts. "I was really proud of the way we played in the second half. I thought we showed a lot of heart and determination to get back into the game." If needed, Game 6 will be Friday night in Portland. Pittsburgh Penguins Gear . - A late-game interception by defensive back Malcolm Butler saved the Super Bowl for the New England Patriots. Mario Lemieux Jersey . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/961q...y-penguins.html. Fielder has been out with a herniated disk in his neck, and surgery was recommended after a follow-up exam and another scan Thursday with Dr. Chad Ruhwedel Jersey . - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying. Ron Stackhouse Jersey . After a 99-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, his Celtics coaches and teammates have only positive things to say about the Toronto-born rookie.SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres have not always pitched tough in tight situations this season. The last two games, however, the Padres have been resolute. Chris Denorfia hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning and San Diegos bullpen was stingy with runners on base, leading the Padres to a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. San Diego held the Giants to just three hits in 15 at-bats with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 base runners. In their 4-1 win on Monday, the Padres left nine San Francisco runners stranded, holding the Giants to 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position. "Weve been off the mark for most of the year," Padres manager Bud Black said. "But the last couple of (games), weve been able to make the pitches when we needed to." San Francisco threatened in each of the last four innings, but relievers Tim Stauffer (3-1), Luke Gregerson and closer Huston Street all pitched out of trouble. "Its been an issue for a while," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "It reared its head again." Giants catcher Buster Posey was pinch hit for in the seventh after he ripped a nail on the ring finger of his right hand on a wild pitch thrown by Madison Bumgarner in the sixth inning. Posey shook his right hand after Bumgarners pitch in the dirt and spent a couple of minutes being attended to by a trainer before he stayed in the game and completed the inning. "(The pitch) may have hit the lip of home plate," said Posey, the reigning NL MVP. "I can throw the ball fine, but I really didnt try to grip the bat." Stauffer relieved starter Robbie Erlin in the sixth with one out and runners on first and second, nursing a 2-1 lead. Although Stauffer allowed an RBI single to Joaquin Arias, he escaped further damage by striking out two straight batters to end the inning. The right-hander then allowed a leadoff triple by Angel Pagan in the seventh before retiring three straight. "Just trying to make some pitches and get one guy at a time and try not to throw anything out over the plate that they can flip to the outfield," Stauffer said. "Luckily, I was able to get a couple of popups and a strikeout. I think it was a momentum shift that kindd of helped.dddddddddddd" Said Erlin: "I kind of left him a tough spot there. He minimized the damage for me and did a great job." Gregerson allowed consecutive two-out singles in the eighth before striking out pinch hitter Roger Kieschnick. Street gave up Brandon Belts two-out double before getting Hector Sanchez to ground out to end the game. Nick Hundley drew a leadoff walk in the seventh from rookie reliever Jake Dunning, who was called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Fresno. Ronnie Cedeno followed with a single to send Hundley to third and bring on reliever Javier Lopez. Denorfia lined a 1-2 pitch to left for the single that broke a 2-all tie. Dunning (0-2), who made his major league debut in June, took the loss. Stauffer threw 1 2-3 innings of shutout ball. Street pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 27 chances. Defending World Series champion San Francisco (61-77) dropped into last place in the NL West, one game behind San Diego. Pagan had a single, double and triple heading into his final at-bat in the ninth when he struck out. San Diego took a 2-0 lead in the fifth following a leadoff double by Kyle Blanks and Hundleys one-out double. After Cedeno was walked intentionally, Erlin drove in the second run with a bloop single. It was Erlins first major league hit and RBI. The Giants tied it in the sixth. After consecutive singles by Belt and Posey to start the inning, Pedro Sandoval and Arias followed with consecutive RBI singles with one out. Bumgarner lasted six innings and gave up two runs and five hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Since the All-Star break, Bumgarner has just one winning decision in nine starts. The left-hander is 1-4 with a 2.67 ERA in that span. Erlin allowed two runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. The left-hander struck out five and walked two. NOTES: San Francisco RHP Heath Hembree made his major league debut with one inning of perfect relief. ... Padres rookie RHP Burch Smith will start on Friday against Colorado. Smith, who was recalled from Triple-A Tucson on Monday, is 0-1 with an 18.41 ERA in three starts earlier this season with San Diego . ... Giants RHP Tim Lincecum (8-13, 4.38 ERA) opposes Padres LHP Eric Stults (8-12, 3.81) in the series finale Wednesday. ' ' '