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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. Bo Jackson Jersey . 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.Billy Butler Jersey . As the lowest-ranked of nine unseeded European qualifiers, France was expected to go in the Africa-dominated draw pot — meaning it could not be placed in the same group as a top-seeded European team. Norichika Aoki Jersey . The Texas Rangers right-hander will probably reconsider now. Wolf pitched five strong innings for his first big league win in his first start in the majors, David Murphy and Adrian Beltre homered in a three-run first inning, and the Rangers avoided a sweep with a 3-1 victory against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.TORONTO -- The Canadian mens rugby team will play the U.S. on June 21 in Sacramento, Calif., as part of the IRB Pacific Nations Cup. Canadas other game in the tournament -- against Japan on June 7 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, B.C. -- had been previously announced. The contest against the U.S. Eagles will be played at the new Cal Expo Multi-Use Sports Field. Canada is currently ranked 15th in the world, while Japan is No. 13 and the Americans are No. 18. The other Pacific Nations Cup pool features No. 8 Samoa, No. 11 Fiji and No. 12 Tonga. Samoa will host Tonga on June 7 before Fiji entertains Tonga on June 14 and Fiji faces visiting Samoa on June 21. The U.S. will host Japan at the Stub Hub Center in Los Angeles on June 14 in the other Pool B game. The Pool A winner will be crowned the Pacific Island conference champion while Pool B will compete for the Asia/Pacific conference title. "The Pacific Nations Cup is an excellent opportunity for all participating teams to play some tough, competitive test matches with just over a year to go until Ruggby World Cup 2015," Mark Egan, the International Rugby Boards head of competitions and performance, said in a statement Wednesday. Mike Moustakas Jersey. Canada will also host No. 10 Scotland at Torontos BMO Field on June 14. Canadian coach Kieran Crowley plans a trials match in B.C. a week before the first game in June so he can review the Canadian-based and overseas talent at his disposal. Domestic-based players will take part in the Canadian Rugby Championship in the late summer with Crowley selecting the cream of the crop to represent Canada in the Americas Rugby Championship in the fall. The Canadians will also have three test matches in November. Canada has already qualified for the 2015 World Cup, which opens in September 2015 in England. The Canadians will play in Pool D with No. 5 Ireland, No. 7 France, No. 14 Italy and No. 17 Romania. Fiji and Canada both finished with 3-1-0 records at the Pacific Nations Cup in 2013 but the Pacific Islanders placed first by virtue of more bonus points. The 2013 event was a basic round-robin format. ' ' ' |
