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MINNEAPOLIS -- The banged-up Minnesota Timberwolves were just what the Portland Trail Blazers needed. Tyvon Branch Authentic Jersey . Having lost six of their previous 10 games, and with a date against first-place Oklahoma City looming on Tuesday, the Blazers took advantage of a Timberwolves team missing three of its best players. "We felt that way even if they had all their guys," LaMarcus Aldridge said after scoring 26 points to lead Portland past Minnesota 117-110 Saturday night. "If they had those guys, it definitely wouldve been different, but this was a must-win game either way." Aldridge scored 16 of his points in the second half and Wesley Matthews added 21 as the Blazers held off a tougher-than-expected Wolves team missing starters Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin. Just minutes before tipoff, the Wolves announced Love -- their All-Star power forward -- would miss the game with a bruised left quadriceps sustained in Friday nights loss in New Orleans. Shortly before that, Martin was ruled out indefinitely with a broken left thumb, also suffered against the Pelicans. Combined with Pekovic, the trio accounts for an average of 60 points and 25 rebounds per game. "It takes a little edge off the game," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "We found out Kevin Martin wasnt going to play early and then Love wasnt going to play. I think that deflates the balloon a little bit, you kind of get yourself up for guys like that." But the Blazers knew they couldnt afford to let up against the scrappy Wolves, who trailed for most of the first half but led 82-75 with 1:50 to play in the third quarter. Corey Brewer led Minnesota with 26 points and Ricky Rubio scored a career-high 25. Minnesota led 87-85 with 9:48 to play in the game before Portland went on a 13-1 run to put the game away. Minnesota pulled within 101-96 with 3:29 to play before Matthews scored five straight and Robin Lopez hit a layup to put the game out of reach. The Wolves got 19 points from Chase Budinger, 14 from Dante Cunningham and a season-high 12 from rookie Shabazz Muhammad. "It doesnt matter whos out," coach Rick Adelman said. "The next guy steps up, thats how you have to approach it. You cant worry about whos not playing, worry about who is playing, and make the best out of the situation. I thought we played well tonight." Aldridge had six points during Portlands game-deciding 13-1 run in the fourth quarter. That run came with Rubio on the bench. Rookie C.J. McCollum had a season-high 19 points and Nicolas Batum added 15 for the Blazers, who finished their four-game road trip 2-2. "We were really counting on our bench tonight because I really wanted to rest the starters," Stotts said. "They all played a lot of minutes last night and the first half the bench really gave us a boost. We were able to make a little ground with them in the game." Minnesotas key starters also got a rest -- in their street clothes. "Its tough having all of those guys out," Budinger said. "Those are huge impact guys for us and were hoping Kevin was able to go but he was really struggling and hurting. He tried to get himself going but just couldnt do it." NOTES: During halftime, Love told The AP he hopes to play on Monday night against Houston. ... The Blazers played a second-straight game without backup point guard Mo Williams, who left the team Friday for family reasons. Stotts did not have an update on when Williams might return. ... Adelman is assuming Pekovic will not return until after the All-Star break. ... Love bought a full-page advertisement in Sundays Minneapolis Star Tribune thanking fans for voting him an All-Star starter. "Just my way of paying tribute to the fans," he said at halftime. Carlos Rogers Authentic Jersey .C. -- Cam Newton wasnt flawless on Sunday. John Matuszak Jersey . -- Champ Bailey finally gets a chance to live up to his name.LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida - However you slice it, the Blue Jays need to add two starting pitchers before the season starts on March 31 in Tampa Bay. Whether the return to health of Brandon Morrow and the emergence of one of the clubs pitching prospects – Drew Hutchison, Kyle Drabek, Sean Nolin, Marcus Stroman – add up to two arms or whether acquisitions are made via trade or through free agency, the rotation must improve in order for Toronto to contend. With the wrap up of this mass gathering of owners, executives, media and the odd player, general manager Alex Anthopoulos hopes now is the time he can truly get down to business. “I actually get relieved when we leave the winter meetings,” said Anthopoulos. “I find we can get back to work a little bit when we get back home. Theres too much going on here with every team. Theyve got agent meetings, clubs and I think people, including us, can just get paralyzed.” Despite his feeling toward the three day event, Anthopoulos believes hes laid the foundation for possible moves. “Similar, I would say,” said Anthopoulos when asked to compare his work to that of past winter meetings. “There are some things that we could do. Were trying to do more than one thing, especially on the trade market. We have so many assets so were trying to figure out, okay, how can we divide up all these assets and make sure that we get these two or three things rather than just use too many assets to get one and then were stuck.” Despite a disappointing 2013 and the expectation of a bounce back next year, he doesnt feel rushed to make a move and wont be pressured. “Were comfortable going into any time,” said Anthopoulos. “Theres no timeline of December, January. Whenever it happens, it happens. We did the Vernon Wells deal in late January.” KNUCKLING UP One-time Blue Jay Tomo Ohka is back in the fold, signing a minor league contract. Ohka, 37, is attempting to follow the path of R. Tim Brown Jersey. .A. Dickey and reestablish his career as a knuckleballer. “The one thing is hes a good athlete,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. “Hes got a repeatable delivery and he was a strike thrower, which is a pretty good combination. How much success he has, how it works, too hard to tell but he does have some of the ingredients and he has a will, he has a will to do it.” Anthopoulos has approached R.A. Dickey about tutoring Ohka and Dickey has agreed to be of help where he can. Dickey successfully transitioned from being a conventional pitcher to a knuckleballer. Expect Ohka to begin the 2014 season with Double-A New Hampshire. Ohka made 10 starts for the Blue Jays in 2007, posting a record of 2-5 with a 5.79 ERA. He spent three-and-a-half seasons with the Montreal Expos, winning 27 games, before moving with the franchise to Washington for the 2005 season. RULE 5 DRAFT The Blue Jays selected left-hander Brian Moran from the Seattle Mariners but promptly traded him to the Los Angeles Angels for international cap space. The deal affords the Jays a higher monetary ceiling in the pursuit of young, draft ineligible international free agents. CURBING COLLISIONS The push is on to ban collisions between base runners and catchers at home plate. “I dont have a strong feeling one way or the other, I could go either way,” said Anthopoulos on whether home plate collisions should stay in, or be removed from, the game. “Theres more money involved. Salaries are going up. Its tough when you lose these guys with collisions and things like that. I think thats a big factor, obviously. You just cant afford to have some of your star players going down.” A draft document detailing the new rule will be ready in January, at which point it will require approval from the rules committee, owners and the Players Association. Fines and suspensions are expected to be among the penalties for offenders in home plate collisions. ' ' ' |
