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.
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Stitched Warriors Jerseys . Burkes Flames are one of several teams involved in heavy trade speculation going into next Wednesdays 3pm et deadline, with the most prominent name in play being forward Michael Cammalleri.SACRAMENTO, Calif. - While a fast-paced offence has become more of a fixture in recent years, the San Antonio Spurs can still grind out games when needed. Marco Belinelli scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, Kawhi Leonard had 15 points and seven rebounds and the NBA-leading Spurs turned in a vintage performance to beat the Sacramento Kings 99-79 on Friday night for their 12th straight win. "It was an ugly game, wasnt it?" Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, proudly. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker added 14 points apiece, and Tiago Splitter had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs (52-16), who remain 1 1/2 games ahead of Oklahoma City and Indiana for the leagues best record. The winning streak also is San Antonios longest since rolling off 12 in a row in November 2010. Sacramento outshot the Spurs 40 per cent to 38.7 per cent but was outrebounded 52 to 48. San Antonio forced 15 turnovers and committed only nine, pulling away in the fourth quarter behind its shut-down defence. "It was one of those games where we couldnt make a shot," Ginobili said. "The good thing is that they couldnt, either." Isaiah Thomas scored 18 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Kings, who were held to a season low in points against a franchise that has dominated them — like a lot of other teams — for a decade. The Spurs finished 3-0 against Sacramento this season. Theyve also won 30 of the past 33 meetings, including nine straight overall and 11 in a row in Californias capital city. "If you had told me going into tonights game that we hold the Spurs to 99 points, 38 per cent from the field, and 20 per cent from three-point, I wouldve said we were going to win the game," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "They just keep at it for 48 minutes, and thats why I think that they are the favourite to win the NBA championship." The Spurs shook off a slow start and started rolling late in the second quarter, speeding up the pace and looking foor those "great, not good" shots the way Popovich always preaches.dddddddddddd San Antonio led 47-37 at intermission despite shooting 1 for 13 from 3-point range. The Spurs finished 5 for 25 from beyond the arc, while the Kings were 4 for 14. Tim Duncan also missed his first seven shots for San Antonio before banking in a jumper in the third quarter. He finished with 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting and added nine rebounds and six assists. "Its a great reminder that we can win with defence," said Parker, who also had five rebounds and four assists. "It was not pretty. We were not shooting well. But sometimes you need to win those kind of games. We know in the playoffs, sometimes the ball doesnt go in." The Kings kept the Spurs within striking distance, and appeared to move even closer when Thomas made a 3-pointer as the third quarter ended. Instead, officials ruled Thomas shot came after the buzzer — and upheld the call after a video review. Belinelli swished a jumper at the start of his big fourth quarter to lift the Spurs ahead 73-57. And Duncan quieted Sacramento for good with a jumper that gave San Antonio an 86-69 lead with 5:35 to play. "I dont think we moved the ball enough," Cousins said. "We came down and got quick shots. That kind of hurt us. If we moved the ball a lot better we wouldve had a chance at this game." NOTES: Kings F Royce White, the 16th overall pick in the 2012 draft by Houston, made his NBA debut. He entered with 56.1 seconds remaining and never touched the ball. ... Former Kings centre Vlade Divac sat courtside next to team owner Vivek Ranadive and received a standing ovation when he was introduced on the video board during a timeout in the first quarter. ... San Antonio closes a three-game California trip at Golden State on Saturday night in a rematch of last seasons second-round playoff series won by the Spurs in six games. ... The Kings host Milwaukee on Sunday. ___ Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at:
www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP ' ' '
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