PORTLAND, Ore.
Cheap NHL Jerseys . - LaMarcus Aldridge said an overtime thriller over Golden State was good preparation for the looming post-season. "It definitely shows what were going to see in the playoffs," Portlands All-Star forward said, "where every possession counts and every basket counts." Aldridge had 26 points, including the go-ahead basket in the waning moments of overtime, and the Trail Blazers emerged with a 119-117 victory over the Warriors on Sunday night. The win, which featured 16 lead changes and nine ties, assured the Blazers of no less than the fifth seed in the playoffs. It also assured a post-season matchup against Houston, sitting in fourth in the Western Conference. With a win in one of their two remaining games, the Rockets can clinch home-court advantage. Portlands win came despite the best efforts of Golden States Stephen Curry, who had a season-high 47 points. It was the third time this season Curry has eclipsed 40 points, and sixth time in his career. The Warriors sit behind Portland in the standings with two games to go. Golden State will need to win one of its last two games to clinch the sixth seed. "This is kind of what you expect from two playoff teams," Curry said. "From start to finish it definitely had that playoff feel." Aldridges jumper with 39.9 seconds to go gave the Blazers a 118-117 lead. Damian Lillard added a free throw for Portland before Andre Iguodala missed a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left and Wesley Matthews grabbed the rebound for the Blazers. Matthews added 24 points for Portland, which has won four straight and eight of its past nine games. The Blazers wrap up the regular season on Wednesday against the Clippers. Draymond Green hit a 3-pointer for Golden State to tie it late in the fourth quarter and Matthews missed a corner 3 as time ran out to send the game into overtime. Currys 3 gave Golden State a 111-110 lead in OT. After Matthews scored on a bank shot and free throw, Klay Thompsons 3 gave the Warriors back the lead. Matthews and Thompson exchanged 3s before Aldridges jumper gave the Blazers the lead and the Warriors couldnt answer. Thompson finished with 25 points. "I told the guys before the game, I thought this would be a great tuneup for the playoffs," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "This wasnt a playoff game and it wasnt necessarily a playoff atmosphere, but I felt like both teams really wanted the game and you were going to see a lot of effort from both teams. Its heightened in the playoffs, but I felt this was good preparation for us." Warriors centre Andrew Bogut did not play in overtime and after the game the team said he was undergoing a rib X-ray. His status for Monday nights game at home against Minnesota was not immediately known. Portland activated backup forward Joel Freeland, who has been out since Feb. 11 with a sprained MCL in his right knee, but he did not play. Spanish forward Victor Claver was moved to the inactive list with Freelands return. Iguodalas dunk pulled the Warriors to a 46-44 lead in the first half before Curry hit a 3-pointer. Lillard fouled Curry from 3-point range at the buzzer and Curry made all three free throws to put Golden State up 52-44 at the break. The Warriors ended the half on a 14-2 run. Curry led all players with 21 points. Portland rallied early in the final quarter, taking an 87-77 lead on Lillards 3-pointer. But Currys 3-pointer and a jumper pulled the Warriors within 95-93 with 6:01 left. Iguodalas basket tied it at 95 with 4:54 to go. The two teams wrestled the rest of regulation. Thompsons long jumper gave Golden State a 102-101 edge with 41.9 seconds to go before Aldridge made a pair of free throws. Curry drove for a layup but missed and Matthews made free throws to give the Blazers a 105-102 lead, but Greens step-back 3-pointer tied it at 105 with 3.6 seconds left. Matthews 3 missed as time ran out. "I think this was a big test," Matthews said. "This is as close to the playoffs as weve seen." Notes: Curry extended his NBA-leading streak of 68 straight games with a 3-pointer. He is now fifth for the longest streak all time, matching Reggie Miller. ... Greens game-tying 3 at the end of regulation was his only basket of the game. ... Both Thompson and David Lee fouled out of the game for the Warriors.
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Cheap NBA Jerseys . It turns out that run was the beginning of whats been a larger turnaround for the Sabres, who head to Winnipeg tonight with hopes of posting their longest winning streak in three seasons.CALGARY -- Columbus Blue Jackets minor league call-up Cam Atkinson and goaltender Steve Mason dealt the Calgary Flames playoff hopes a serious blow Sunday night Atkinson scored the shootout winner and Mason -- who didnt even start the game -- made 28 saves as the Blue Jackets won 2-1 over Calgary. "Its a nice win," said Mason. "Its not easy coming out to the West Coast, the travel, the time change, it all plays a factor into home ice advantage out here. "To get a win here and get rewarded on the last leg of this trip is nice." Starting goaltender Curtis Sanford, who had beaten Calgary twice this year, exited the game with a lower body injury with 5:23 left in the first period. He appeared to injure his leg while involved in a scramble to the side of the net. The loss caps off a costly weekend for Calgarys pursuit of a playoff spot in the congested Western Conference. Riding a five-game winning streak entering the weekend, the Flames lost 3-1 to the 29th place Edmonton Oilers on Friday, before getting just one point against the last place Blue Jackets. Calgary remains in 11th place in the West, one point behind San Jose and Los Angeles and two back of Phoenix and Colorado, who hold down the final two playoff spots. "Our first was a little bit of a hangover from Edmonton where we werent quite as sharp or as aggressive, or competed quite as shard but from the second period on, we played hard," said Flames captain Jarome Iginla. "We competed, we got pucks to the net, we hemmed them in and we need to keep that assertive style going for us. Thats how weve got to play and its the only way were effective." The Flames begin a crucial three-game road trip Tuesday night in Colorado. "Obviously, its a playoff game, its a team ahead of us in the standings and as it stands right now, its a game we have to look like we have to win," said Calgary defenceman Mark Giordano. With neither team able to score in their first three attempts in the shootout, Atkinson, the Blue Jackets 22-year-old rookie, scored by faking a shot, then going to his forehand to put the puck past Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. "Obviously hes a talented player, skilled offensively, and he went in against one of the leagues top goalies and really made a tremendous move," said Blue Jackets interim head coach Todd Richards. Iginla was Calgarys last hope but just like Alex Tanguay, Olli Jokinen, and Curtis Glencross before him, his shot was stopped by Mason. Defenceman Nikita Nikitin scored for Columbus (23-42-7), which was playing on back-to-back nights.
Cheap CFL Jerseys. The Blue Jackets lost 4-3 Saturday night in Vancouver. Matt Stajan scored for Calgary (34-26-13), whose four-game home winning streak came to an end. The Flames were being outshot 5-2 when Sandford was helped off the ice. As soon as Mason settled into the net, the home side turned on the pressure and carried the play most of the rest of the game including a 16-3 advantage on shots in the second period. "We had lots of good scoring chances and we didnt give that many up. Fortunately, we didnt get it in the shootout and that stings a bit, but the guys played hard," said Iginla. Calgary tied the game 1-1 at 8:34 of the third when Glencross centred a pass to Stajan, whose quick shot went off Masons shoulder and in. It was the seventh goal of the season for Stajan, four of them coming in his last six games. "I dont think you can say we got outplayed tonight. We almost outshot them by double," said Stajan. "Sometimes we just have trouble finding the back of the net. Its not for lack of effort. We went hard the last two periods and overtime. Its just frustrating right now." The only goal of the first two periods came from Nikitin at 13:03 of the first. Brett Lebda slid a pass from the blue-line to Nikitin, who one-timed a hard slapshot past Kiprusoff. Calgarys roster had a different look with veteran Lee Stempniak back after missing 21 games with an ankle injury. However, Tanguay left the game immediately after getting elbowed in the head by Jared Boll in the Blue Jackets zone 6:31 into the second period. He did not return for the third. The incident seemed to spark the Flames, who showed more emotion and greater urgency after that. "In the second period, I dont think they got out of their end for more than more than two minutes," Iginla said. "Some days it doesnt go your way, but we keep our heads up, we get ready for Colorado and we play them and we can tie them and keep going." Notes: Columbus wins the season series over the Flames 3-0-1. ... Calgary has lost its last four shootouts and falls to 3-8 on the season. Columbus improves to 4-5 in shootouts. ... Five of Nikitins 23 points have come against Calgary (two goals, three assists) this season. He was the point leader for both teams in the four-game season series. ... Stajan played in career game No. 600... Flames see their record drop to 7-11-2 against the Central Division..
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