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May 15 2014, 01:44 PM
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PORTLAND, Ore. -- Wesley Matthews thinks the Trail Blazers are better suited for overtime. That made it tough on the Orlando Magic, who were handed their ninth straight loss in Portlands 125-119 overtime victory on Monday night. The Blazers have won all five of their games that have gone into extra periods this season. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Matthews finished with 24 points -- including a dunk that all but sealed it with less than a minute left. Both teams were clearly exhausted by the end. "Its alright. Well take it," Matthews said. "For whatever reason, this team is built for overtime. Id rather not go into it, Id rather win it in regulation. But we dug deep." J.J. Hickson added 20 points and 15 rebounds for his 20th double-double this season for the Blazers, who have won three straight overall and 11 of their last 14 games. It was Portlands eighth straight win at the Rose Garden. Nicolas Batum, who finished with 16 points and 10 assists, said Portlands OT successes are a credit to how well the players have come to know each other. "The way we play in overtime, we stay focused. We talk," Batum said. "We just stay together." Aldridge hit a layup and a free throw that put Portland ahead 112-108 with 3:38 in overtime. After the Magic tied it at 112 on J.J. Redicks hook shot, Blazers rookie Damian Lillard made a pull-up jumper to reclaim the lead. Lillard added a floater to extend it and Hickson had a fast-break dunk for a 118-112 lead. Matthews punctuated the run with his dunk with 54.9 seconds left and Portland cruised the rest of the way. Redick led the Magic with 29 points, while Arron Afflalo had 24. Nikola Vucevic had 17 points and 13 rebounds. Orlando held a slim 97-95 lead but Matthews hit a 3-pointer that put Portland ahead and Batum padded it with his own 3 with 3:01 left in regulation. Jameer Nelsons rainbow 3-pointer kept the pressure on the Blazers, but Batum hit another 3-pointer to make it 106-101 with 1:14 to go. Nelson made a pair of free throws and Vucevic added a jumper to close the Magic to 106-105. After Batum hit two foul shots with 16.8 seconds left, Nelson nailed a 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds left that tied it at 108 and sent the game into overtime. "The games were losing, were in all of them," Nelson said. "Theyre close games and hard fought but we just keep coming up short." It was the opening of a four-game road trip for Orlando, which has been mired in injuries along with its losses. The team was again without power forward Glen Davis, who dislocated his left shoulder on Dec. 19 against Washington and has missed nine games. The Magic have not won a game without him. It was hoped that he may return at some points during the trip. Point guard ETwaun Moore missed his fifth game with a left elbow sprain. Reserve centre Gustavo Ayon was not with the team because of a right thigh contusion. "Our effort was unbelievable," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "We didnt get the win but at the end of the day we put in the work. Tough loss, but our guys did some amazing things tonight. They deserved to win that game." Blazers rookie centre Meyers Leonard missed his fifth game with an injured right ankle. The Magic went up 19-12 in the first quarter after Andrew Nicholsons dunk. But Aldridge made a 7-foot jumper and Matthews added a 3-pointer to narrow it, and Aldridges turnaround jumper tied it a 21. Victor Clavers pull-up jumper gave Portland a 25-24 lead going into the second quarter. Aldridge had 12 points in the first quarter alone. But the Blazers had trouble maintaining any kind of lead throughout the game. After going up 46-43 with 4:03 left in the half, Orlandos Josh McRoberts hit a 3-pointer that touched off a 14-2 Magic run. Afflalo capped it with a layup that gave Orlando a 57-48 lead at the break. Aldridges layup with 4:53 left in the third that gave Portland a 71-70 lead. Matthews extended it with a layup. But again, it was short-lived. Reddick hit two straight 3-pointers to hand the Magic back the lead at 88-87 with 10:51 left in the game. Aldridges layup pulled Portland into a tie at 93-all with 6:52 left. Afflalo kept the Blazers at bay with a layup and Nelson added a pair of free throws for the Magic. Aldridge said the Blazers have developed a toughness. "We dont get rattled," he said. "We know that if we keep playing defence and we stay the course we can win some games." NOTES: The Blazers assigned guards Will Barton and Nolan Smith to their D-League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede. ... Orlandos Jameer Nelson had 12 assists, surpassing Scott Skiles as the Magics all-time assists leader with 2,787. "Its great," Nelson said. "I just wish I could enjoy it more with a win." ... The Blazers last started a season 5-0 in OT games in 1986-87. wholesale nfl jerseys . The 15th overall pick in the 2008 draft, Lopez has struggled with consistency and temperament. He averaged 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in four seasons with the Suns and served as starting centre Marcin Gortats backup last season. wholesale jerseys . A 27-year-old right-hander, Wilkie is 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 18 relief appearances this year at Triple-A Syracuse of the International League. He was signed as a free agent from George Washington University in June 2006. http://www.wholesalejerseyfreeshipping.us/ . JOHNS, N. cheap jerseys . 1 spot in the world rankings after rediscovering her best form this year. cheap nfl jerseys . Home-field advantage: Japan. Japan will host first and second rounds of pool play at two sites in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, which features a new qualifying format rather than the invitation-only system of the first two events. EDMONTON -- For the eighth straight year, Canadas Little League World Series representative is coming from B.C. In Saturdays national final, the Hastings All-Stars exploded for a 10-run fourth inning to defeat Prairie champion Lethbridge Southwest All-Stars 11-1. The win clinches a spot in the historic youth tournament that runs Aug. 16-26 in Williamsport, Pa. Hastings came into the final having outscored opponents 63-1 over six games. But Lethbridge matched them early on and the score stood 1-1 after three innings. With the score still tied in the fourth, Hastings bats came allive.dddddddddddd Thomas Neal and Steven Moretto both hit three-run homers while Lethbridge committed three errors. Hastings Cole Dalla-Zanna threw seven strikeouts and allowed just three hits and one run over four innings for the win. Lethbridges Chase Florendine gave up six hits and eight runs in just over three innings to take the loss. In Fridays semifinal action, Lethbridge beat Ontarios High Park Braves 4-3 while Hastings shut out the Atlantic champion Glace Bay Colonels 5-0. Its Hastings first appearance since 2009, when they lost in the group stage. ' ' '
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