LOS ANGELES -- Portlands enormous fourth-quarter lead dwindled to a single point before the Trail Blazers finally figured out how hold off the Los Angeles Lakers patchwork lineup. Al Horford Jersey . Wesley Matthews thinks the harrowing experience will be good for the Blazers as they try to cement their spot among the NBAs elite. LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and nine rebounds, and Portland blew most of a 20-point lead before holding on to beat the Lakers 114-108 Sunday night. Damian Lillard had 26 points and nine assists, and Matthews scored 17 points for the Blazers, whose 11-game winning streak ended four days earlier in Phoenix. The Blazers tied their franchise record with 13 victories in November, and they opened December with an unlikely nail-biter, surviving despite blowing big leads in each half. "We shouldnt have had to do that," Matthews said. "Theres still a learning curve for us, but its a good sign if your lesson is you have to learn how to play with a lead. Its better than having to fight back." The Lakers would agree, even though their rally got Staples Center rocking. Xavier Henry scored a career-high 27 points and Jodie Meeks added 20 for Los Angeles, which had won five of six to climb above .500 despite injury woes. Portland led 94-74 entering the fourth, but promptly failed to score for nearly six minutes as the Lakers mounted a 24-5 run with a lineup featuring no point guard and energetic backup centre Robert Sacre, who had career highs of 12 points and seven rebounds. "We have guys down right now, but we cant do anything about that," said Henry, who surpassed his previous career high set earlier this season. "The guys we do have can still give any team a run for its money." Portland returned from its holiday break with its first road victory over the Lakers in seven tries since April 11, 2010, but only after a little drama. The Blazers blew a 17-point lead in the first half, but thought they had taken control with a 41-point third quarter -- their biggest period of the season. Los Angeles cut Portlands lead to 99-98 on Shawne Williams tip-in with 3:44 to play, but Lillard hit a 3-pointer with 2:54 left, and Matthews added another with 1:20 to play. Los Angeles kept it close, but the Blazers hit five of their six free throws in the final 23 seconds. "We need to stay consistent," Lillard said. "When things are going well, we tend to ease up instead of tightening up and putting teams away. Once teams get fired up and get back in the game, our intensity rises again. We have to find a way to keep it at that high level." The Lakers were left with only nine or 10 healthy players -- and one point guard -- when Jordan Farmar limped to the locker room in the first quarter, straining his left hamstring shortly after checking in to the game. Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash still havent returned to uniform, and centre Chris Kaman -- who recently recovered from a back injury -- dressed but didnt play. Pau Gasol, who missed Saturdays practice to deal with nagging injury issues, missed nine of his 10 shots in the first half before finishing with six points on 3-of-15 shooting. He plans to have an MRI on his sore ankle Monday. But the Lakers league-leading bench had another big game led by Henry, Sacre and Nick Young, who scored 17 points. "Thats what this team is all about -- you never know whos going to come out and produce," Sacre said. "Thats the whole essence of this team. Were all about one another, and we want each other to succeed." The Lakers hoped to play aggressively with the next four days off to rest, but instead got off to a horrific start. Portland took an 11-0 lead in the first four minutes as Los Angeles missed its first eight shots, stretching the margin to 21-4 before many fans had settled in their seats. Lakers coach Mike DAntoni yanked four of his starters, and they gradually got back in it with a tying 19-6 run capped by Meeks 3-pointer midway through the second quarter. Lillard scored 11 points in the third quarter as Portland made 17 of its 24 shots while taking command. Los Angeles then scored 10 straight points to open the fourth, and the Blazers didnt get a field goal until 5:31 remained. NOTES: Lillard converted a four-point play early in the second quarter, and Henry also did it midway through the fourth quarter. ... DAntoni said Nash will be at practice on Tuesday after a trip to Vancouver for further rehab on his nerve root irritation. Theres no timetable for the return of the two-time MVP point guard -- or Bryant, who also will be in practice this week. DAntoni declined to speculate whether Bryant could make his season debut when the Lakers visit Sacramento on Friday. ... Williams and Johnson both fouled out in the fourth quarter for Los Angeles. Norvel Pelle Jersey . Cleveland released the troubled wide receiver on Wednesday, an expected ending after Bess was arrested in January for assaulting a law enforcement officer at an airport and other bizarre behaviour. Aaron McKie Jersey .com) - His team lost in the round of 16 of the FCS playoffs, yet Northern Iowa football coach Mark Farley says his team has made a strong case to be voted to the top 5 in the final rankings. https://www.cheap76ers.com/ .That is precisely what they got Sunday.The Ravens trailed at halftime and never built a comfortable lead against lowly Jacksonville, yet did just enough to squeeze out a 20-12 win to stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race.Huntsville, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - They didnt meet in the regular season, so Sam Houston State might be saying it won the de facto title game between the two Southland Conference co-champions Saturday. Oh yes, the Bearkats are even happier to be advancing in the FCS playoffs after they defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 21-17, in the first round. Sam Houston (9-4) will travel to third-seeded Jacksonville State (10-1), the Ohio Valley Conference champion, for a second-round showdown next Saturday. Sam Houston and Southeastern (9-4) tied for the Southland title with 7-1 records, but they didnt face each other in the 11-team conference. The Bearkats, under first-year coach K.C. Keeler, overcame four turnovers, playing well defensively in the second half and getting an important block of a Southeastern field goal attempt during the fourth quarter. The Lions were trying to extend a 17-14 lead, but defensive end P.J. Hall (four tackles for loss, one sack) blocked Ryan Adams 46-yard attempt with 8:37 left. The Bearkats then drove 59 yards in seven plays, going ahead 21-17 on Donovan Williams 5-yard run. Southeastern had three final drives, but one started at their 6-yard line and their final one from their 1. A muffed punt set up Williams for a 1-yard touchdown run and Jalen Overstreet scored from 3 yards out for Sam Houston, which trailed 10-0 at halftime. Southeastern quarterback Bryan Bennett, who played on an injured foot, ran for the Lions two touchdowns, but struggled to gain 181 yards on 17-for-48 passing, and was limited to 14 yards on 16 carries. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fordham 44, Sacred Heart 22 New York, NY - Jack Coffey Field has been good to Fordham in recent years, but the Road to Frisco passes through top-seeded New Hampshire, and the Rams feel up to the task after an impressive start to the FCS playoffs Saturday.. Mike Nebrich threw for 421 yards and four touchdowns as Patriot League champion Fordham passed by Sacred Heart in the first round for the second straight year, this time by a 44-22 score. Fordham (11-2) will head to Durham next Saturday to face New Hampshire (10-1), the nations No. 1-ranked team, in the second round. It wont be the same as playing at home, where the Rams have won 10 straight games and 17 of their last 18. But the Rams appear ready for the challenge. Nebrich, who completed 29-of-50 pass attempts with two interceptions, threw two touchdowns each to Brian Wetzel (eight receptions, 166 yards) and Tebucky Jones Jr. (eight receptions, 139 yards). Fordham took command of the game by scoring on its final play of the second quarter - Wetzels 14-yard reception with nine seconds left to make it 24-16 - and its first play of the third quarter - Jones 97-yard reception at the 11:45 mark to make it 31-16. The Rams outgained Sacred Heart 511 yards to 314. Chase Edmonds rushed for 91 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown. RJ Noel threw two touchdown passes to Tyle Dube for Sacred Heart (9-3), a co- champion out of the Northeast Conference, but was intercepted twice by All- Patriot League cornerback Ian Williams. Sean Bell rushed for 112 yards on 15 carries and Keshaudas Spence scored on a 22-yard run in the loss. Fordham won last years first-round matchup, 37-27. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Richmond 46, Morgan State 24 Richmond, VA - Richmond had won a playoff game already, so there was no stopping the Spiders and quarterback Michael Strauss when the actual FCS postseason began Saturday. Strauss threw four touchdowns to power Richmoond to a 46-24 win over Morgan State in the first round. Robert Covington Jersey. The Spiders (9-4) will travel to seventh-seeded Coastal Carolina (11-1) next Saturday for a second-round game. Coach Danny Roccos team basically won a playoff game last weekend at William & Mary. The winner of that game was going to be the fourth and final playoff team out of CAA Football, and the Spiders won going away, 34-20. They rolled the momentum right into their game against Morgan State (7-6), jumping to a 22-0 lead after the first quarter. Strauss capped the games first drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Diggs and Seth Fisher scored on two runs. Diggs (eight receptions, 132 yards) ended the first-half scoring with another touchdown reception - an 11-yarder with 20 seconds left in the second quarter - giving Richmond a 29-10 halftime lead. Strauss completed 22-of-32 pass attempts for 272 yards and one interception. He also threw touchdowns to Rashad Ponder and Fisher. Richmond has struggled with turnovers in its losses, but gained a 4-2 advantage in turnover margin, intercepting Morgan State quarterback Moses Skillon three times and forcing him into a fumble. Skillon rushed for a touchdown and threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns. Herb Walker Jr. carried the ball 21 times for 120 yards for the Bears, who made their first-ever playoff appearance. They earned the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conferences automatic bid off a tiebreaker between five first-place teams. MEAC teams have lost in the playoffs every year since 1999. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Indiana State 36, Eastern Kentucky 16 Richmond, KY - Indiana State played in its first FCS playoff game since 1984 on Saturday. Maybe the Sycamores just needed some extra time to warm up. After surrendering the first 16 points to Eastern Kentucky, Indiana State scored the final 36 points for a 36-16 first-round victory over the Colonels. The Sycamores (8-5), one of a record-tying five playoffs teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, will visit eighth-seeded Chattanooga (9-3), the Southern Conference champion, for a second-round game next Saturday. Senior quarterback Mike Perish led Indiana States comeback win, completing a school-record 41 passes in 57 attempts for 407 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. He now has 6,545 passing yards for his career, also a school record, and his 20 touchdown passes this season tied Ronnie Fouchs school record set in 2010. Indiana State was nearly shut out in the first half, but Perish connected with Robert Tonyan for a 4-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left, pulling the Sycamores within 16-7 at halftime. They then ran off 24 points in the third quarter. Eric Heidorn kicked a 47-yard field goal, Perish fired touchdown passes to Kyani Harris (57 yards) and Gary Owens (3 , and safety Mark Sewall returned an interception of EKUs Bennie Conney for a 48-yard touchdown. DyShawn Mobley scored on an 18-yard run and finished with 96 yards on 22 carries, and Andrew Lloyd kicked three field goals as the Colonels (9-4) from the Ohio Valley Conference built their 16-0 lead in the first half. The playoff win was Indiana States second in three seasons of playoff appearances. EKU fell to 16-19 all-time in 21 playoff appearances. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday, Nov. 29 All Times ET FCS Playoff First Round San Diego at Montana, 4 p.m. Liberty at James Madison, 4 p.m. South Dakota State at Montana State, 4 p.m. Stephen F. Austin at Northern Iowa, 8 p.m. ' ' '  |
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