Aktuelle News! » Bautista. "At times when we lose a couple in a

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. 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. Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale .Voegele will next play Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia, who saved 10 of 16 break points to defeat Annika Beck of Germany 7-6 (6), 6-4.Also, Marina Erakovic of New Zealand defeated eighth-seeded Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Cheap Nike Air Max Shoes Wholesale . The 26-year-old slider from Calgary posted a time of 50.464 seconds, 0.573 seconds back of leader Natalie Geisenberger. The German led the overall World Cup womens standings this season and continued her dominance by putting down a track record time of 49. http://www.airmax90wholesalecheap.com/. Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions. Cheap Air Max 270 China . If there is one club built to handle an off-field controversy, its the Bill Belichick era Patriots. Even if New Englands offence stumbles a bit out of the gate, their defence can help them stay in games, especially in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in the first two weeks. Cheap Nike Vapormax China . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. Austin became the latest No. 12 seed to pull off an upset, tying the game on Desmond Haymons did-that-just-happen four-point play with 3.NEW YORK – Make it two in a row for the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium following Sundays grind-it-out, 5-4 victory, a monumental accomplishment when contrasted with the 17-game losing skid that ended with Saturdays win in the Bronx. Suddenly, after six weeks of bad baseball compounded by a rash of injuries to vital cogs like Brett Lawrie, Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind, the Blue Jays (56-50) are 7-3 out of the All-Star Break and have crucial series wins over the Red Sox (three out of four) and the Yankees (two out of three). The Blue Jays will travel by train to Boston on Sunday evening in preparation for a three-game series with the Red Sox. Regardless of the result of the Orioles-Mariners game in Seattle, the Blue Jays will wake up on Monday morning in sole possession of second place in the American League East and, perhaps more importantly, in sole possession of the lead for the American Leagues coveted second wild card spot. It wasnt pretty at times. The Jays blew leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 on Sunday but in a test-of-the-mettle type of game, the club went ahead for good when Dioner Navarro singled home Jose Bautista with two outs in the ninth. That the base hit came off Yankees closer David Robertson and combined with the fact that Bautista had stolen second to get into scoring position, it seemed a solid way to cap a solid weekend. Bautista wants his team to believe its good. "We need to sometimes have that swagger and that attitude that we are a good team," said Bautista. "At times when we lose a couple in a row, it seems like we lose it a little bit, lose that edge. Im not saying we dont compete, we dont show up on time and do our work and do our preparation. Were great about that but at times you can see it on the field and in the clubhouse, if we lose a couple in a row and theyre tough games, its like the energy goes down a little bit." Sanchez wins his first game Rookie Aaron Sanchez picked up his first career major league victory in Sundays win. He wasnt entirely satisfied. "Maybe not so much the way I would have liked it to have," said Sanchez of the way the win played out. "We score a run there in the eighth and I go back out there and for me, I need to do a better job of shutting that inning down so they dont have to fight for another one but those guys picked me up and its such an awesome feeling right now to get my first win, especially here in Yankee Stadium." Sanchez pitched a three-up, three-down seventh on three groundballs to preserve a 3-3 tie. After Colby Rasmus drew a walk and advanced two bases on a pickoff attempt throwing error by Yankees reliever Dellin Betances, Munenori Kawasakis sacrifice fly scored Rasmus to give Toronto a 4-3 lead in the eighth. Sanchez gave up a leadoff single to Brett Gardner in the eighth. Gardner advanced to second on a Derek Jeter sacrifice bunt and scored on a two-out single by Carlos Beltran. The game was tied 4-4. Sanchez was still the pitcher of record when the Blue Jays went ahead in the ninth. Casey Janssen worked a clean inning for his 16th save. Reimold returns One day after revealing publicly that Edwin Encarnacion isnt close to returningg to the lineup due to a right quadriceps strain, the Blue Jays trimmed their bloated infirmary by one in welcoming back outfielder Nolan Reimold.dddddddddddd Pitcher Esmil Rogers was designated for assignment to make room for Reimold on the active roster. "To get another position player up here," said manager John Gibbons, explaining the move. "Another right-handed bat instead of having eight bullpen guys." Reimold arrived at Yankee Stadium about two hours before Sundays game and wasnt in the starting lineup. Coming off a left calf strain suffered while running the bases in the July 11 game at Tampa Bay, Reimold wont be in the outfield for at least "a couple of days," according to Gibbons. He was available to pinch hit and will be used as a designated hitter. Expect to see him in Wednesdays starting lineup when the Jays face Red Sox ace lefthander Jon Lester. "Hes a good pitcher so itll be good to get back in there and compete again," said Reimold. Reimold was just getting settled with his new team when he was bitten by the injury bug. Its been a consistent theme throughout the 30-year-olds career. Hes had two major neck surgeries, spinal fusion. The second procedure was required to correct the first, which didnt take. The calf strain happened as he was running to third on a base hit. Hed never had a problem in that area before. "Its very frustrating," said Reimold. "But its behind me now. No issues; you know, get back at it again and start over." In four games with the Jays, his first big league games of the season after being picked up on waivers from the Orioles, Reimold showed flashes of the player the Blue Jays believe he can be. He had two hits, including a double, and three RBI in an 8-7 loss to the Angels in Anaheim. Rogers, who turns 29 on August 14, will be exposed to irrevocable waivers for the second time this season. While its likely he clears and is assigned, once again, to Triple-A Buffalo, the Blue Jays would be content for another team to take a flier on Rogers and pick up the remainder of his $1.85-million salary. Rogers played a significant role in Toronto last season, making 44 appearances, including 20 starts to cover for an injury-depleted rotation. He was initially shipped out in mid-May, following a series at Fenway Park. At the time, he led the entire staff with five home runs allowed. His regression isnt a story exclusive to Rogers. The Jays relief corps also has been burdened by down seasons from two 2013 All-Stars, Steve Delabar (now pitching for Buffalo) and Brett Cecil. What makes the Rogers situation hurt more is what general manager Alex Anthopoulos gave up to get him. Catcher Yan Gomes is a regular in Cleveland and Mike Aviles is a serviceable utility infielder. For the cash-strapped Blue Jays, Rogers salary is burdensome with ownership apparently unwilling to take on money in a midseason trade. Theres no timeline for Encarnacions return to the lineup after he suffered a setback in his rehabilitation from a right quadriceps strain, an injury sustained on July 5. In Encarnacions absence, Reimolds potentially potent righthanded bat will be a welcome addition to Gibbons lineup. ' ' '