PORTLAND, Ore. - Even after losing All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge to an injury, the banged-up Portland Trail Blazers found a winning combination.Damian Lillard scored 22 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:20 remaining, and Portland ended a three-game losing streak Monday night with a 98-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings.Lillard had six points during the final 80 seconds and helped rally the Trail Blazers (31-11) from an 11-point, second-half deficit. Wesley Matthews scored 17 for Portland.The news wasnt all good for the Blazers, though, because Aldridge exited in the second quarter with a left thumb injury. Portland coach Terry Stotts said the status of Aldridge, who leads the team with averages of 23.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, was under further review.The loss of Aldridge added to an already-depleted Portland front line, with centres Robin Lopez (wrist) and Joel Freeland (shoulder) out for extended periods. And without three of its top inside players, Portland got whipped on the boards by Sacramento (16-25), which outrebounded the Blazers 53-35.Being relatively undersized, we had to create some offence with our defence, Stotts said.Stotts turned to lightly used reserves Thomas Robinson and Will Barton for long stretches. They, along with Lillard and Matthews, were vital in helping Portland own the fourth quarter, when the Blazers forced eight turnovers and outscored Sacramento 31-19.I thought Will and Thomas energy would have a chance to change the game, Stotts said.The Kings were led by Rudy Gay with 26 points, while DeMarcus Cousins had 22 points and 19 rebounds. But in a game Sacramento dominated for three quarters, the Kings eight fourth-quarter turnovers proved to be their undoing.Thats eight more possessions that we had that they didnt, Lillard said. It came down to us just tightening up. We got a little more physical on defence, got a little more stingy, and offensively we valued those possessions.The Blazers, trailing 75-67 after three, grabbed an 84-83 lead with 5:03 remaining on a 3-pointer by Nic Batum that capped a 12-2 spurt.Cousins tied it at 89 on two free throws with 1:50 left, then fouled out 8 seconds later.That was huge, Lillard said. In my opinion, hes one of the best bigs in the league. It would have been a handful down the stretch to stop him.Lillard gave the Blazers the lead for good at 91-89 on a reverse layup. Portland held off Sacramento by making five free throws during the final 1:02.I thought we did a great job. The pace of the game was good. I thought we fought hard tonight and gave ourselves a chance to win. Its a disappointing loss, but Im happy with the effort from the guys, Kings coach Tyrone Corbin said after his teams fourth consecutive loss.If we play and compete this hard every night, weve got a chance.Sacramento dominated most of the first quarter, and Darren Collison and Ben McLemore hit 3-pointers to ignite a 23-5 run for a 25-14 Kings lead.Portland ran off nine consecutive points to cut the deficit to 31-27 early in the second. A 7-0 surge, punctuated by Meyers Leonards fast-break dunk, gave the Blazers a 47-43 lead 3 minutes before halftime. But the Kings had a strong finish to the quarter, and Cousins tip-in not long before the buzzer gave Sacramento a 56-51 halftime lead.Sacramento continued to control the game during the third quarter, using an 8-0 run to build a lead as large as 11 points.___TIP-INSKings: F Jason Thompson played his 500th career game with Sacramento, third-most in franchise history. ... Sacramentos 23 turnovers were a season high for a Portland opponent. ... In the first game between these teams on Oct. 31, Gay scored a season-high 40 points.Trail Blazers: F Victor Claver, who played only 10 minutes in Portlands previous nine games, started the second half in Aldridges absence. ... Before the game, Blazers owner Paul Allen presented a plaque to Matthews after he became the franchises career leader in 3-pointers with 778.BENCH COMES UP BIGWith Aldridge out, Stotts turned to his bench for a scoring boost. Portland reserves scored 37 points, their most since the Blazers bench scored 44 against Houston on Dec. 22. Leonard and Dorell Wright had nine points each.DOUBLE TROUBLECousins had his 20th double-double in 22 games. The 6-foot-11 centre also had four blocked shots. Cousins, coming off a one-game absence due to a sprained ankle, is tied for the NBA lead in double-doubles with 24.UP NEXTKings: Home against New Jersey on Wednesday.Trail Blazers: At Phoenix on Wednesday. John Gant . - Wesley Matthews got a chance to practice his bow-and-arrow 3-point celebration on Sunday night. Custom Cardinals Jerseys . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points, nine rebounds and six steals to lead the Sacramento Kings to their third straight preseason win, a 107-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/...large-971q.html. The Major League Soccer teams were scheduled to play on Saturday night, but their game was rescheduled after Stu Tudor was hit during a pregame storm. The 54-year-old lieutenant in the Columbus Fire Department is in critical condition in the intensive care unit of the Ohio State Medical Center. Ryan Helsley . He, the 25-year-old Toronto backup net-minder and Manitoba native, would be making just his fourth start in the past 16 games against the Jets the following evening. It was the word of opportunity for Reimer, who has fallen into the role of backup, outmatched in recent weeks by Jonathan Bernier, his Quebec counterpart. Marcell Ozuna . Assistant coach Glen Gulutzan said Thursday that Edler, who played Tuesday in Nashville, is out indefinitely.SARASOTA, Fla. -- When it comes to his 50-game drug suspension, Nelson Cruz didnt have much to say during his introduction by the Baltimore Orioles. Cruz gave short answers to any Biogenesis-related questions during a news conference Tuesday, a day after the 33-year-out outfielder finalized an $8 million, one-year contract. "Whatever happened in the past, I look to move forward and have a great year with the Baltimore Orioles," Cruz said. Cruz was suspended for 50 games last August for a violation of Major League Baseballs drug agreement related to the sports investigation of the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic. He was joined at the news conference by eight of his new teammates, including Chris Davis, J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters. Markakis said last summer that MLB needed stiffer penalties for violations of the drug rules. On Saturday, Markakis said he still favoured tougher penalties but was happy to have Cruz on the Orioles. "My opinion doesnt change toward anything. Hes part of this team now and hes going to be in this clubhouse and were going to welcome him just like anybody else. Hes going to be part of this team," Markakis said. Cruz hit .266 last year with 27 homers and 76 RBIs in 109 games. The suspension cost him $2,732,240 of his $10 mmillion salary.dddddddddddd He signed with Baltimore more than three months after he turned a down a $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Rangers. "It was a frustrating process, but Im happy for the decision that I made. Im really excited for the opportunity. I like challenges and I think its going to be a great challenge for me. Hopefully, I do my best and I look for the World Series," Cruz said. Cruz waited until training camps had opened. Hes part of a late spending burst that has seen the orioles commit $63,575,000. Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez agreed to a $50 million, four-year contract and South Korean right-hander Suk-min Yoon received a three-year deal for $5,575,000. Baltimore lost its first-round draft pick, No. 17 overall, for signing Jimenez, and its second-round selection, No. 55, for signing Cruz. Orioles executive vice-president of baseball operations Dan Duquette adopted a strategy of waiting for free agent prices to drop. "Weve been steadily putting our team together," he said. "We signed a couple of pitchers, which we said we were going to do, and we said we were looking for a bat in the middle of our lineup, and Nelson can fill that role. Were always looking, but I dont anticipate any players of this calibre soon, but were always looking around." ' ' ' always a hard rink to play in, Foligno said. We got a broken play, and when you shoot the puck on goal, anything can happen.Foligno was called for goalie interference on Johansens negated goal, though replays showed he seemed to be clear of the play.When I came in to look at it, I was seeing something completely different, Columbus coach Todd Richards said. Our guy was off to the side.Niemi stopped 23 shots for the Sharks, who lost their third straight after just completing an East Coast swing in which they played five games in eight days.They were able to spend some time in our zone, and they were getting pucks to the net, Niemi said. We need to make the simple plays, get the puck out of our zone.Joe Pavelski had two goals, and Logan Couture and Adam Burish also scored for the Sharks.We made too many mistakes that ended up in the back of our net, Couture said. Weve had some spurts but the mistakes we made weve gone over for years. Theyre mental mistakes we need to fix.Couture intercepted a pass from Columbus defender Cody Goloubef right in front of the net and easily beat Bobrovsky to give the Sharks a 4-3 edge with 11:37 remaining.Pavelski scored his second of the game less than two minutes into the third period, tying it 3-3. He found a seam from the left side of the crease after taking a pass from Joe Thornton.Burish scored his first of the season, firing a shot past Bobrovsky from the right circle about five minutes into the first period. Pavelski redirected a shot by Couture for a power-play goal late in the first to make it 2-0.Johansen opened the second-period flurry with a backhander over Niemis right shoulder.Less than four minutes later, Letestu scored a short-handed goal off a nice pass from Artem Anismov.Johansen scored an unassisted goal 83 seconds later after Hartnell knocked the puck loose in the Sharks zone.NOTES: Columbus gave up its first power-play goal of the season, leaving the Detroit Red Wings as the only team with a spotless penalty-killing unit. ... The Sharks allowed their second short-handed goal of the season. ... Sharks F Patrick Marleaus assist on Pavelskis goal was the 500th of his career. ... Blue Jackets F Jack Skille played in his 200th NHL game. ... The Sharks have outscored opponents 10-1 in the first period but have allowed an NHL-high 23 the rest of the way. ... Thornton has 42 points in 37 games against the Blue Jackets. Peter Mueller Jersey .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen. Dan Focht Jersey .Y. - Major League Soccers independent review panel has taken back the fine and one-game suspension it placed on Toronto FC forward Luke Moore earlier this week. https://www.cheapcoyotes.com/298z-daniel...ey-coyotes.html. After making his All-Star debut in Fridays Rising Stars Challenge, the Raptors sophomore centre wont be sticking around for the duration of the weekends festivities, thinking about the big picture instead. Lawson Crouse Jersey . He also had some help Monday night.Hibbert scored a season-high 29 points to help Indiana beat the Utah Jazz 97-86 Monday night, ending the Pacers six-game losing streak. Brad Richardson Jersey . Barnard, 28, was 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA in three appearances, including two starts, with San Angel o this season. He struck out 19 batters and walked just one in 17 innings pitched. He has previous American Association experience with the Lincoln Saltdogs, El Paso Diablos and Amarillo Sox.Paul Merson believes England need to get in the faces of their Scottish opponents and pressure them with a Premier League tempo on Friday night. The two nations clash at Wembley in a World Cup Qualifier, with the table-topping hosts three points clear of Gordon Strachans side.England have won their previous two meetings with Scotland but struggled to break down Slovenia in their last match and Merson fears slow build-up play could make it a comfortable evening for the visitors. England need to score early and Id love them to go out and play at a really high tempo like a Premier League match, he told Sky Sports News HQ. A look at the two nations records in qualifying - followed by some memorable moments from England v Scotland games over the last 50 years People love how quick and fast the Premier League is, but when they play for England everyone starts playing it across the back and for 10 minutes no-one does anything.If England go out and suffocate Scotland, get in their faces and play in their half, I expect us to win 3-0.But its a massive football match. Any time England play at Wembley, and especially when they play Scotland, its a big game. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. Interim manager Gareth Southgate has been tippedd to start Daniel Sturridge over Harry Kane in attack, with captain Wayne Rooney slightly deeper.ddddddddddddThe Liverpool forward is yet to score a league goal this season, and Merson admits his inconsistent club form is concerning. Daniel Sturridge has been tipped to start up front for England against Scotland Im a big fan of Daniel Sturridge but Im also a believer if youre not playing for your club, you shouldnt be playing for your country, he added.When I played, if you were not playing for your team, you were never getting in the [national] squad in a month of Sundays. Danny Higginbotham discusses tactics with Rob Wotton as they look ahead to the World Cup qualifying clash between England and Scotland at Wembley My problem with Daniel is he keeps coming short to get the ball. If he comes short, who do we have to go beyond? Thats where I think we beat Scotland.I dont think they have a lot of pace so if Rooney and Sturridge keep dropping short, it could be a comfortable night for the visitors. Also See: Rooney more risky than Sturridge Charlies World Cup predictions VOTE: England or Scotland? Key battle: Henderson v Fletcher ' ' '
