Regeln » out an effort from right back Tom Hogli

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A healthy LaMarcus Aldridge makes a world of difference for the Portland Trail Blazers. Aldridge scored 28 points in his third game back from injury and the Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to three games with a 105-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night. "Whether hes scoring or not, just getting him touches has a big effect on the game, has a big effect on how the defence reads our offence," Blazers centre Robin Lopez said of Aldridge. Reserve Mo Williams added 17 points and Wesley Mathews had 15 for the Blazers, who avoided a three-game sweep in the season series. "LA coming back has brought us back to what we do and how we do it," Williams said. "With LA, we know what we need to do and where we need to go, where we get our shots, and when to be aggressive." Portland opened a two-game lead over Golden State for the fifth place in the Western Conference playoff race and pulled within 2 1/2 games of No. 4 Houston with seven games remaining. Zach Randolph scored 21 points and Marc Gasol had 20 for the Grizzlies, who lost back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 3-5 and dropped a half-game behind idle Dallas for the Wests eighth and final playoff berth. The Blazers shot 52.0 per cent (39 of 75) and had five players score in double figures. Aldridge, who missed seven games with a back contusion, was the catalyst on offence, making 10 of 20 shots from the field and going 8 for 8 at the free-throw line. The Grizzlies were determined to play Aldridge straight up defensively and not double, as they had in their two wins over Portland. Memphis looked mostly to Randolph, their 6-foot-9, 260-pound power forward, to go toe-to-toe with the Blazers All-Star. "LaMarcus is their horse," Randolph said. "Hes what makes them go, so anytime youve got your best player out there, it makes a difference." Portland dominated the second quarter, making 10 of 16 shots (62.5 per cent) and getting eight points from both Aldridge and Williams to extend a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter to a 57-45 halftime advantage. "We knew exactly what they were going to run," Grizzlies guard Tony Allen said. "It was a great game plan defensively, and they executed." Mathews and Aldridge combined for 13 points during a first quarter that had eight lead changes and six ties before Will Barton followed his own miss to score and give the Blazers a 25-23 lead. The Grizzlies, making their third stop on a five-game swing, made 3 of 14 shots in the first six minutes of the second quarter and were outscored 16-6 as the Blazers extended the lead to 41-29 on two free throws by Aldridge with 5:59 left in the half. "We matched Memphis physicality," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Our shooting lineup gave us some separation in the first half. We got a lot of good effort off the bench, too." Mike Conleys 3-pointer pulled the Grizzlies within 43-34, but the Blazers reeled off six quick points to open their largest lead of the second quarter, going up 49-34 when Damian Lillard set up Thomas Robinson for a transition layup with 3:58 to play in the half. Lillard, held scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting in the first half, hit his first four shots of the second half, including a 3-pointer that pushed Portlands lead to 78-60. Trailing 91-70 early in the fourth, the Grizzlies mounted one final push and cut the Blazers lead to 103-96 on James Johnsons 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:12 to play. Gasols basket pulled Memphis within 103-98 before Lillard made two free throws with 6 seconds left to close out the scoring. "Portland came out more aggressive and played with more energy," Grizzlies coach David Joerger said. "They have a ton of playmakers and they made us chase them all around the floor." NOTES: The Grizzlies are 16-1 record in road games in which they hold teams to fewer than 90 points and are now 4-15 record when allowing more than 90 points. . Portlands 105 points were the most against Memphis during all of March. The Grizzlies entered Sundays game leading the West in points allowed at 94.0 points per game. . Lopez became the fourth Blazer to record 300 offensive rebounds in a season, joining Kermit Washington, Buck Williams and Chris Dudley. . After making all five of his free throws, Matthews has made 36 consecutive foul shots dating to March 14 at New Orleans. USA Soccer Gear . Long snapper Patrick Mannelly announced Friday that he is retiring after a 16-year-career with the Bears, a span in which he played in a team record 245 games and snapped the ball 2,282 times. Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys . -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/. Thornton emerged as one of the leagues best defensive ends against the run in 2013. The former undrafted free agent from Division II Southern Arkansas led Philadelphias linemen with 78 tackles and had one sack. USA Soccer Jerseys China .The long-haired pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through the CFL season and put up a 9-3 record as a starter, will be listed as the top quarterback in training camp next spring.With a full training camp under his belt, the Alouettes will see if he has what it takes to get them back to the Grey Cup game after a four-year absence. USA Soccer Pro Shop .com) - Mike Miller scored a season-high 21 points in a rare start and the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from their worst loss of the season with a 95-91 win over the Brooklyn Nets. PARIS -- Striker Olivier Giroud scored twice and winger Mathieu Valbuena set up three goals as France began its World Cup preparation in fine style with a 4-0 win against Norway on Tuesday. Paul Pogba headed France into the lead in the 15th minute and, after Frances performance had dropped in intensity, Giroud got things going early in the second half with an expertly-taken goal. Substitute Loic Remy scored shortly after he coming on, and Giroud rounded off a good night for coach Didier Deschamps team with a glancing header. France plays Paraguay on Sunday and then takes on Jamaica in its final friendly match on June 8 before heading to Brazil. "We played with a lot of intensity and determination, which is very positive," Deschamps said. "Were not ready (for the World Cup) yet, but you can sense that there is a collective determination in this side." Les Bleus have been drawn in Group E and will face Ecuador, Honduras and Switzerland. "Its about getting players used to our system, players who may play in a slightly different way for their clubs," Deschamps said, looking ahead to the next two matches. Deschamps rested striker Karim Benzema, winger Franck Ribery and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, with Stephane Ruffier making his second appearance in goal for France. Norway goalkeeper Orjan Haskjold Nyland wwas busy from the start.dddddddddddd He tipped over Antoine Griezmanns header from Valbuenas freekick and then made a brilliant point-blank stop from Girouds header from the resulting corner. Griezmanns glancing header flew past him --and the post -- moments later. The fourth headed chance went in, however, as Pogba arched backward to guide in Valbuenas cross from the left. Griezmann looked lively and almost created a goal for Giroud near the end of the first half, cutting the ball back a fraction behind the Arsenal forward, and Ruffier kept out an effort from right back Tom Hogli as Norway went close in the 43rd with a race chance. Giroud made it 2-0 in the 51st, taking down a high ball from Valbuena and cutting inside defender Martin Linnes in one smooth movement before flicking a rising shot into the top corner. Frances third goal saw right back Mathieu Debuchy releasing his Newcastle teammate Remy with a defence-splitting pass, and Remy giving Nyland no chance with a confident low finish in the 67th. Two minutes later, Giroud headed in Valbuenas floating cross from the left for his seventh international goal. "Valbuena has been very good for us over the past two years," Deschamps said. "He plays with a smile on his face." France could have scored more, but Nyland denied Remy three times. ' ' '