put the Wizards up 68-63 with 7:06 left in the third quarte

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. Cheap Air Foamposite . The All Blacks played their best rugby of recent years when they beat South Africa 38-27 in Johannesburg two weeks ago, clinching the Rugby Championships in a match which has been hailed as one of the best ever played. Vapormax Flyknit Womens Ireland .m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE — Packers by 3RECORD VS. SPREAD — New England 7-4, Green Bay 5-5-1SERIES RECORD — Tied 5-5. http://www.outletvapormaxireland.com/ . -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are bringing back quarterback Chad Henne -- and making him the starter. Vapormax Discount .Kessy tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action. Vapormax Plus Womens Ireland . Canada will host the second stop on the circuit, the 2014 Skate Canada International in Kelowna, British Columbia from October 31 - November 2, 2014 at Prospera Place.PHOENIX -- Phoenix was flying high after a blowout win over Indiana. Then the Washington Wizards came to town and brought down the Suns with a thud. Trevor Ariza scored 23 points, Bradley Beal sank a pair of crucial shots down the stretch and the Wizards opened a four-game road trip Friday night with a 101-95 victory. Beals 3-pointer with 2:03 left gave the Wizards the lead for good at 96-93. His 15-footer made it 99-95 with 26.9 seconds to go, then he finished with a game-ending dunk. "I knew that eventually the ball was going to come my way and I just stayed ready," Beal said. "I wasnt making too many shots throughout the game, but I just stayed with it and stayed confident." John Wall had 18 points and 12 assists for the Wizards. Nene scored 18, Beal 17 and ex-Sun Marcin Gortat 14 for Washington. Goran Dragic had 19 points and 11 assists for the Suns, who had handed the Pacers their worst loss of the season, a 24-point blowout on Wednesday night. Channing Frye scored 16, Miles Plumlee 14 and Markieff Morris 13 for Phoenix. "We cant play that way," Frye said. "Too many turnovers and terrible defence." After making 11 of 16 3-pointers against Indiana, the Suns were 7 of 22 against Washington, just 1 of 12 in the second half. Washington, which pulled back to .500 with the win, outrebounded Phoenix 44-30, including 19-9 on the offensive boards. After nine turnovers against Indiana, Phoenix had 21 on Friday. "There was a bunch of things," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We had 21 turnovers. Its been probably six or seven games since we have a big turnover night. Then the offensive rebounds -- they got 19 of them. So all that stuff adds up." The Suns rallied from an eight-point deficit late to tie it at 93 on Plumlees hook shot with 2:43 to go. But P.J. Tucker missed two free throws that would have given Phoenix the lead, then Beal made the go-ahead 3. Nene made one of two free throws with 1:38 to go to boost the lead to 97-93, and Plumlees dunk on a pass from Dragic cut it to 97-95 with 41.9 seconds left. Beals 15-foooter with 26.dddddddddddd9 seconds remaining put Washington ahead 99-95, then after a pair of missed 3s by the Suns, his dunk ended it. Frye said the Suns are mistaken to think that the win over Indiana was a big deal. "If your season was betting on beating the Pacers one time at home," he said, "then, hey, I think we need to sit you back down and let you know youve got 81 more." Ariza switched onto Frye and shut him down after a 12-point first quarter. "It was just defensive intensity," he said. "When we press up defensively and get stops, it ignites our offence. Its what gets me going. When we play good defence, were a good team." Phoenix led 57-51 at halftime and was up 59-51 after Frye opened the third quarter with a basket. Washington then took off on a 17-4 run. Hornacek drew a technical during the outburst for complaining about an offensive foul call on Dragic. Nenes driving layup capped the spurt and put the Wizards up 68-63 with 7:06 left in the third quarter. Nenes dunk put the Wizards ahead 89-81 with 8:17 to go, then Dragic led the Suns back. He sank a 16-footer, Gerald Green got a layup after Nenes turnover, then Dragic scored on a driving layup to cut Washingtons lead to 89-87 with 6:13 to go. But Dragic missed a layup in traffic that would have tied it, Nene rambled down the lane for a dunk and Washington led 91-87 just 5:28 from the finish. Phoenix managed to get even one more time, but then Beal finished it off. "It didnt all go our way," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "We had a couple of breakdowns there and they tied it up but we came down and made some plays." There were 19 lead changes in the game and neither team led by double figures. NOTES: Wizards F Martell Webster sat out with the flu. ... Hornacek said rookie G Archie Goodwin would play two games for Phoenixs D-League team in Bakersfield, then rejoin the Suns on Sunday in Cleveland. ... The Wizards opened a stretch of four road games in five nights. ... The Suns finished their homestand 3-2 and begin a four-game, five-night trip Sunday in Cleveland. ' ' '