SALT LAKE CITY -- Portlands Damian Lillard just needed to make one shot to get going. Nike Flyknit Lunar 2 Womens . Once he saw that go down, he went on a fourth-quarter scoring flurry. "That first 3 felt real good," Lillard said. "Once that went down, I felt if I got another clean look, Im gonna raise up again. And then it happened a couple more times." Lillard scored 14 of his 16 points in a key run to rally the Portland Trail Blazers past the Jazz 111-99 on Friday night. "On the offensive end, I need to tell my teammates whats coming. As a point guard, youre the head of the team," Lillard said. But even the second-year guard didnt know when his offence would start flowing. When it finally did, the Jazz had no answer. Wesley Matthews had 21 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 14 rebounds -- his 40th double-double -- and Nicolas Batum added 15 points to keep Portland in the race to host a first-round playoff series. Derrick Favors scored 21 points and Enes Kanter had 15 points and 13 rebounds, but the Jazz have lost eight of nine. Early in the fourth quarter, the Jazz led by two and Lillard hadnt converted a single field goal. Over the next 3:24, Lillard made four 3-pointers and a pair of free throws. "We closed out with our hands down," Utah coach Ty Corbin said. "But give them credit, they made plays down the stretch." After that, the Blazers led by double-digits for the first time at 96-85 with 6:28 remaining and soon earned their seventh victory in their past eight games. "He hit those 3s and he just kind of felt it. Those 3s really turned the momentum of the game," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "Damian just took it on himself to make something happen." Marvin Williams was out with a knee bruise and the Jazz started the five players that figure to be the core as they rebuild. The quintet -- Gordon Hayward, Favours, Kanter, Trey Burke and Alec Burks -- are all 23 years or younger and have gained experience during this often-frustrating season for a franchise that once made the playoffs 20 years in a row. Burks has primarily filled the sixth-man role while veteran Richard Jefferson had been the only Utah player to start (and play) every game this season. The youthful lineup paid dividends early, but the Jazz struggled in the critical moments against a better team as they have all season. Burks had 16, Burke had 14 points and 11 assists and Hayward added 14, but no one could stop Lillard when he was determined to score in the final period. The Blazers drew within a half game of Houston for the fourth slot in the Western Conference as Minnesota edged the Rockets 112-110 on Friday. "You always want home court. If we can get it, we definitely want it. We saw Houston lost so that helps our chances," Aldridge said. Portland won its final road game of the season and has two remaining at home. The Blazers swept the Jazz for the first time in franchise history. The Blazers defence had improved over the past few months but the Jazz got the shots they wanted, for the most part, until Portland clamped down in the fourth and scored 35 points on the other end. "We just knew we had to take care of business. We got locked in and played better defence. It was just an understanding," Aldridge said. The Blazers went 7 for 8 from beyond the arc in the final period and though they were outrebounded by a 47-41 margin, Portland grabbed four offensive rebounds to get second shots down the stretch. "Were coming together at the right time. Defensively weve been locked in and our offence is starting to come around again. Were looking forward to the playoffs," Stotts said. The Jazz led most of the first half before Matthews scored 10 points in the final 3:09 of the second period to lift the Blazers to a 53-51 advantage at the break. Notes: Rudy Gobert was accidentally backhanded in the face by Burks as they pursued a rebound in the second quarter. ... Lillard, who was already frustrated and had not scored at that point, got whacked in the chin in the fourth quarter by Haywards head. ... Utah is 1-30 against Western Conference opponents this season when scoring fewer than 100 points. ... In his eighth start of the season, Burks played a career-high 42 minutes. Nike Blazer Low Black . 8 Ben Morgan for the injured Billy Vunipola was the only change in the England run-on side for the Six Nations showdown with Wales at Twickenham on Sunday. Nike Zoom Hypercross Black . There was his own Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals ace with a 12-4 record and a 1.Veteran skip Kevin Martin will have a much different lineup if he decides to return for another season on the mens curling circuit. Team second Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert plan to leave Martins rink after this season to join reigning national champion Kevin Koe. Its the first major move of whats expected to be an off-season loaded with significant roster changes. As for the 47-year-old Martin, who has national, world and Olympic titles on his glowing resume, he plans to take some time after the season to consider his future plans. "I cant confirm that Im looking for a new roster," Martin told The Canadian Press on Wednesday from Napa Valley, Calif. "But I can confirm that Marc and Ben are going to curl with Kev, yeah. I havent decided if Im going to curl again at all." The timing of the news is less than ideal for Koe and his current lineup of third Pat Simmons, second Carter Rycroft and lead Nolan Thiessen, who will try to put the distraction aside as they prepare to play at the world championship in Beijing this Saturday. Koe preferred to keep his focus on the upcoming competition and respectfully declined comment. Rycroft, whose wife is pregnant, has already said hell be taking a year off from the sport after this season. Simmons and Thiessen were not available for comment and their future plans remain unclear. Hebert declined comment and a message left with Kennedy was not immediately returned. Martin said it was unfortunate that the news surfaced during the season and before the world championship. "I sure wish none of this stuff (came) out," he said. "Im not exactly sure how it did but its too bad." With the Olympic season nearly complete, several roster changes are expected as teams prepare for the next four-year cycle. Team Brad Jacobs, which won gold at the Sochi Games last month, will be one of the rinks to beat next season. Whats uuncertain at this time is what ripple effect the new Koe lineup might have on teams throughout the country. Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31 Black. . The 2014-15 season isnt necessarily critical as rinks start to look ahead to the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, but the sooner that players can lock in the better. Martin, Kennedy and Hebert teamed with John Morris to win Tim Hortons Brier titles in 2008 and 2009, going undefeated en route to the championship each year. They also won Olympic gold at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Morris left the team almost a year ago and later joined Jim Cotters B.C. rink. Morris was replaced by Dave Nedohin and the current Martin lineup has enjoyed a strong season. Martin wasnt surprised at the pending departure of two of his teammates since they want to position themselves for the next Olympic cycle. "Having teams change and personnel change, thats just part of sport," he said. "Thats not unusual I dont think. Its just unfortunate that any of these changes -- and there are a lot of changes that are going to happen this year -- happen before the end of the (season). That should definitely happen in May." Martin added the moves make "perfect sense" for Kennedy and Hebert. The veteran skip expects to decide on his own future plans by the end of June. There is still one major event left on the curling calendar -- the April 15-20 season-ending Grand Slam Players Championships in Summerside, P.E.I. That competition was already shaping up to be an emotional one with Alison Kreviazuks announcement this week that it will be her last competition with Team Rachel Homan. The longtime second has decided to move to Sweden to be with her boyfriend. Joanne Courtney of Val Sweetings rink will join Homan, lead Lisa Weagle and third Emma Miskew next season. Homan is the reigning national champion and won silver at the world championship last weekend. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap soccer jerseyswholesale jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap nfl jerseys china ' ' '
