per cent," Pistons interim coach John Loyer said. "Yo

OKLAHOMA CITY -- LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 14 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-94 in a showdown of Western Conference heavyweights on Tuesday night. Damian Lillard added 21 points and 11 assists and hit a pair of clinching free throws with 2.1 seconds left for Portland, which beat Oklahoma City for the second time in December. Portland (25-7) snapped a two-game losing streak but still trails Oklahoma City (25-6) by a half-game in the Northwest Division standings. Kevin Durant had 37 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder, which had won 12 of its last 13 and 20 of its last 22 games before Tuesday. But Durant managed only one point in the fourth quarter and missed an 11-foot jumper that would have tied the game in the final seconds. The Thunder, who scored only 16 fourth-quarter points, lost for the first time in six New Years Eve home games since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City led by 13 points midway through the third quarter, but Portland chipped away at that lead and took its first lead since the first quarter at 87-86 on two free throws by Aldridge with 3:58 left. Reggie Jackson answered with a jumper to put Oklahoma City back ahead, but Nicolas Batums 3-pointer gave Portland a 90-88 lead and the Blazers never trailed again. Portland led 94-90 after Robin Lopez hit two free throws with 59.1 seconds left. Jackson, who entered the game as the third-best free-throw shooter in the NBA, went 1 of 2 from the line at the other end. Portlands Wesley Matthews missed a 3-point attempt and Lillard rebounded, but Thabo Sefolosha stole the ball from him and Lillard fouled him. Sefolosha hit both free throws to pull Oklahoma City within 94-93 with 23.6 seconds left. Portlands Mo Williams missed two free throws with 15.8 seconds left and Serge Ibaka rebounded for the Thundeer, but Lopez swatted the ball away and it went to Matthews, who was fouled by Durant and made two free throws with 9.2 seconds left. Durant went to the line with 8.2 seconds left and made the first free throw, but missed the second. The rebound was tipped to him, though, and he had an open look but left the shot short. Sefolosha fouled Lillard, who made both free throws to clinch the win. Portland 16-game streak of 100-point offensive outings ended, though, as the Blazers shot an uncharacteristic 39.6 per cent from the field (36 of 91) and 24.2 from 3-point range (8 of 33). Before Tuesday, the Trail Blazers had lost consecutive games for the first time all season, having fallen to Miami on Saturday and at New Orleans on Monday. Portland ended a three-game losing streak to the Thunder in Oklahoma City. The Thunder is 2-1 since All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook underwent his third surgery since injuring his knee during the playoffs in April. This season, Oklahoma City is 4-2 without Westbrook, who the team has said will be out until after the All-Star break. There were 10 lead changes in the games first eight minutes, but the Thunder used a 12-2 run to build a 34-24 lead early in the second quarter. Portland rallied within 40-36 at the 5:30 mark but went more than four minutes without scoring. Portland coach Terry Stotts burned two timeouts while trying to stop a 12-0 run by Oklahoma City and the Thunder led 54-42 at halftime. Matthews finished with 16 points and Batum added 15 for Portland. Serge Ibaka had 17 points and Reggie Jackson added 12 points and six assists for Oklahoma City. Notes: Four days removed from his most recent surgery, Westbrook made an appearance in the Thunders locker room before the game and was using a crutch . Ibaka picked up a quick technical foul from official Joey Crawford after Ibaka complained being called for a personal foul with 5 minutes left in the first quarter . Portland is 6-2 this season against the other 20-win teams in the NBA . Mark King, a Guymon native and the guitarist for rock band Hinder, performed the national anthem. Nicklas Backstrom Capitals Jersey . FIFA said the suspension was requested by ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia, making Beckenbauer the first person to be punished as a result of the case. Beckenbauer refused "repeated requests for his assistance, including requests that he provide information during an in-person interview or in response to written questions provided in both English and German," FIFA said in a statement. Nic Dowd Jersey . 1 Pete Sampras. Speaking ahead of an exhibition match against Andre Agassi in London on March 3, Sampras said on a conference call Wednesday that he is impressed by Federers longevity. http://www.capitalsteamstoreonline.com/authentic-dale-hunter-capitals-jersey/ . Head of clinic Josef Obrist tells the Austria Press Agency on Thursday that Morgenstern "is doing surprisingly well. ... He still has a memory gap but thats nothing unusual." Morgenstern has moved to a rehabilitation clinic in Klagenfurt for further recovery. Dennis Maruk Capitals Jersey . Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. Washington Capitals Jerseys . Its the second time this season that Milan has been sanctioned by the league judge, after fans also subjected Napoli supporters to discriminatory chants. The ban will come into effect for Milans next match, against Udinese on Oct.NEW YORK -- Lately, it seems as though the Brooklyn Nets just cant get enough home cooking. "You feel comfortable when you have dinner at your house, rather than when you go to someone elses house and dont know what theyre going to cook," Nets forward Paul Pierce said. Shaun Livingston scored 23 points, Mirza Teletovic made six 3-pointers and added 20 off the bench, and the Nets beat the Detroit Pistons 116-104 on Friday night for their 15th straight victory at Barclays Center. The Nets went 15 for 31 from behind the arc. Brooklyn used a 35-9 run that began late in the first quarter, and lasted halfway through the second, to build a strong working margin. The Nets led by as many as 22, and were never truly threatened, although the Pistons did cut the lead to single digits on several occasions. Pierce added 17 for Brooklyn, which had six players reach double figures in scoring. The Nets topped the 110-point mark for the eighth time this season. Coach Jason Kidd credited his teams ball movement as a primary reason for Brooklyns strong offensive output. "The one thing that leads to 3s is everyone being unselfish," Kidd said. It doesnt matter if its (Andray) Blatche, if its (Deron Williams), if its Joe (Johnson) - guys are posting up, and theyre finding their teammates. When youre unselfish like that, you get the looks that were getting from behind the 3." Brooklyn remained 2 1/2 games behind the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors, who both won, in the race for the No. 3 seed in the East. They could potentially get a lift from Kevin Garnett, who, according to Kidd, may return to action Saturday night in Philadelphia after sitting out the last 19 games due to back spasms. "Well see," Kidd said, about the prospect of the 37-year-old centre returning to the lineup. "We would like to try to get him to go tomorrow, but its up to him." Livingston, for one, cant wait to see his teammmate back on the floor.dddddddddddd "It means everything to this team," Livingston said. "Hes our leader." On the other side, the Pistons just couldnt seem to do anything about the easy looks that the Nets were getting. Their lax perimeter defence, particularly in the game-defining second quarter, ultimately proved to be their undoing. Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey offered very basic analysis of his teams loss. "They made 3s. They were on fire. That was it," he said. The Nets shot a season-high 60.5 per cent from the field. "They shot 60 per cent," Pistons interim coach John Loyer said. "Youre not going to win an NBA game when (your opponent) shoots 60 per cent." The Pistons were unable to take advantage of their massive rebounding edge. They pulled down 46 rebounds to Brooklyns 26, and 19 offensive boards to Brooklyns two. Loyer felt that despite the edge, the Nets did what they needed to do inside, as they kept Pistons forward Greg Monroe in check. Monroe, who averages over 15 points a game, could manage only six. "Brooklyn came and got the ball out of Greg Monroes hand," Loyer said. "They were going to try to get it out of his hands and make someone else beat (them). I thought what it did was force us to shoot 21 3s in the first half. Thats not us. Were last in the league in 3-point shooting." The Nets have seven games remaining to try to close the gap on Chicago and Toronto. They remain hopeful that they can catch at least one, if not both clubs, thanks to the fact that only one of their final seven opponents has a record above .500. Notes: The game was the first of a back-to-back for Brooklyn, its 18th of the season. The Nets are 13-5 in back-to-back openers. They head to Philadelphia on Saturday night. ... The Pistons had won three straight against Brooklyn dating to last season. ... The Nets are now 32-7 when scoring more than 100 points. ' ' '