Portlands All-Star forward

PORTLAND, Ore. Carlos Beltran Jersey . - LaMarcus Aldridge said an overtime thriller over Golden State was good preparation for the looming post-season. "It definitely shows what were going to see in the playoffs," Portlands All-Star forward said, "where every possession counts and every basket counts." Aldridge had 26 points, including the go-ahead basket in the waning moments of overtime, and the Trail Blazers emerged with a 119-117 victory over the Warriors on Sunday night. The win, which featured 16 lead changes and nine ties, assured the Blazers of no less than the fifth seed in the playoffs. It also assured a post-season matchup against Houston, sitting in fourth in the Western Conference. With a win in one of their two remaining games, the Rockets can clinch home-court advantage. Portlands win came despite the best efforts of Golden States Stephen Curry, who had a season-high 47 points. It was the third time this season Curry has eclipsed 40 points, and sixth time in his career. The Warriors sit behind Portland in the standings with two games to go. Golden State will need to win one of its last two games to clinch the sixth seed. "This is kind of what you expect from two playoff teams," Curry said. "From start to finish it definitely had that playoff feel." Aldridges jumper with 39.9 seconds to go gave the Blazers a 118-117 lead. Damian Lillard added a free throw for Portland before Andre Iguodala missed a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left and Wesley Matthews grabbed the rebound for the Blazers. Matthews added 24 points for Portland, which has won four straight and eight of its past nine games. The Blazers wrap up the regular season on Wednesday against the Clippers. Draymond Green hit a 3-pointer for Golden State to tie it late in the fourth quarter and Matthews missed a corner 3 as time ran out to send the game into overtime. Currys 3 gave Golden State a 111-110 lead in OT. After Matthews scored on a bank shot and free throw, Klay Thompsons 3 gave the Warriors back the lead. Matthews and Thompson exchanged 3s before Aldridges jumper gave the Blazers the lead and the Warriors couldnt answer. Thompson finished with 25 points. "I told the guys before the game, I thought this would be a great tuneup for the playoffs," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "This wasnt a playoff game and it wasnt necessarily a playoff atmosphere, but I felt like both teams really wanted the game and you were going to see a lot of effort from both teams. Its heightened in the playoffs, but I felt this was good preparation for us." Warriors centre Andrew Bogut did not play in overtime and after the game the team said he was undergoing a rib X-ray. His status for Monday nights game at home against Minnesota was not immediately known. Portland activated backup forward Joel Freeland, who has been out since Feb. 11 with a sprained MCL in his right knee, but he did not play. Spanish forward Victor Claver was moved to the inactive list with Freelands return. Iguodalas dunk pulled the Warriors to a 46-44 lead in the first half before Curry hit a 3-pointer. Lillard fouled Curry from 3-point range at the buzzer and Curry made all three free throws to put Golden State up 52-44 at the break. The Warriors ended the half on a 14-2 run. Curry led all players with 21 points. Portland rallied early in the final quarter, taking an 87-77 lead on Lillards 3-pointer. But Currys 3-pointer and a jumper pulled the Warriors within 95-93 with 6:01 left. Iguodalas basket tied it at 95 with 4:54 to go. The two teams wrestled the rest of regulation. Thompsons long jumper gave Golden State a 102-101 edge with 41.9 seconds to go before Aldridge made a pair of free throws. Curry drove for a layup but missed and Matthews made free throws to give the Blazers a 105-102 lead, but Greens step-back 3-pointer tied it at 105 with 3.6 seconds left. Matthews 3 missed as time ran out. "I think this was a big test," Matthews said. "This is as close to the playoffs as weve seen." Notes: Curry extended his NBA-leading streak of 68 straight games with a 3-pointer. He is now fifth for the longest streak all time, matching Reggie Miller. ... Greens game-tying 3 at the end of regulation was his only basket of the game. ... Both Thompson and David Lee fouled out of the game for the Warriors. Custom Kansas City Royals Jerseys . -- Kyle Busch edged teammate Joey Logano at the Bristol Motor Speedway finish line Friday night to become the all-time winningest driver in Nationwide Series. Wholesale Royals Jerseys . Heather, the first Gaiter to win the award, set a Canadian Inter-university Sport record with 3,132 passing yards in eight league games, an average of 391.5 yards per game. That beat the mark of 3,047 set only one week earlier by Westerns Will Finch, a Hec Crighton finalist.PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers turned the worst start in team history into a playoff berth. They forced Game 7 after a 3-2 series deficit. The Flyers simply ran out of comebacks. Just as it has in every season since winning it all in 1975, Philadelphia heads home without a Stanley Cup. The New York Rangers eliminated the Flyers with a 2-1 win in Game 7 in the first round on Wednesday, extending their championship drought to 38 seasons, the sixth-longest streak in the NHL. There was one sliver of consolation Thursday when team captain Claude Giroux was selected as a Hart Trophy finalist, the leagues MVP award. Giroux matched a career high with 28 goals and finished third in the NHL scoring race (86 points), helping the Flyers rally from a 3-9-0 start. Hes the fifth Flyer to be a finalist, joining Bobby Clarke, Eric Lindros (who both won), and goalies Pelle Lindbergh and Bernie Parent. Individual award nominations are nice, and this one was sweet for Giroux after Team Canada bypassed him for the Olympics. But they simply dont compare to the thrill of hoisting the Stanley Cup. "We do have to be proud of what we did," Giroux said. "Last place and being able to come back and get everybody back on the same page. We had a lot of fun doing it. But right now, it stings a lot we cant be in the second round." Giroux had his chance in 2010 when the Flyers reached Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. But since that tantalizing run, theyve shown few signs of establishing themselves as a perennial contender. As they rallied from the bottom of the East all the way to the playoffs, the Flyers found two key cogs to their future are already in place: Coach Craig Berube and goalie Steve Mason. General manager Paul Holmgren made the right call when he fired Peter Laviolette after an 0-3 start and promoted the coach known as "Chief." After a small adjustment period, he had the Flyers playing as one of the top teams in the conference, leading to a 42-30-10 (94 points) finish. Jake Newberry Jersey. "We were stuck in a hole for a while and they battled out of it," Berube said. "They stuck together and went to a Game 7." Mason, the NHLs rookie of the year in 2008-09, pushed aside the doubts that lingered from Columbus that he could become a No. 1 goalie and blossomed into their goalie of the future. His mix of sensational saves and easygoing personality helped the Flyers start to erase the memories of Ilya Bryzgalov from their consciousness. "This teams a lot of fun to play with and Im looking forward to growing them in the future," Mason said. Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek form a nice offensive nucleus. Veteran defenceman Kimmo Timonen may decide to retire, though of the rest of the D was a sore point for the Flyers, especially in the post-season when Mason faced tough shot after tough shot with little break. The Flyers might not have made the playoffs without Mason. They might have beat the Rangers with even a solid defensive effort. "At no given time were we feeling we were out of the series, or out of it this season, for that matter," Mason said. This year, the Flyers celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Broad Street Bullies team that left a lasting mark on the league, but has done nothing to get them closer to holding that third championship parade down Philadelphia. The Flyers havent advanced past the second round since the surprising Stanley Cup finals run in 2010. But a year after missing the playoffs, the Flyers at least stabilized themselves and proved that an addition or two on the blue line can push them deeper into the post-season. "Game 7. Lose 2-1. Cant get closer than that," Giroux said. "For a young team, I think its great. Its only going to make us stronger." ' ' '