NEW YORK -- LaMarcus Aldridge struggled with his shot for much of the game, so the All-Star was confident about his last attempt. cheap nfl jerseys . It was just time for him to make a big play. Nicolas Batum had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Wesley Matthews scored 18 points, and the Trail Blazers overcame poor-shooting nights by two of their best players in a 94-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday. Aldridge finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds while shooting just 5 of 17 from the floor, but he knocked down a turnaround jumper with 35 seconds left after the Knicks had cut Portlands lead to two. "I had the whole game to miss shots so I felt like I was due some makes," Aldridge said. "Law of averages have to catch up sooner or later. I had made one easy one, one tough one. So I felt like I was going to make it." All-Star Damian Lillard shot 4 of 12 for his 12 points, but he and Aldridge were far from the only frigid shooters on a snowy day in New York. The Trail Blazers made just 38 per cent, but the Knicks hit only 40 per cent of their attempts and were 4 of 21 from 3-point range. "I thought our defence all game was pretty good. I thought for us to win a game shooting 38 per cent, its not an easy thing to do," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. New York star Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points but was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting in the fourth quarter, finishing 11 of 28 as the Knicks dropped their third straight. The Knicks were within one after a strong start to the fourth, then had just two baskets and five points over the next 7 minutes -- and still had a chance to pull it out. "Whenever you hold a team to 38 per cent or whatever it is that we held them to, I mean, you think youre going to win. But obviously that wasnt the case tonight," Knicks centre Tyson Chandler said. Portland, missing free throws and layups throughout the fourth, couldnt put it away even while the Knicks were making just two of their first 18 3-point attempts. J.R. Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr. then made consecutive shots from behind the arc, cutting it to 89-87 with 50 seconds left. Aldridge made a turnaround jumper 15 seconds later, and after Anthony missed a drive, Mo Williams made a pair of free throws to make it a six-point game. Smith made three from the line after Batum fouled him behind the arc, but Lillard made one to make it 94-90, and the Knicks missed their final 3-point attempt. Anthony was frustrated throughout the night, picking up one technical foul and waving his arm in disgust toward referee Dan Crawford a few times. He appeared to be yelling toward him after the buzzer. "It was just one of them nights. Just as far as shots go, couldnt find it coming down the stretch," Anthony said. "I dont want to speak on the calls. Nothing I can do about that right now, nothing we can do about it." Smith had 18 points and Amare Stoudemire, getting the extra minutes he sought, scored 15. Portland, which has had one of the NBAs best records all season, had dropped three of four and five of its last eight games. But the Blazers did just enough to rebound from Mondays 100-90 loss at Washington, its only one in nine road games against the Eastern Conference this season. Aldridge missed 10 of his first 11 shots and the Blazers led by two before he made a short jumper over Raymond Felton while being fouled with 3:25 left in the third quarter, starting Portlands run of seven straight points that made it 70-61. The lead hit 11 in the final minute on Dorell Wrights three free throws, and it was 77-68 entering the fourth. New York ran off the first eight of the final period, pulling to 77-76 on Pablo Prigionis 3-pointer with 8:16 to play. But Williams made a 3-pointer from the corner to steady the Blazers just about the time the Knicks stalled. The Knicks were without forward Kenyon Martin, who will rest a sore left ankle for at least the next week. NOTES: Anthony was announced before the game as the Eastern Conference player of the month for January, when he averaged 28.7 points and 9.0 rebounds. ... Boxer Manny Pacquiao was at the game. ... The Knicks paid tribute to actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, a fan of the team who died Sunday. ... The Knicks played their first of three straight against the Northwest Division. They host Denver on Friday and visit Oklahoma City. cheap china jerseys . New Orleans All-Star forward would have difficulty convincing the Hawks. Davis had 34 points, including 13 in the Pelicans fourth quarter, and New Orleans beat Atlanta 111-105 on Friday night. cheap jerseys china .J. -- If people were looking for Richard Sherman to get the weeklong hype for the Super Bowl started with another rant, the Seattle cornerback disappointed them.AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Five seconds is all it took, Drew Mitchell says, for him to think his Rugby World Cup dream was over when he saw the unnatural angle of his dangling right foot after colliding with an opponent during a Super 15 match in April. Having dislocated his ankle and broken a leg bone only 140 days before the start of the tournament, that pessimism was understandable. On Thursday, however, Mitchells remarkable feat just to make Australias squad was topped by the 27-year-old winger winning selection on the reserves bench for the critical Pool C match against Ireland at Eden Park on Saturday. "Its funny how you guys ask a lot of players early in the season when were involved in Super rugby: Are you looking forward to the World Cup? And everyone says their focus is there in the moment," Mitchell said. "I was one of those players. I sort of was in the moment. But five seconds after (the injury), looking at it and seeing the position it was in, its funny how quickly my thoughts went to the World Cup." Australia coach Robbie Deans thoughts would have been as equally despondent. After all, the prospect of losing a player who scored seven tries in five matches to be the second most prolific at the 2007 World Cup and who collected a hat trick in his last test outing, the 59-16 thrashing of France in November, would give any coach with a sinking sense of dread. What followed for Mitchell was a demanding and monotonous program of rehabilitation that tested his resolve and desire to return. "For me, itt was really important that I hung onto that hope of returning," he said. wholesale jerseys. "To get through those long, tedious days, I really had to hang on to the fact I was a chance. If they had told me, See you in February for the Waratahs, I dont know if Id be up and running just yet. "That was a really big thing for me, just to be able to use that as a carrot to get back and get through all that rehab and all the stuff you dont like doing." Mitchells first full match upon his return was for the Australia Barbarians against Canada late last month -- nine days after being selected in the World Cup squad, in a remarkable show of faith by Deans -- and he scored one try and set up two others to quell any lingering anxiety. Having lost Digby Ioane to a fractured thumb until at least the World Cup quarterfinals, Deans is doubly grateful to be able to call upon a winger of Mitchells pedigree. "Its great for Drew and its a good story," Deans said. "For him to get himself into the squad was a good achievement. Now hes got the opportunity to pull a jersey on." That opportunity marks the end of what Mitchell describes as "a pretty long road," but the real hard work may only just be beginning. "I guess its pretty satisfying to be in a position Im in," he said. "Its been a bit of a journey and one I never had to contemplate before. Im somewhat proud of myself to get back to this position, but Ive got to go out and do a job on the weekend as part of the group." cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '
