CHICAGO -- The Portland Trail Blazers had dropped three straight games and appeared in danger of losing considerable playoff ground in the tough Western Conference before LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the lineup on Thursday. Authentic Nick Bawden Jersey . Two games later, the Blazers seemed to have turned things following a pair of comfortable wins, the latest a 91-74 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. Is the turnaround as easily explained as the return of an All-Star performer? Well, yeah, the Blazers say. "Other than us getting our best player back, which changes everything, I think our urgency is going up," Damian Lillard said. "After the loss at Orlando (on Tuesday), we realized, All right, its time to turn it around now. We cant wait and we cant have all of these lackadaisical efforts. "Everybodys got on the same page and, during these last two games, weve really defended and done everything together." Mo Williams scored 18 points to lead five Blazers in double figures. Lillard had 16 points, Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez each had 13, Wesley Matthews had 11 and Thomas Robinson added 10. The Blazers got past the Bulls easily, despite a quiet night from Aldridge, who was playing just his second game after missing two weeks with a back injury. He had five points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes after having 25 points and 16 rebounds in Atlanta. "His presence on the court puts pressure on everyone," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "He does a lot more to help us win than just his field-goal percentage." No one in the Bulls locker room would disagree. "He is a load down there; a great player," Joakim Noah said. "You can tell when he is on the court, whether he scores or not. He changes their team. He is one of the best in the game." Carlos Boozer had 16 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes to lead Chicago. D.J. Augustin had 15, Taj Gibson 13 and Noah added 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulls, who had a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win on their own, lost both games of the season series and have dropped 11 of 13 overall against Portland, including five of seven at the United Center. With the New York Knicks loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Bulls still managed to wrap up a playoff spot. Before Friday, the Bulls had been 10-3 in their last 13 home games, averaging 96.8 points on 44.5 per cent shooting during that span. But it was apparent early that they wouldnt approach either of those marks in this one. "We were flat," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They had something to do with that." Getting off to fast starts was one reason behind the Bulls recent home success, but they were cold at the start, going 8-of-23 (34.8 per cent) from the field in scoring 16 points in the first quarter. Minus Boozers 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting, the rest of the team managed just six points on 3-of-13 shooting. The Blazers had a 47-36 halftime lead and then took charge at the start of the third quarter, beginning the second half with a dunk by Lopez and a 3-pointer by Batum to make it 52-36. In all, Portland stretched the run to 15-2 for a 62-38 lead. The Bulls ended the third quarter on a mini-spurt -- including a three-point play on a dunk and foul by Gibson -- to trim the deficit to 73-58 entering the fourth quarter. The Bulls got the ball first in the final quarter and had a couple of inside looks on that initial possession, but came up empty. Lillard then essentially dashed any hopes of a huge rally with a 3-pointer at the other end to make it 76-58. The Bulls failed to score 80 points for the 11th time this season and are 0-11 in those games. "Our defence tonight was just an example of everybody being there for each other," Lopez said. "When you know there is someone behind you, it gives you the confidence to be aggressive." NOTES: Bulls G Derrick Rose, out for the season with a torn right meniscus, suffered the injury in the first game against the Blazers on Nov. 22 and had surgery three days later. ... Thibodeau was asked if he was taking part in the Bulls NCAA pool. "I didnt get a chance to participate," the coach said. "I was looking at that Quicken Loans one. I think I would have won that." That was the contest in which Warren Buffett offered $1 billion to anyone who could fill out a perfect bracket. No one made it through the third day without at least one game wrong. ... Portland entered with a 20-18 road record but was 2-7 in last nine. Authentic Jalen Reeves-Maybin Jersey . Thats how the Ravens won when Ryan was their defensive co-ordinator from 2005-08, and that is precisely the formula Baltimore used to beat Ryans New York Jets on Sunday. Authentic Jake Rudock Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings and guard Jimmer Fredette have completed a buyout of his contract, clearing the way for the former BYU sensation to become a free agent. http://www.cheapdetroitlionsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-tavon-wilson-jersey . Team officials travelled to Los Angeles on Thursday night to meet with the free agent, a person with knowledge of the plans said. EDMONTON -- The CFL playoff picture is a lot clearer. Arland Bruce and S.J. Green each reeled in a pair of touchdown passes as the Montreal Alouettes pretty much eliminated Edmontons chances of catching them for a cross-over playoff spot through the East Division, crushing the Eskimos 47-24 on Saturday. It was the second consecutive win for the Alouettes, who improved to 6-8. "Any win is big for us this year," Bruce said. "Weve let a lot of wins get past us. We lost some games that we should have come out on top of. To get back-to-back wins is good for us. We cant stop here, though. We have to keep going and piling up the wins." Alouettes quarterback Josh Neiswander, who threw for 251 yards and four touchdowns, said it was good to essentially remove the Eskimos from their rear view mirror. "Its nice to have the breathing room," he said. "We knew that this was a big game for both teams. Winning certainly gives a bit of space but we still have a lot of work to do. "Any time you can get a win, whether against the first place team or the last place team, it is big for confidence. You can tell that in our locker room right now. Just getting a win of any kind was big for us." Edmonton (3-11) would need to win its remaining four games and to have Montreal lose its final four games to even have a shot at playing in the post-season. It was pretty obvious that even Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed considered that chance as tantamount to slim or none. "It was really disappointing," he said. "I apologize to our fans that we didnt give them the kind of season they deserved. Thats a personal apology. Its extremely disappointing that we have played this way today, again." The Eskimos failed to get on the scoreboard on their first drive when Hugh ONeill missed a 47-yard field goal attempt, and Montreal showed them how it was done. Brandon London started off a rapid drive with a 54-yard catch-and-run play, eventually setting up a diving six-yard catch in the end zone by Green on a pass from Neiswander to put the Alouettes up 7-0 five minutes in. Edmonton marched back into the Montreal zone, but again came away with no points as quarterback Mike Reilly was picked off by Jerald Brown at the Montreal nine-yard line. The Alouettes quickly took advantage as a 62-yard passing play to Bruce set up a 22-yard TD pass as Green caught a Neiswander pass, dropped the ball, but picked it up again before plunging across the goal line with three minutes remaining in the opening quarter. The Eskimos finally got on the board just before the end of the first quarter as a 45-yard one-handed catch by Adarius Bowman set up a 24-yard ONeill field goal to make it 14-3. It also broke a run of 47 unanswered points scored against the Eskimos heading back to their loss last week to Toronto. Montreal was full value for its third drive as well, as Trroy Smith capped off a competent march with a one-yard TD run. Authentic Christian Jones Jersey. The Edmonton comedy of errors continued with just under five minutes to play in the second quarter as Chris Thompson picked off a Neiswander pass, only to then fumble it and see the Als come away with the ball at the Edmonton 33-yard line. It led to a 37-yard Sean Whyte field goal and a 24-3 lead for Montreal. The Alouettes padded their lead to 31-3 before the intermission as Mike Edem picked off Reilly and brought the ball back 38 yards to the Edmonton 12. That play set up a six-yard TD pass to Bruce. Edmonton gave the hook to Reilly in favour of backup Jonathan Crompton to start the second half. Reilly playing in the game at all was a controversial decision, as he was coming off a concussion in his last game against Toronto. A Montreal punt single was the lone scoring play in the third quarter. The Alouettes went up 39-3 early in the fourth quarter on a 21-yard pass to Bruce, who went up and fought the ball away from defender Eric Samuels. After another punt single by Montreal, Edmonton finally got into the end zone as Crompton hit Shamawd Chambers with a 31-yard touchdown pass to make it 40-10. Chambers caught his second touchdown pass of the game from six yards out with four and a half minutes remaining as the Eskimos had some late success with the game already out of reach. Edmonton continued to make the game look closer than it was as Joe Burnett intercepted a pass and took it back 56 yards, setting up a seven-yard TD pass to Fred Stamps with three minutes left. Montreal officially put the game away with a seven-yard TD run by Tyrell Sutton with a minute and a half left. The Eskimos head to Saskatchewan to face the Roughriders next Saturday. The Alouettes next game is at home against Winnipeg on Monday, Oct. 14. Notes: Edmonton leads the all-time regular season series with the Als dating back to 1961 by a count of 37-29-2. However, Montreal won the most recent game in July 32-27 and has now won eight straight over the Eskimosa Reilly was something of a surprise start, having been cleared to play after suffering a concussion last week. Reilly left the game against the visiting Toronto Argonauts in the second quarter last Saturday after taking a hit to the head from defensive lineman Cleyon Lainga Eskimos tailback Hugh Charles returned to the lineup after missing last weeks game with a hamstring injury... Former Eskimo turned Montreal running back Jerome Messam made his first appearance in Edmonton since being traded to the Alouettes. Messam has seen limited use by the pass-focused Als, entering the game with 92 carries for 429 yards and two touchdownsa As part of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame game ceremonies, the 2013 class of inductees was introduced at the half. Inducted this year were Brian Fryer, Earl Winfield, Dan Ferrone, Miles Gorrell, Jake Ireland and Don Loney. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Braves Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Indians Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Cheap Astros Jerseys Cheap Royals Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys ' ' '