AUBURN HILLS, Mich.
David Savard Jersey . -- Damian Lillard came
spinning down the lane at the end of overtime and was blanketed by
Rodney Stuckey, leaving Portlands guard had no choice but to fade to his right
for a last-ditch shot. The ball dropped right through the basket, giving the
Blazers a victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night that seemed unlikely
until the final minutes. "Stuckey did a great job, but they told me that I was
going to have to make a double move to get anything off," Lillard said. "He
blocked my first move, and I knew he wouldnt let me get to the basket, so I just
spun off my other shoulder and put up a fadeaway. It felt good when I let it go,
but a lot of shots felt good tonight and didnt go in." That one did -- with one
tenth of a second left -- to lift the Trail Blazers to a 111-109 victory over
the Pistons. Lillard scored eight of his 23 points in overtime. Detroit led by
13 early in the fourth quarter, but the Pistons looked out of sorts offensively
down the stretch. Josh Smith scored 31 points, his most since signing with
Detroit as a free agent in the off-season, but the chance for a big home victory
against one of the leagues most impressive teams slipped away. "If this doesnt
stink, I dont know what does," Smith said. "When I was in Atlanta and we were
young and we were in a lot of ballgames, but late down the stretch we couldnt
figure it out -- and then later we turned the corner." LaMarcus Aldridge scored
27 points for Portland. Moments before Lillards winner, Stuckey tied the game
for Detroit with a shot from near the free throw line. Portland, which made 21
shots from 3-point range in Saturdays rout of Philadelphia, went 7 of 26 on
Sunday. "That wasnt looking good for most of the second half," Blazers coach
Terry Stotts said. "But we got some big shots from Wesley Matthews and the
defence really stepped up." Matthews scored 14 points and tied the game with
30.8 seconds remaining in regulation when he made two free throws. Detroit had
the ball with 1.1 seconds left, but Kyle Singlers inbounds pass was stolen,
sending the game to overtime. It looked like it might go to a second overtime,
but Lillard was able to create a shot for himself even when his path to the
basket was blocked. "It was the same play we had run three or four times in a
row," Stotts said. "We spread the floor with shooters, gave Damian a ball screen
and let him make a play." The Blazers led by 11 early in the second quarter, but
Detroit rallied behind Smith and fellow big men Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond
to take a 51-50 lead into halftime. Smith is shooting 26 per cent from 3-point
range this season, and the presence of Monroe and Drummond has seemed only to
encourage him to shoot more from the perimeter. But he attempted only two 3s on
Sunday, and the Blazers couldnt handle him in the post for most of the night.
Smiths old-fashioned three-point play made it 75-66 in the third, and Detroit
led 84-73 heading into the final period. "For the most part, we did a very good
job guarding pick-and-rolls," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We pretty much
took them out of 3-point shooting, which is what we talked about before the
game. Aldridge, we knew he could be a handful down low." Detroit outscored
Portland 68-42 in the paint, but the Blazers held the Pistons to 15 points in
the fourth quarter and slowly chipped away at the lead. Nicolas Batum scored 18
points for the Blazers, including a 3-pointer with 6:48 remaining that cut the
Detroit lead to four. It was tight the rest of the way after that in a matchup
of two of the leagues best offensive rebounding teams. Detroit finished with 18
offensive rebounds, but Portland had 15. "I think those opportunities had been
there all night, but we didnt start taking advantage of them until things got
drastic," Portland centre Robin Lopez said. "Im really impressed with what we
can do defensively when we pick it up. We havent peaked, because we still wait
until the motivation is there, but when we needed it, we stepped up." NOTES: The
Blazers missed their first six 3-point attempts. ... Smith shot 13 of 17 from
the field. Drummond had 13 points and 14 rebounds.
David Clarkson Blue Jackets Jersey . Malkin
got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his
left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net.
http://www.bluejacketshockeyshop.us/Brandon-Dubinsky-Jersey/
. The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the
Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive.
http://www.bluejacketshockeyshop.us/Scott-Hartnell-Jersey/
. "It was nerve-wracking