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NEW YORK -- LaMarcus Aldridge was stunned, suddenly finding himself matched against a version of Kevin Garnett that hadnt been seen yet in Brooklyn. Auston Matthews Jersey North America . "I think he had one of those flashbacks to when he was in Minnesota and I was coming in as a rookie," Aldridge said. Just as quickly, the old Garnett reverted to just old, and the young Portland Trail Blazers ran right by the Brooklyn Nets. Aldridge scored 27 points, Wesley Matthews added 24 and Portland shot 54 per cent in a 108-98 victory Monday night that extended its winning streak to seven. "This team is good. Guys can get going," Aldridge said. Damian Lillard finished with 19 points and nine assists as the Trail Blazers withstood the Nets blistering start to win seven in a row in the same season for the first time since a 13-game run in December 2007. Portland (9-2) is just a half-game behind San Antonio and Indiana for the NBAs best record. The Blazers will try to complete a perfect 4-0 road trip Wednesday at Milwaukee. Meanwhile, the Nets (3-7) remain one of the NBAs biggest disappointments, shooting 9 of 41 (22 per cent) in the second half. Garnett made all six shots in Brooklyns 40-point first period, then went 2 for 13 from there to finish with a season-high 16 points. "I take the blame for this," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "We got stagnant on the offensive end, so that falls on my shoulders. We came out flat in the third quarter." Shaun Livingston scored 23 points for the Nets, who stormed out to their best first quarter of the season and then seemed to run out of gas. "Theyre a talented team. Theyve got Hall of Famers on that team and we had to throw our first punch, because we felt like they did that to us in that first quarter," Matthews said. "We came at them defensively and ramped it up." Garnett and Paul Pierce were back in the starting lineup after missing Saturdays loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles with injuries, though Brook Lopez and Deron Williams continued to rest sprained left ankles. Pierce, who had a sore left groin, played as if he was still hurting, managing just 11 points on 2-for-12 shooting. Neither he nor Garnett spoke to reporters. "Its been a tough month for us," said Jason Terry, who came with them from Boston. "Were going to stay optimistic, man. We have a great situation here and were just going to keep building." Portland turned the game around in the third quarter, limiting the Nets to 3-of-18 shooting and outscoring them 27-12 to take an 83-78 lead. They then opened the fourth with a 12-4 spurt to open a 95-82 advantage when Mo Williams was credited with a basket on a goaltending call. Matthews was 5 of 8 from 3-point range, improving to 30 for 57 for the season (52.6 per cent). He kept the Blazers in the game in the first quarter, when the Nets made 14 of 19 shots for a 40-31 lead. "What won the game for us was turning it on the last three quarters defensively," Matthews said. "Were not going to outscore teams on a consistent basis and win. We have to practice what we preach, which is defence, and thats what we were able to do tonight." Garnett, who hadnt been in double figures yet in the Brooklyn black and white, got there in this one by hitting five jumpers in less than 3 minutes at the start. He took a seat after starting 6 for 6 and then Livingston took over. He made all three of his shots in the period, including a driving, left-handed slam dunk over Robin Lopez that had teammates leaping up off the nearby Nets bench. But they fell apart in the third, just as they have in all their losses. Brooklyn has won the third quarter in all three victories and been outscored in the period in every loss. "We were hot. We had momentum. But you can go cold at any time in the game, so thats where we have to make adjustments," Livingston said. "Were all veterans out there on the floor." NOTES: Aldridge grabbed eight rebounds, ending his streak of five straight double-doubles. ... The Nets were also without reserve forward Andrei Kirilenko, who continues to be bothered by back spasms. ... Brooklyns previous high was 33 points in the first quarter at Washington. The Nets also lost that game after a bad third quarter. Alexander Ovechkin Jersey Russia . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Vladislav Namestnikov Jersey Russia . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. http:///...athan-Drouin-Jersey/ . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected.BOSTON - The St. Louis Cardinals have a problem on their hands. Its not how poorly they played in the World Series opener or whether theyre able to bounce back with a better performance on Thursday night. It appears, after a cold spell, David Ortiz is heating up. "Big Papi," as hes affectionately known in these parts, has had an up and down fall. After torching the Tampa Bay Rays in the Division Series to the tune of .385/.556/.923, two home runs, a double and three RBI, Ortiz slumped in the ALCS. Tigers pitching held him to just two hits and a .091/.200/.227 slash line. Its easy to forget Ortiz struggled against Detroit because one of his two hits was an eighth inning grand slam in Game 2 that erased a 5-1 deficit, propelled the Red Sox to a series-evening victory and may well have saved Bostons chances of advancing. The other was a dunk single to left field in Game 5. The mantra of good teams is when one player is struggling; another guy - or guys - picks him up. Dustin Pedroia has been finding ways to get on base. Mike Napoli has been hot since his home run off Justin Verlander in Game Three of the ALCS. Ortiz seemed to break out on Wednesday night. He was robbed of a second inning grand slam by Carlos Beltran but later singled and, in the eighth inning, hit a two-run home run he made sure cleared the right centerfield fence. If not for Beltrans great catch, Ortiz would have had a two home run, three hit, six RBI night. To this point in the playoffs, not that its deterred them; the Red Sox havent had Pedroia, Ortiz and Napoli hitting well at the same time. If last nights performance is an indicator of whats to come, Boston is in good shape. "Im very encouraged, particularly with what Mike Napoli has done since probably Game 3 of the ALCS," said Farrell. Artem Anisimov Jersey Russia. . "Probably each guy has the ability to carry us. And the fact that we can get the middle of the order going like that - we still have other guys we need to get going." St. Louis, on the other hand, has non-performance related issues in the middle of its order. An injury and a recovery have put two key players in difficult positions. Beltran was injured making the catch on Ortizs would-be grand slam. He left the game and went to hospital for tests. A CT scan and an X-ray showed no fractures and he will attempt to play through a deeply bruised right side of his ribcage. Its hard to imagine Beltran wont be compromised by the injury. Meantime, Allen Craig will be the Cardinals designated hitter again in Game 2. He returned last night, having not played since September 4 due to a sprained foot. Craig had a single in four at-bats and is being asked to quickly find his offensive timing with so little time left in the season. Farrells starting lineup will suffer with the deletion of either Ortiz or Napoli under National League rules. It appears Ortiz will get the Game 3 start at first base, relegating Napoli to a pinch hit role. The Cardinals dont have a left-handed starting pitcher so Ortiz could get all the starts at Busch Stadium. Napolis degenerative hip condition prevents him from returning to catcher, a position which hes played for most of his career. "The one outside view might be to put Mike Napoli behind the plate but we wouldnt do that," said Farrell. "One or the other is going to sit, unfortunately." Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys ' ' '