PORTLAND, Ore. -- Houston has a LaMarcus Aldridge problem. The Trail Blazers All-Star forward has been dominating with more than 40 points in each of the opening two playoff games with the Rockets in Houston. Portland is up 2-0 as the series moves to Rip City on Friday night, giving the Rockets little time to figure out how to defend Aldridge. He opened the playoffs with a franchise post-season-best 46 points in the Blazers 122-120 overtime victory, then followed it up with 43 points in the 112-105 win on Wednesday night. Rockets coach Kevin McHale summed it up best when he said: "So far, hes had a hell of a series." Aldridge found success in the paint in the opener so the Rockets adjusted -- but so did Aldridge, who went outside to pepper Houston with midrange jumpers. Thirteen of his 18 field goals came from 10 feet out or more. "Hes making tough shots, hes getting to the foul line. Hes offensive rebounding. Hes doing the whole package and its tough for us," said Houston guard James Harden. "We gotta figure something out real soon. In game three, it is either we win or its over." Aldridge is the first player to score 43 or more points in consecutive playoff games since Tracy McGrady in 2003, and the first to score at least 40 in back-to-back post-season games since LeBron James in 2009. It almost goes without saying that Aldridge is the first Blazer with at least 40 points in back-to-back playoff games. "You can tell just by his approach how hes really dialed in and hes playing big. Hes really taken it upon himself to do all these things," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said Thursday. "Give him all the credit. Hes been wanting this moment for a long time and hes rising to the challenge." Aldridge acknowledged the team for his success. "This team in general just believes in me so much and they ride the wave so well," he said. "When Im going one through 15, they are all cheering and telling me to shoot it. If I pass up a shot, theyre all mad at me and I think having 15 guys having your back like that is great." Aldridges play has put Portland in charge as the team returns home. The Blazers havent opened a playoff series 2-0 since 1977, when they got the early jump on the Lakers en route to the Western Conference title. Portland went on to beat Philadelphia for its lone NBA championship Portland ranked seventh in the league during the regular season with just 10 losses at home. Only three teams have come back to win after losing the first two games of a seven-game series at home: The last was the 2004-05 Mavericks, who came back against the Rockets. Houston is 0-7 overall when falling behind 0-2 in the first round since the 1983-84 expansion. Dwight Howard said its no time to panic. "Weve played against Portland in the regular season and we were successful. We just got to play basketball. We cant look back. We have to stay positive," he said. "They (Portland) won two games but its the first to four and we cant let our heads down. We dug a hole but we can always get out of it." Howard had 32 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesdays loss, while Harden had 18 points. Harden was the leagues top shooting guard in the regular season, but hes 14 of 47 from the field in the playoffs for his worst two-game stretch of the season. Part of that is due to Portlands Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum taking turns at shutting him down. "Weve done a good job guarding without fouling and one thing about playoff basketball is that everybody has the every possession mentality," Stotts said. "We didnt fall asleep on him and I dont think he got a lot of easy looks and every great player in this league, you just want to make them work and I think Nick and Wes in particular really have made him work." For his part, Harden isnt really concerned about a slump. Hes more focused on the Blazers -- and stopping Aldridge. "Im not worried about my offence, Im worried about our defence, our defence as a team. When we get stops and get out in transition everybody feels good about themselves and thats when the assists flow in and things start going well," he said. "If we cant get stops it makes it more difficult. They are a very good team." Jonne Tammela Jersey . - The Toronto Blue Jays have optioned pitchers Kyle Drabek, Chad Jenkins and Sean Nolin to triple-A Buffalo. Callan Foote Jersey . Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers. http://www.lightningauthority.com/authentic-steven-stamkos-lightning-jersey/. Louis Blues have returned to the top spot in the TSN. Jake Dotchin Jersey .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. Custom Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . - The Raiders have released guard Mike Brisiel after two disappointing seasons in Oakland.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nick Tepesch and Robbie Ross helped the Texas Rangers hold off the Seattle Mariners. Tepesch, back from the minor leagues, earned his first major league victory in more than 10 months and the Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday. Ross, back in the bullpen after an unsuccessful stint in the rotation, bailed Tepesch out of a seventh-inning jam. Neal Cotts, whose ERA has ballooned from 1.11 in 2013 to 4.34 this season, had a strong eighth. Joakim Soria, back in a closers role this year for the first time since 2011, pitched a perfect ninth inning for his eighth save in eight opportunities. The Rangers offence had three first-inning runs and Shin-Soo Choos leadoff home run in the bottom of the fifth that broke a 3-3 tie. Choos fifth homer went into the bullpen in left-centre. "Two strikes, I was in a rough spot. I think about more (getting) on base," he said. "Got a home run that got up in that gust a little bit, thats it," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Its a tough ballpark to pitch in, but I thought (Chris Young) did a pretty darn good job for us. Texas turned two double plays. The second was on Ross second pitch after entering the game with one out and runners on first and second for the Mariners. Pinch hitter Stefen Romero grounded to Adrian Beltre, who stepped on third base and threw to first to complete the inning-ending double play. "I was thinking, Gosh, here we go! Im in a situation where I like to be. I was pretty amped," Ross said. "I wanted to be out of that inning without those runs scoring." Tepesch (1-0) allowed five hits and two walks in 6 1-3 innings for his first win since defeating Houston 10-5 on July 5, 2013. The second-year pitcher threw a career-high 112 pitches. It was his second start this season for the Rangers after being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock, where he was 6-1. Texas manager Ron Washington has noticed a difference. "He has an out pitch right now. Hes got that slider working, and hes able to llocate his sinker.dddddddddddd With that going on and commanding the baseball, I think theres the difference right there." Washington visited Tepesch on the mound with one out in the seventh and Dustin Ackley coming up. Tepesch assured the manager he was OK. Then he walked both Ackley and John Buck. "I just wanted to know how he was feeling," Washington said. "Did he think he had enough to get this lefty up there? Because I had a lefty ready. The look in his eyes, he convinced me, and I had to end up getting Robbie to bail me out." After that, it was Cotts striking out Robinson Cano, who had homered earlier, and Seager, who entered the game with a .358 average in Arlington, with a runner on second base in the eighth. Against former Rangers right-hander Chris Young (3-2), Daniel Robertson led off the first with a walk and scored on Elvis Andrus homer. Alex Rios singled home the third run. Seattle tied it in the fourth. James Jones tripled and scored on Michael Saunders single. Cano then hit his two-run homer. Center fielder Michael Choice ran back to attempt a catch, but his glove hit the wall as the ball barely cleared it. Seattle had only one baserunner against Tepesch in the first three innings: Seager on a leadoff single in the second. He was erased in an unusual 4-5-3 double play. With Texas defence shifted to the right, Smoak grounded to second baseman Luis Sardinas, who threw to Beltre covering second. Beltres relay throw to first beat Smoak. Young gave up seven hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings. "You have those games where if you can limit the damage early, you feel like youll pitch a good game, and I gave up one too many in the first," Young said. NOTES: Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder (neck) missed a fourth consecutive game, and centre fielder Leonys Martin (stiff neck) was not in the starting lineup for the second game in a row. Martin entered the game as a defensive replacement in the ninth. ... The teams split the two-game series. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '