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PORTLAND, Ore. -- For a second consecutive game, the Portland Trail Blazers wiped out a poor first-half performance with a big rally after the break. For the time being, Blazers coach Terry Stotts is all right with that formula. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 13 rebounds Saturday night as the Portland Trail Blazers handed the Boston Celtics their eighth straight loss, 112-104. "I like being a second half team. Given the choice Id rather be a second half team," Stotts said. "But were still a work in progress. Theres room for improvement (and) we arent a finished product. Weve got to continue to grow incrementally." Earlier this week, Portland trailed Orlando by six points at halftime then outscored the Magic 65-43 to pull away for the win. Boston was Portlands fifth consecutive opponent with a losing record. The Blazers are only 3-2 during this stretch, and in all but one game they struggled during the first half. "Playing teams with a lesser record is apparently tough for us to get up for, but in the end its good to get a win," Stotts said. Wesley Matthews scored 18 points and Nicolas Batum had 16 for Portland. Damian Lillard and Robin Lopez each had 15 points. Lopez also had 13 rebounds. "Its been a trend like this for the last month. Were getting every teams best shot, so we have to act accordingly," Matthews said. "We have the record of an elite team and we have to act that way." The win kept Portland tied for first place with Oklahoma City in the Northwest Division. The Celtics have lost their past three games to the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State and Portland, all by single digits. "Youve got a shot to win against three contenders for the west but, at the same time, those droughts are killing us," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "I think we can get better in those. But Im trying to figure what it is because were really playing at such a high level the whole rest of the time. Thats the encouraging part." Avery Bradley led Boston (13-25) with 25 points. The Celtics, who have lost 11 of 12, shot 62 per cent during the first half, but only 34 per cent after halftime. Jared Sullinger had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Boston. Sullinger scored 26 points when the two teams played at Boston in November. Portland took control during the third quarter, when the Blazers took their first lead of the game. The 32-point quarter included a run of 13 consecutive points that staked Portland to a 77-68 lead. The Trail Blazers led by as many as 13 points midway through the fourth quarter, then held off a late Celtics run to win their second consecutive game. Despite playing its fourth game in five days, Boston started strongly, hitting 14 of 20 shots during the first quarter to take a 32-27 lead. Bradley hit 6 of 7 shots and scored 13 points during the opening period. Portland kept close with Boston by hitting six 3-pointers during the first 14 minutes. The Celtics built their lead to double digits at 51-41, then Aldridge made two baskets during the Blazers run of eight consecutive points, paring the deficit to two points. Boston led 60-58 at halftime. NOTES: Blazers owner Paul Allen took in a doubleheader Saturday, attending the Seahawks NFC divisional playoff game against New Orleans in Seattle during the afternoon, followed by the Blazers game in the evening. Allen owns the Seahawks and Blazers. .. Boston is the only team with a winning record in Portland at 27-25. ... The Blazers play Cleveland at home Wednesday, then tackle their toughest road trip of the season, with games at San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Oklahoma City. ... Blazers guard C.J. McCullum, the 10th pick of last Junes draft, connected on his first NBA career 3-pointer late in the first quarter. Keita Bates-Diop Jersey . Locke overcame a shaky start to pitch seven innings and Josh Harrison had three hits to extend his hot streak as the Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 7-3 on Wednesday night. Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys . Villarreals victory in Valencia kept it in fourth place and in control of Spains last Champions League spot. Uche broke free in the area in the 10th minute and was brought down by goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who was shown a direct red card. https://www.cheaptimberwolves.com/110j-corey-brewer-jersey-timberwolves.html .J. - The New York Jets have signed former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Graham Harrell, giving them some added depth at the position. Stitched Timberwolves Jerseys . You can watch all the action on TSN and TSN GO beginning at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Minnesota dropped the first two tests of this best-of-seven set at Chicagos United Center and was outscored by a combined 9-3 margin in those setbacks. However, the Wild righted themselves at home by taking Game 3 by a 4-0 count before knotting the series at two games apiece with Fridays 4-2 triumph at Xcel Energy Center. Noah Vonleh Jersey .Y. - Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs didnt flinch in the face of adversity. MANCHESTER, England -- Swansea virtually secured Premier League survival and West Bromwich Albion moved closer to safety on Saturday. Jonjo Shelvey scored an eye-catching volley in a 4-1 victory for 12th-place Swansea over Aston Villa, which is just four points and two places from the drop zone. Saido Berahino gave West Brom a 1-0 victory over West Ham that took the team five points clear of danger. But Fulham threw away a two-goal lead at home to Hull to draw 2-2 and remain in the drop zone. At the top of the standings, Evertons hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were hit by a 2-0 loss at Southampton which kept the visitors in fifth place. Tottenham closed the gap on Everton to three points after Danny Rose clinched a 1-0 win at Stoke, meaning that Manchester United could even miss out on Europa League qualification. After a sleepless night before his managerial debut, Ryan Giggs saw his Manchester United team reawaken Old Trafford with a comfortable victory over Norwich on Saturday to end a tumultuous week that started with David Moyes dismissal. United asserted itself over Norwich after a tedious start, with Wayne Rooney scoring twice -- the first from the penalty spot -- and Juan Mata also netting a brace after coming off the bench to complete a 4-0 win in the English Premier League. "I should retire now, a 100 per cent record," Giggs quipped. The 40-year-old midfielder, who dropped himself from the match-day squad, is likely to have just three more games as player-manager, with United looking to appoint a more experienced successor to Moyes. "The reception was great. Ive walked out of the tunnel so many times in big games. Thats the best feeling Ive had, I felt so proud," Giggs said. "Did I sleep last night? No."; It was a day all about restoring pride after Moyes inherited a team that won the league by 11 points under Alex Ferguson last May and took it down to seventh in the standings.dddddddddddd But while United is frustrated to be out of the four Champions League places, Norwichs position is far more precarious -- fighting against relegation. A seventh straight loss left the team just a point and a place above the relegation zone. Although the revenue streams could be hit, a season out of Europe could help the rebuilding process which it seems Giggs wont be overseeing as manager, however much he impresses during his four-game stint as interim manager. "Weve had a tough week and theres been a lot of negativity towards us as a team," Rooney said. "We were hurt by that and we wanted to put that right. Its important for us to end the season well." The breakthrough against Norwich came after Steven Whittaker brought down Danny Welbeck, and Welbeck scored from the penalty spot in the 41st. The striker was on target again inside three minutes of the second half, drifting in from the left unchallenged before unleashing a shot into the bottom corner of the net. United was cruising, and the magnitude of the victory was even more convincing after Mata made an immediate impact after coming off the bench on the hour. The Spain midfielder scored inside three minutes, after meeting a cross from Phil Jones. Mata nodded another over the line in the 73rd after being set up by Antonio Valencia. "Im interim manager but Im also one of their team-mates, so it was tough to leave them out, but youve seen the response of Juan," Giggs said. "Thats a true professional, to not moan and not sulk and come on and perform like he did." ' ' '