SALT LAKE CITY -- Portlands Damian Lillard just needed to make one shot to get going. Emilio Pagan Rays Jersey . Once he saw that go down, he went on a fourth-quarter scoring flurry. "That first 3 felt real good," Lillard said. "Once that went down, I felt if I got another clean look, Im gonna raise up again. And then it happened a couple more times." Lillard scored 14 of his 16 points in a key run to rally the Portland Trail Blazers past the Jazz 111-99 on Friday night. "On the offensive end, I need to tell my teammates whats coming. As a point guard, youre the head of the team," Lillard said. But even the second-year guard didnt know when his offence would start flowing. When it finally did, the Jazz had no answer. Wesley Matthews had 21 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 14 rebounds -- his 40th double-double -- and Nicolas Batum added 15 points to keep Portland in the race to host a first-round playoff series. Derrick Favors scored 21 points and Enes Kanter had 15 points and 13 rebounds, but the Jazz have lost eight of nine. Early in the fourth quarter, the Jazz led by two and Lillard hadnt converted a single field goal. Over the next 3:24, Lillard made four 3-pointers and a pair of free throws. "We closed out with our hands down," Utah coach Ty Corbin said. "But give them credit, they made plays down the stretch." After that, the Blazers led by double-digits for the first time at 96-85 with 6:28 remaining and soon earned their seventh victory in their past eight games. "He hit those 3s and he just kind of felt it. Those 3s really turned the momentum of the game," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "Damian just took it on himself to make something happen." Marvin Williams was out with a knee bruise and the Jazz started the five players that figure to be the core as they rebuild. The quintet -- Gordon Hayward, Favours, Kanter, Trey Burke and Alec Burks -- are all 23 years or younger and have gained experience during this often-frustrating season for a franchise that once made the playoffs 20 years in a row. Burks has primarily filled the sixth-man role while veteran Richard Jefferson had been the only Utah player to start (and play) every game this season. The youthful lineup paid dividends early, but the Jazz struggled in the critical moments against a better team as they have all season. Burks had 16, Burke had 14 points and 11 assists and Hayward added 14, but no one could stop Lillard when he was determined to score in the final period. The Blazers drew within a half game of Houston for the fourth slot in the Western Conference as Minnesota edged the Rockets 112-110 on Friday. "You always want home court. If we can get it, we definitely want it. We saw Houston lost so that helps our chances," Aldridge said. Portland won its final road game of the season and has two remaining at home. The Blazers swept the Jazz for the first time in franchise history. The Blazers defence had improved over the past few months but the Jazz got the shots they wanted, for the most part, until Portland clamped down in the fourth and scored 35 points on the other end. "We just knew we had to take care of business. We got locked in and played better defence. It was just an understanding," Aldridge said. The Blazers went 7 for 8 from beyond the arc in the final period and though they were outrebounded by a 47-41 margin, Portland grabbed four offensive rebounds to get second shots down the stretch. "Were coming together at the right time. Defensively weve been locked in and our offence is starting to come around again. Were looking forward to the playoffs," Stotts said. The Jazz led most of the first half before Matthews scored 10 points in the final 3:09 of the second period to lift the Blazers to a 53-51 advantage at the break. Notes: Rudy Gobert was accidentally backhanded in the face by Burks as they pursued a rebound in the second quarter. ... Lillard, who was already frustrated and had not scored at that point, got whacked in the chin in the fourth quarter by Haywards head. ... Utah is 1-30 against Western Conference opponents this season when scoring fewer than 100 points. ... In his eighth start of the season, Burks played a career-high 42 minutes. Joey Wendle Jersey . Those who impressed in each of the three events were asked to attend the main CFL Combine which begins Friday in Toronto. Evan Longoria Rays Jersey . - Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has signed with WME-IMG, saying the sports management powerhouse will help maximize the value of my brand. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/ . Martin Reway and David Griger both recorded four points with a goal and three assists each. Mario Lunter, Daniel Gachulinec and Stanislav Horansky also scored for Slovakia (1-0). Dominik Kahun had both goals for Germany (0-2), who lost its opening match to Canada 7-2 on Thursday.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Madison Bumgarner grabbed four beers, tilted his head back and chugged like a champion.Then again, the San Francisco ace has plenty of practice.The Giants celebrating in a soaked clubhouse on the road? Must be October. Next stop: Washington.Bumgarner dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates in an 8-0 whitewash in the National League wild-card game on Wednesday night, tossing a four-hitter as the Giants advanced to best-of-five Division Series in Washington starting on Friday.If you dont want to pitch in these games, you probably need to find something else to do, Bumgarner said.No chance of the Giants doing that anytime soon. Theyve ended each even year this decade with a World Series title. The quest for a third to join the championships they captured in 2010 and 2012 began in familiar fashion, with a lights-out performance on the mound and enough offence to get by.We thrive in these situations, shortstop Brandon Crawford said. I dont know what it is. We just keep fighting no matter what the circumstance.The Giants won their eighth consecutive post-season game a€” dating back to the 2012 NL championship series when they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to stun St. Louis a€” and seventh straight with their season on the line a€” including the division series against Cincinnati that year. The memories of that run remain fresh in a clubhouse that seems to thrive once the games start to dwindle.Weve been through it before, a lot of this team has, Brandon Belt said. We used that experience tonight. We know when we get in these situations were going to have a good ballclub.San Francisco will need to rely on that experience when they face the red-hot Nationals. Washington won the season series with San Francisco 5-2, though it wont matter much when they square off in Game 1.Its a different time of year, Belt said. Its a playoff atmosphere. We know were a good team but so are they. We know weve got to go against them and not make any mistakes.The Giants didnt make any on Wednesday, not with Bumgarner doing his thing.Mixing his fastball with a slider and curve the Pirates rarely touched, Bumgarner was in complete control and looked very muuch like the ace who won 18 games during San Franciscos bumpy regular season. Austin Meadows Rays Jersey. We got outplayed tonight, Pittsburgh second baseman Neil Walker said. Bumgarner went out there, he did what he wanted to do. He put up the strike zone and he made it tough on us.So did Crawford, whose grand slam off Edinson Volquez in the fourth inning was the first in post-season history by a shortstop a€” and he wasnt aiming for the fences.With the bases loaded in the fourth and nobody out in a scoreless game, Crawford turned on Volquezs hanging breaking ball and sent it to right. Pittsburghs Travis Snider waited to play it off the wall. He never got the chance, instead slumping his shoulders as the ball landed a couple of rows deep to give the Giants a 4-0 lead that felt considerably larger.I was in shock a little bit, Crawford said.So were the Pirates, who never recovered. One night after Kansas City edged Oakland in a thrilling start to baseballs post-season, this one was over by the middle innings.Overpowering one of the NLs best lineups, Bumgarner walked one and threw 79 strikes in his latest stellar October performance. The big left-hander, who allowed only four singles, has thrown 15 scoreless innings in two World Series starts.Volquez was trying to cap his comeback season by sending Pittsburgh to the NLDS for the second straight year, but he couldnt match Bumgarner.The right-hander cruised until the fourth, when a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases with none out. Hed retired Crawford 19 of the 22 times hed faced him during his career.Its the 24th that hell remember.I tried to bounce it down, back foot, and the ball just kept going, Volquez said. Bad spot.That was more than enough for Bumgarner. Pittsburgh, fourth in the majors in extra-base hits this season, rarely hit the ball hard.Bumgarner was helped by his defence, too. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval a€” all 245 pounds of him a€” flipped over the railing in front of the Pittsburgh dugout to track down a foul popup off the bat of Russell Martin.Sandoval landed on his feet, a perfect symbol of San Franciscos seemingly endless resiliency when October rolls around. ' ' '