Rest der Welt » . Melton was a running back in high school in the Dallas

DALLAS -- The Portland Trail Blazers no longer are chasing the San Antonio Spurs in the NBAs Western Conference. LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points and 12 rebounds, and the Trail Blazers beat the Dallas Mavericks 127-111 on Saturday night to pull even with the Spurs at 31-9. The Trail Blazers have won five consecutive games, including a 109-100 victory at San Antonio on Friday. "I was really proud of the way our team played, especially on the heels of an emotional win in San Antonio," coach Terry Stotts said. "Our resolve, defensively, I thought was very good and got us into a position to have a large lead." The lead reached 38 points at 111-73 with 9:43 to play. A 25-2 surge against Portlands bench brought Dallas within 15 points with 4:38 remaining before the starters returned to restore order. The Trail Blazers, the NBAs highest-scoring team, reached 30 points in the first quarter for the 14th time in 2013-14, and 100 points in three quarters for the fourth time. "We are just playing great basketball right now," Aldridge said. "Whenever guys guard the way they can, this team is good." Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 18 points in 21 minutes. All five Portland starters scored in double figures, and Aldridge, Robin Lopez and Damian Lillard (14 points, 10 assists) each recorded a double-double. "The first three quarters were beyond embarrassing," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We were poor on offence, too. We werent playing together. We werent helping each other. "You do that against a high-level quality team like Portland, theyre going to make you pay a heavy price." Portland outrebounded Dallas 55-30, scored 60 points in the paint and had 22 second-chance points. Nicolas Batum shot 6 for 7 and scored 15 of his 21 points in the first quarter as the Trail Blazers opened a 35-23 lead. "They were double-teaming LaMarcus," Batum said, "so the other four guys around him moved around to get open. Were a shooting team." Portland shot 51 per cent (46 for 90) for the game, including 59 per cent (26 for 44) for a 71-52 halftime lead. The Trail Blazers defence also was superb, holding the Mavericks to 39 per cent shooting (26 for 66) while running up a 104-70 lead after three quarters. Portland had 30 fast-break points to Dallas 5. "Theyre obviously a tough team to defend," Nowitzki said. "They have LaMarcus on the block and they have shooters out there. They really got whatever they wanted for three quarters and they were very good." Carlisle found a silver lining in the fourth quarter, when the Mavericks outscored the Trail Blazers 41-23. "The guys that were in there in the fourth quarter really fought," he said. "Im going to find guys that will fight and get them in the game, simple as that." Jae Crowder scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter, and DeJuan Blair had 11 of his 13. The Mavericks Devin Harris played 17 minutes and scored six points in his first game this season following toe surgery. Harris played the first 3 1/2 of his 10 NBA seasons with Dallas, and re-signed with the team last summer, but missed the first 41 games. He received a standing ovation when he entered the game with 3:22 remaining in the first quarter. Harris missed his first two free throws, but hit a long 2-point field goal at the buzzer later in the quarter. "I actually like what I saw," Nowitzki said. "Were looking forward to getting him out there more and more and playing at a high level." Portlands lead grew to 18 in the second quarter, but the Mavericks battled back within 54-46 with an 18-8 run. With the Trail Blazers starting lineup back in the game, they scored 17 of the final 23 points in the second quarter. Aldridge and Batum each had 17 first-half points. The third quarter also started well for Portland, which quickly stretched its advantage to 83-58. NOTES: Dallas Shawn Marion made his 1,000th NBA start. . The Trail Blazers are just 8-6 when they have scored 30-plus points in the first quarter, but theyre 4-0 when reaching 100 in just three quarters. They entered the night averaging 109.1 points per game. ... The Mavericks reassigned rookie guard Ricky Ledo to Texas of the NBA Development League. He has played in only nine games for Dallas, averaging 3.3 minutes and 1.9 points. ... Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined $100,000 for confronting officials on the court and using inappropriate language after Wednesdays game against the Clippers in Los Angeles. ... When asked what knowledge Stotts had gained after Portland won only 33 games last season, Carlisle joked about his former assistant, "You mean other than what he stole here?" Phil Esposito Jersey .Simon will work with head coach Gord Dineen and associate coach Derek King behind the bench of the Toronto Maple Leafs American Hockey League affiliate for the 2014-15 season. Cam Neely Jersey . -- ETwaun Moore had 14 points in 30 minutes, and the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 87-86 on Sunday night. http://www.bruinsstore.com/authentic-terry-o-reilly-bruins-jersey/ . The Gatineau Olympiques head coach will lead Canada in its quest to end its gold medal drought at the 2015 world junior hockey championship held in Montreal and Toronto at the end of this year. Adam Oates Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings and guard Jimmer Fredette have completed a buyout of his contract, clearing the way for the former BYU sensation to become a free agent. Derek Sanderson Jersey . His right arm rested in a sling and was encased in a cast from above the elbow to his hand. "Im excited," Fernandez said with a grin.Early Tuesday morning, Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch, accompanied by his lawyer, surrendered himself to Drug Enforcement Administration agents as part of charges related to a doping distribution ring. The DEA also arrested nine other people including Yuri Sucart, Alex Rodriguezs cousin. Not all those arrested are connected to Biogenesis; four people were associated with at least one other operation. According to reports, Bosch will plead guilty to a conspiracy to distribute the anabolic steroid testosterone and could face up to 10 years in prison. And that is good news for Alex Rodriguez. Why you ask? If Bosch had refused to cooperate with authorities, prosecutors could have forced A-Rod to testify under oath. At that moment, the suspended Yankee would have been forced to come clean on his dealings with Bosch or lie under oath so as to preserve his story that he never took PEDs between 2010 and 2012 (this assumes that Bosch did indeed supply A-Rod with PEDs). Knowingly lying under oath is called perjury and its a serious crime that can include prison time. Just ask Marion Jones, who spent six months in jail for lying under oath. With Bosch cooperating with authorities, it seems unlikely that A-Rod would be called as a witness.ddddddddddddSo he may have dodged an enhanced bullet. But wait – there is the case of A-Rods cousin Yuri Sucart. Sucart is reportedly facing five counts of distributing the anabolic steroid testosterone, and each count carries with it up to 10 years in prison. Federal authorities believe Sucart helped recruit MLB players to Biogenesis (including A-Rod), while also assisting in the operation of an unlawful PED distribution ring to teenagers in the Dominican Republic. So once again, A-Rod is facing the risk of being called as a witness. If his cousin fails to cooperate with authorities, we could see A-Rod compelled to testify under oath. There were also five other individuals arrested that have a connection to Biogenesis. So in theory, there may still be additional opportunities to compel A-Rods testimony. As for A-Rod and other MLB players like Melky Cabrera, Nelson Cruz and Ryan Braun facing arrests of their own, that seems very unlikely. Typically, prosecutors go after the distributors and not the users. So Rodriguez is not going to find himself arrested for using PEDs. That being said, A-Rod is not out of the PED woods just yet. Still some track to cover. ' ' '