Alles was gibt :) » 40 points in back-to-back playoff games

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." Cheap Adidas Rangers Jerseys . -- Packers cornerback Tramon Williams has been fined $26,250 for contact with an official, per NFL guidelines. Cheap New York Rangers Jerseys . This was one of them. Omar Infante homered and tied a career high with six RBIs to carry the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 on Sunday. http://www.cheapnewyorkrangersjerseys.com/. These days, just about anyone can get a taste of the friendship that has blossomed between All-Star Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden, most famous in the past two weeks or so for the elbow to the head he took from the Los Angeles Lakers Metta World Peace. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . The Blueshirts hope to stay alive once again when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sundays Game 6 battle at Madison Square Garden. Cheap Rangers Jerseys . Sharper briefly appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 20 at the request of his lawyers. They issued a statement saying he would be exonerated. Prosecutors then filed a motion to increase Sharpers bail to $10 million and outlined details of investigations involving him in Las Vegas, Tempe, Ariz.The Free State Cheetahs and Blue Bulls took contrasting routes to first appearances in the Currie Cup final for seven years. Cheetahs, who topped the regular season standings by winning all eight games, thrashed title-holders Golden Lions 56-17 in Bloemfontein, with Sergeal Petersen scoring a hat-trick.In contrast, Ivan van Zyl scored with two minutes remaining in Pretoria to earn the Bulls a 36-30 victory over Western Province in the other semi-final after a thriller featuring flawless goal-kicking. Bulls defeated Cheetahs in the 2009 final, but finishing higher on the log means the Bloemfontein outfit enjoy home advantage next Saturday, and will start as slight favourites.Free State Cheetahs 56-17 Golden LionsA mix of clinical finishing and aggressive defending by Cheetahs and the sin-binning of Lion Cyle Brink allowed the hosts to build a 26-0 half-time lead at Free State Stadium.That advantage stretched to 33 points before Lions got on the scoreboard with a line-out leading to an opportunity for substitute Sylvian Mahuza to score.However, there was no dramatic comeback from the Johannesburg outfit, even though Cheetahs were twice reduced to 14 men when Ryno Benjamin and Paul Schoeman received yellow cards.The home side scored three more tries through Benjamin, Clayton Blommetjies and Petersen to win by a comfortable margin. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. A neck injuury that forced Lions prop Julian Redelinghuys off the field will be a concern for Springboks coach Allister Coetzee ahead of a four-match tour to England, Italy and Wales during November.ddddddddddddBlue Bulls 36-30 Western ProvinceProvince came to Loftus Versfeld stadium seeking a hat-trick of semi-final victories over the Bulls, having beaten them by five and eight points in the past two seasons.After the two most successful Currie Cup teams, with 56 titles between them, scored a converted try each, Bulls Tian Schoeman slotted three penalties to create a nine-point gap.That was trimmed to a 16-10 lead by half-time after rival No 10 Robert du Preez kicked a penalty.Province led three times in the second half and Bulls twice, before Van Zyl struck the crucial blow. When a Bulls surge was held up just short of the try-line, Van Zyl gained possession and evaded a tackle by fellow substitute Scott van Breda to score.Schoeman converted from near the touchline to complete a perfect goal-kicking performance with eight consecutive successes from the tee.He also stretched his lead over Curwin Bosch of Sharks to 31 points in the race to finish leading scorer in the Currie Cup this season.Du Preez was an equally impressive goal-kicker, slotting his six attempts between the posts.You can watch Liverpool v Man Utd, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the British Masters on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! Also See: Rugby on Sky Follow @SkySportsRugby Pundits Fixtures and results ' ' '