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SALT LAKE CITY -- Blowing out Utah for a second time this month was not in the cards for Portland. With the Jazz making a fourth-quarter rally, the Blazers struggled to fight through offensive sluggishness and escape with a win. Nicolas Batum and Damian Lillard provided the lifeline in the final minute. Batum drained a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock and Lillard followed with another shot from long-range on the next possession to lift the Blazers to a 105-94 victory over the Jazz on Monday night. "The ball bounced their way a few times," Lillard said. "We knew it would be tough because we just played them two or three days ago. Theyre a better a team on their home floor. With us not having the greatest offensive night, we just wanted to stay the course and get the job done -- which we were able to do." LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points and Damian Lillard added 18 to propel Portland to a bounce back win after a loss to Dallas on Saturday snapped a four-game winning streak. Robin Lopez chipped in 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Wesley Matthews added 16 points for the Blazers, who notched their second win over Utah in December. Reserve Alec Burks had 20 points for the Jazz, who dropped their fourth game in a row. Enes Kanter added 19 points and Gordon Hayward chipped in 17 for Utah, which trailed the entire second half after nine ties and nine lead changes in the first half. "I thought we were doing a better job out there," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "I thought execution on the offensive end is getting a lot better. Were sharing the ball." Portland played clean basketball to build a second-half cushion and hold off a late Jazz rally. The Blazers had 23 assists and shot 47.1 per cent (40 of 85) from the floor, while committing just 11 turnovers. Portland broke open a close game by making six straight baskets to start the third quarter. Aldridge drained a jumper to start the run and Matthews capped the spurt with a 3-pointer, giving Portland a 64-51 lead at the 8:29 mark. Kanter made a pair of baskets to shave the lead to 64-57. It only set the stage for another Blazers run. This time, Portland rattled off four unanswered baskets -- capped by Lopezs layup -- to extend its lead to 72-57 with 4:13 remaining in the third quarter. The Blazers shot a blistering 61.1 per cent (11 of 18) from the field in the third quarter. And they did it by finding holes in the Jazz defence and attacking them with precision. "With our offence, I want us to be opportunistic with whatever the game gives us," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "If it gives us 3s, we knock them down. If it gives us the paint, thats good too with LaMarcus on the block. One thing weve done well with offensively is we take what the game gives us." Utah made another run at the Blazers midway through the fourth quarter. Back-to-back jumpers from Hayward cut Portlands lead to single digits. Then, Trey Burke made a pair of free throws to bring the Jazz within 89-82 with 5:45 remaining. Utah cut the lead to seven several more times and pulled within 97-92 on a pair of free throws from Hayward with 1:28 left. But then Batum and Lillard drained their consecutive 3-pointers to put the game out of reach during the final minute. "You play good D for like 22 or 23 seconds and they hit the crazy shots," Kanter said. "Its tough you know -- thats basketball. You cant think about it. We just need to learn how to close games." Burke and Kanter put on a two-man show for the Jazz in the first quarter. The duo combined for 13 of Utahs first 15 points to help the Jazz keep pace with the Blazers. Portland created a small cushion late in the first half. Trailing by one after a layup by Kanter, the Blazers scored six straight points and took a 40-35 lead on a pair of free throws from Aldridge. They extended the lead to 49-41 after Lopez dunked and Aldridge scored an uncontested layup on back-to-back possessions. "We played sluggish tonight," Aldridge said. "We didnt have that killer (instinct) in us tonight. Guys were just tired tonight. Every game cant be great. I thought tonight was a good win for us because we came here and didnt make shots, but guys still put it up." NOTES: Portland notched its first win in its last six trips to Utah. The Trail Blazers are off to their best start since 1990-91, when they won 27 of 30 games to open the season. Utah announced that former coach Jerry Sloan will be honoured with a banner raising ceremony on Jan. 31. Sloan coached the team from 1988 to 2011, recording 1,127 victories during his tenure. . Lopez had his ninth double-double of the season. ... Batum matched a season-high with 11 assists. . Burks is averaging 16.6 points per game in his last seven games for the Jazz. Dames Nike Air Max Tailwind 7 Schoenen Groen Zwart . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Nike Air Max Classic Heren . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. http://www.maxairnikesale.nl/air-max-90-heren/air-max-90-her en-grijs.html . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Dames Roze/Wit Nike Air Max 2016 Schoenen (KPU) . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Roze/Jade Air Max 2016 Dames-Nike Schoenen . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. OAKLAND, Calif. -- With the season on the line once more in Oakland, Justin Verlander pitched another Game 5 gem. Verlander carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and Miguel Cabrera homered to lead the Detroit Tigers past the Athletics 3-0 Thursday night and back into the AL championship series. Joaquin Benoit retired Seth Smith on a fly ball with two on in the ninth to close out the deciding game of their division series. The Tigers became the first team to reach the ALCS in three straight years since the New York Yankees from 1998-2001. Anibal Sanchez will start Game 1 in Boston on Saturday. The Tigers went 4-3 against the Red Sox this year. They have never faced each other in the post-season. Detroit staved off elimination at home in Game 4, overcoming a three-run deficit on Tuesday. Behind Verlander, the Tigers never trailed in the clincher. The big right-hander gave up a clean, two-out single to Yoenis Cespedes in the seventh to end his chance at the third no-hitter in post-season history. The hit hardly fazed him, however. On a night he allowed only three baserunners, Verlander made it a post-season-record 30 straight scoreless innings against one team since Coco Crisp hit a leadoff home run for the As in Game 1 last October. Just 364 days earlier, Verlander tossed a four-hit, 6-0 masterpiece in Game 5 in this very ballpark, a 122-pitch performance for his first career post-season shutout and complete game. He nearly matched that with a spectacular 111-pitch outing in a rematch of his thrilling pitchers duel with rookie Sonny Gray five days earlier in Game 2. "It felt good out there," Verlander said. "Its the first time in a while my changeups been really good. Obviously this lineup with a bunch of left-handed hitters that was a big pitch for me." Aching slugger Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the fourth off with a drive into the left-field seats for his first homer since Sept. 17 and just his third extra-base hit in 99 at-bats. That ended a 20-inning scoreless streak by the Tigers at the Coliseum. Gray danced with danger from the start with stuff not nearly as crisp as just five nights before when he matched zeros with the 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner. This time, Verlander didnt allow a baserunner until Josh Reddick drew a one-out walk in the sixth -- but the no-hit bid remained until Cespedes single the next inning. The hardest hit ball was a fly to the centre-field warning track by Stephen Vogt in the sixth. Verlander struck out 10 in eight innings, giving him 21 Ks in these two starts. He has 43 strikeouts in his four playoff outings against Oakland the past two years. The As saw their season end at the hands of Detroit for the third time in as many postseasons, including in a four-game sweep in the 2006 ALCS. Oakland has lost its last six winner-take-all Game 5s and fell to 1-12 in potential clinchers since 2000. The As struck out 57 times for the most in a best-of-five playoff series. Verlander earned the nod for the decider after Game 1 winner Max Scherzer pitched in relief of an 8-6, season-saving win Game 4 in Detroit. Manager Jim Leyland had no qualms turning again to Verlander, who went 13-12 this season. When asked before the game about his bullpen availability, Leyland nodded his head and quipped, "Verlander, hes available." Gray, meanwhile, looked overmatched this time.dddddddddddd He wiped his brow and never looked comfortable. As manager Bob Melvin went with Gray over 18-game winner and 40-year-old Bartolo Colon, who yielded three first-inning runs to lose Game 1. These Game 5s becoming awfully familiar for both sides in their recent October rivalry. Detroit held another clinching party in the visiting clubhouse of the Oakland Coliseum, where a raucous crowd of 46,959 swirled yellow towels until Benoit threw his hands in the air at the final out. Catcher Alex Avila met Benoit in front of the mound for a long embrace as their teammates quickly joined them -- with cheers of "Lets go Oakland!" still ringing out. The Tigers came together near the mound for a unique chant in which they squatted in unison and raised their hands in the air. The 93-win Tigers are determined to take the next step and win a championship after being swept in four games of the 2012 World Series by the San Francisco Giants. "Thats the motivation that weve been looking for, that weve had all year," Verlander said. "Guys like Torii (Hunter) who wasnt a part of our team last year, he comes in and hes got that urge. He wants to win that championship before he retires. Everybody else that was here that had a taste of that last year how much it hurts, its that extra driving factor." The 23-year-old Gray, pitching to chants of "Sonny! Sonny!" in his 12th career start, returned for the sixth inning at 92 pitches but was done once he allowed consecutive singles to Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta. Omar Infante then drove in the third run with a fielders choice grounder off Dan Otero. Along the 880 freeway just outside the Coliseum, a billboard blared: "ITS ALWAYS SONNY IN THE TOWN." The only thing sunny was the outfield for the early evening start, which had players shielding their eyes to deal with tricky shadows and sun angles. Center field and right field initially played in bright sun. Rookie starters have lost their last six winner-take-all post-season games since Daisuke Matsuzaka beat Cleveland in the 2007 ALCS for Boston. Grays curveball had less break and he never found the same groove that carried him in his playoff debut. It was a breezy Bay Area night and 19 degrees cooler at first pitch than the 82 degrees in a game starting an hour later Saturday night. This marks another disappointing exit for the low-budget As, who have baseballs 27th smallest payroll at $71.1 million after having the lowest at $59.5 million last year. Both managers tweaked their lineups, most notably in the middle infield with Peralta back at shortstop for Detroit and the As Alberto Callaspo playing second base in his first career post-season start. Peralta, who served a 50-game suspension until late September for his ties to the Biogenesis clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs, hit a three-run homer in Game 4 to help extend Detroits season. NOTES: Verlander tried for just the third no-hitter in post-season history and first since Philadelphias Roy Halladay no-hit Cincinnati on Oct. 6, 2010. Don Larsen pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees against Brooklyn in the World Series on Oct. 8, 1956. ... 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