DieBruderschaft.com

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The scoreboard may say victory, but Damian Lillard sees work to do.Lillard scored 38 points, making key free throws in the waning seconds, and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Phoenix Suns for a 124-121 victory on Tuesday night.After leading by 18 points early, it shouldnt have been so close at the end, Lillard said.We talk about just being able to play the way we want to play for longer spans of time, he said. Well play really well for seven minutes, and then in four minutes well give up a 15-2 run and give up everything we just worked for. We got to continue to work on that. The good thing is, were able to find a way to win games while we work on it.CJ McCollum added 33 points for the Blazers, who have won three straight.Lillard hit a 3-pointer with 6:45 left that put Portland in front 101-95. Eric Bledsoe made a free throw to pull Phoenix within 115-114 with just under a minute left, but he missed the second attempt that would have tied it and Lillard scored a layup on the other end.Bledsoe hit two free throws to again get within a point, but Lillard was fouled with 13.3 seconds left and made both to put Portland up 119-116.Devin Booker made a 3-pointer that pulled the Suns within 122-121 but Lillard again hit two free throws with 3.7 seconds left and Booker missed from some 25 feet has time ran out.Bledsoe finished with 31 points and Booker had 23.Its not tough for us to come back, we come back a lot, Suns coach Earl Watson said. Thats what we do. Our team is really close and we have a lot of belief.The Suns, who opened the season with four straight losses before winning two of their last three, were without Tyson Chandler because of personal reasons. Chandler has been in double-digit rebounds in three of the last four games.Watson started rookie Marquese Chriss, who was making his first career start. Chriss, who finished with seven points, was a first-round draft pick (eighth overall) out of Washington by the Sacramento Kings, acquired by the Suns in a draft-day trade.Portland was hurt when they lost starting forward Al-Farouq Aminu to a left calf strain early and he did not return. Aminu is averaging seven points and 7.9 rebounds this season.Aminu said after the game that he was unlikely to play on Wednesday when the Blazers visit the Clippers.McCollum hit his first six shots, including three 3-pointers, and the Blazers jumped out to a 27-12 lead. McCollum matched his career high with 37 points in Portlands 100-94 victory at Memphis on Sunday.Booker had 39 points in the Suns 119-108 loss at the Lakers on Sunday, after scoring 38 in a 112-111 overtime victory over New Orleans on Friday, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to have back-to-back games with at least 38 points.TIP-INSSuns: The Suns beat the Blazers 118-115 in overtime last week in Phoenix. The teams play four games this season.Trail Blazers: Portland made 12 of its first 13 field goal attempts. ... It was the second time in his career that McCollum has had back-to-back games with 30 or more points.MENTOR AND FRIEND: Watson played his final NBA season with Portland and grew close to Lillard. The summer before last, when the Blazers lost four starters and Lillard was the last remaining starter on the roster, Watson said the two talked and he told Lillard he needed to be a leader on and off the court. Lillard responded by organizing a team bonding trip to San Diego and the young Blazers went on to go 44-38 and advance to the second round of the playoffs.That is when you saw this young group become something else, Watson said.FAST START: Lillard has scored 262 points so far this season, the most through the first eight games of a season in franchise history. It is also the most by an NBA player since Kobe Bryant had 264 through the first eight in 2009-10.UP NEXTSuns: Host the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night.Trail Blazers: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. The Clippers beat the Blazers in Portland 114-106 on Oct. 27. Replica NCAA Jerseys . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Cheap NCAA Jerseys . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/ . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys China . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Isaac Haas enjoys playing alongside Caleb Swanigan on Purdues imposing front line, and its easy to see why.Its demoralizing for the other team when (Swanigan) is out there doing what he does, the 7-foot-2 Haas said.Swanigan had 21 points and a career-best 21 rebounds, Haas scored 18 points and the 15th-ranked Boilermakers beat Western Illinois 82-50 on Monday night.Swanigan went 7 for 16 from the field and 6 for 7 at the free-throw line in his ninth double-double of the season. He had 26 points and 10 rebounds in Saturdays 86-81 victory against No. 25 Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic.Its the mindset I have every game, said Swanigan, who accomplished his impressive line in just 28 minutes. You have to go every time, and thats what I try to do every game. We just keep coming at you in waves. We are used to it, because we practice against each other every day.Purdue (10-2) also got 16 points from Vince Edwards in its fifth consecutive victory.Mike Miklusak, an Indiana native who attended high school 85 miles from the Purdue campus, led Western Illinois (3-8) with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Western Illinois shot 31 percent (19 for 61) from the field.The Boilermakers improved to 6-0 all-time against the Leathernecks.Swanigan, Haas and Vince Edwards combined for 33 points and 17 rebounds in the first half, helping Purdue to a 44-28 lead at the break.There were a lot of rebounds to be had tonight, but Caleb plays really hard, Purdue coach Matt Painter said. Its contagious when your best player plays harder than everybody else.dddddddddddd Basketball means a lot to him. There are lots of demands once a player gets to college, but he puts in the extra work every day.The Boilermakers raced out to a 13-3 lead, but Western Illinois closed to 27-22 with 6:16 remaining on a 3-pointer from Miklusak. The Boilermakers then responded with a 12-0 run.BIG PICTUREWestern Illinois: The Leathernecks showed an ability to shoot 3-pointers, going 8 for 15 from beyond the arc in the first half, but are a sub-.500 team in large part because their interior players lack the size or skill to play with teams whose low-post players are the focal point of the offense, like Purdue.Purdue: Big Ten Player of the Week Swanigan continues to dominate at both ends of the floor, a big reason why the Boilermakers are unbeaten since a Nov. 30 loss at Louisville. If Purdue defeats Norfolk State on Wednesday, it will take an 11-2 record into the Dec. 28 Big Ten opener against Iowa.BIGGIE NUMBERSSwanigan, whose nickname is Biggie, is averaging 20 points and 13.7 rebounds in the past three games, making 24 of 43 field-goal attempts against Cleveland State, Notre Dame and now Western Illinois.UP NEXTWestern Illinois: The Leathernecks dont play again until Dec. 29 when they visit Fort Wayne.Purdue: The Boilermakers host Norfolk State on Wednesday night. ' ' '