PORTLAND, Ore. -- Wesley Johnson was hard-pressed to think of a more memorable shot hes had than his game-winner against Portland. Kent Bazemore lobbed to Johnson for the go-ahead basket with 6.9 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers 107-106 on Monday night. Theyd been practicing that very play. "Its one of them. Its gotta be up there," Johnson said about where the shot ranked. "To pull out the win like we did and fight the whole game, it was a good one." Pau Gasol scored 22 points and the Lakers won their second straight, snapping the Blazers five-game winning streak. Jodie Meeks added 21 points. The Lakers, who led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter, pushed the lead to 97-86 in the fourth on MarShon Brooks short jumper. But Nicolas Batums 3-pointer narrowed the gap to 103-101 for the Blazers with 3:37 left before Wesley Matthews fadeaway jumper tied it at 105 with 1:10 left. Damian Lillard hit one of two free throws to give Portland its first lead since the first quarter. But the officials reversed a possession call with 7.1 seconds left, giving the ball to the Lakers. Bazemore pitched to Johnson for the deciding layup and Lillard missed a 3-pointer as time ran out. "These guys are straight up athletes in this league and you can just throw it anywhere around the dash," Bazemore said. "He (Johnson) caught it and could have actually dunked it but went with a safe one." Robin Lopez had 19 points and 16 rebounds, while Batum had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Blazers. Los Angeles was coming off a 126-122 victory at home Friday over Sacramento, which snapped a three-game losing streak. But the Lakers still sit at the bottom of the Western Conference with the Kings. "They were making shots. They were making jumpers. I think we were deflated all the way around," Blazers guard Wesley Matthews said. "Their energy was higher than ours." The Blazers won the first meeting against the Lakers, 114-108 on Dec. 1. Xavier Henry, who had 27 points against the Blazers in December, returned to the Lakers lineup Monday after missing 28 games with a right knee injury, but he was played only sparingly. Coach Mike DAntoni said hed limit Henrys minutes to start. Steve Nash ran through drills on the court before the game but sat out of his eighth straight game after a brief return from a nerve root irritation, which causes him back pain. Earlier in the day at shootaround, DAntoni told reporters he was doubtful Nash would return this season. After the game DAntoni said: "Hes not quite there physically. He tried it and couldnt finish a game so theres really no point in pushing the injury further. Hes just trying to get well and then well see." Nash, who made the trip to Portland, was noncommittal: "Well see how I feel next week and if I get a chance to practice." Nash, 40, has played in 10 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 7.6 points and 4.7 assists. Kobe Bryant was also in Portland, but he has not been medically cleared to play after breaking his left knee in December. The Lakers jumped out to a 31-16 lead in the first quarter, capping a 14-2 run with Meeks dunk. Portland struggled with eight turnovers. Portland closed the gap in the second quarter, pulling to within 45-38 on Batums dish to Lopez for the dunk and a free throw. But Bazemores last-break dunk extended the Lakers lead to 56-47 with 3:27 left in the half. The Lakers led 63-56 at the half. Los Angeles wouldnt let the Blazers get closer than four points and Gasols dunk extended the lead to 82-73 with 2:36 left. Dorell Wright hit two consecutive 3-pointers for Portland to close within 82-79, but Bazemore answered with a 3 for the Lakers. Blazers coach Terry Stotts said he didnt believe his team overlooked the Lakers. "I think its a credit to the Lakers. They sustained their style of play from the very beginning," Stotts said. "They got out in transition, they were aggressive in passing lanes, they forced eight turnovers in the first quarter. They got us on our heels right away. We got back, but I thought what the Lakers did more than anything was they came out and sustained it for the entire game." Notes: Robin Lopez had 13 points in the first half, a new career high. ... The Blazers announced a contest for fans to design a new floor for the Moda Center for the 2014-15 season. ... Portland was coming off a 102-96 victory at home over Denver on Saturday. Will Smith Jersey . Third-place Madrid fell behind and settled for a 2-2 draw earlier at Osasuna in a match both sides finished with 10 men, and Barcelona didnt let the chance escape. Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, again turned to Neymar after his hat trick against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday to convert a penalty on the half-hour mark and restore the lead in the 68th after Villarreal levelled. Taysom Hill Jersey . The Toronto Blue Jays general manager made a series of bold moves that reshaped the club ahead of what would turn out to be a disastrous 2013 campaign. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/custom-mike-mckenzie-jersey-large-1272e.html .ca. Hi Kerry, Love reading your column and loved watching your analysis on the TSN broadcasts!And were now in Round 2! Bruins! Canadiens! We know all about the great games of the past from the players, the broadcasters and the writers. Aaron Brooks Jersey . -- Two nights after losing to the Eastern Conferences worst team, the Phoenix Coyotes handled the best. Danny Abramowicz Jersey . "This doesnt end anything," he said. "Weve got 10-1 in our last 11 games, and were going home in first place. We just have to keep playing the way we are right now.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- With Jim Calhoun watching from the stands, Shabazz Napier capped Connecticut coach Kevin Ollies first NCAA tournament appearance with a win. Shaking off a 23-foot miss at the second-half buzzer, Napier scored nine of his 24 points in overtime to lead seventh-seeded UConn (27-8) to an 89-81 win over 10th-seeded Saint Josephs (24-10) in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday night. DeAndre Daniels scored 18 while freshman centre Amida Brimah forced overtime by completing a three-point play in the final minute. It was a big victory for Ollie, who took over two years ago after Calhoun was forced to step down because of health issues. After the Huskies won three national titles in 26 seasons under Calhoun, Ollie became the first UConn coach to lead the program to a tournament berth since Dom Perno in 1979. And it came a year after Connecticut was barred from post-season play because of academic sanctions. Langston Galloway scored 25 points for Saint Josephs (24-10). The Hawks wore down because of a lack of depth, and then lost their top forward Halil Kanacevic, who fouled out early into overtime. The Huskies advance to play Saturday, when theyll face the winner of an East Region game between No. 2 seed Villanova and No. 15 Milwaukee. With the game tied at 70 entering overtime, Daniels opened the scoring by completed a three-point play with 3:47 left during a 5-minute period the Huskies never trailed. Napier then scored seven straight points -- five of them coming from the line -- to put the Huskies up 82-74 with 55 seconds remaining. The game turned in the final minute of regulation and after Hawks guard Chris Wilson hit two free throws to put Saint Joes up 70-67 with 49.dddddddddddd.2 seconds left. Napier missed on a drive at the other end, but Brimah got the rebound to the left of the basket, and was fouled while putting it back. He tied the game by hitting the free throw. Taking over with 39 seconds left, the Hawks never got a shot off on what became their final possession of regulation. Galloway twice lost the ball on the dribble, but got it back both times, before launching a desperation shot that hit off the side of the backboard as the shot clock expired. With 2.7 seconds left, the Huskies made two nifty passes to get the ball to Napier on the fly, who pulled up just before the 3-point line and had his shot hit off the rim. Losing Kanacevic was a costly blow for the Hawks, who have little depth beyond their starting five. Kanacevic finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Freshman DeAndre Bembry scored 16 points for a Hawks team that won the Atlantic 10 tournament title last weekend. After hitting 13 of their first 20 baskets, the Hawks offence cooled. Saint Joes went 10 of 22 in the second half, and finished the game going 27 of 54. The Huskies were coming off a 71-61 loss to Louisville in the American Athletic Conference title game on Saturday. Theyve now won 10 of their past three, with two of those losses coming against Louisville. The opening nine minutes of the game featured eight lead changes before the Hawks eventually broke the game open by building a 37-27 lead with 3:09 left, when DeAndre Bembry hit two free throws. The Hawks hit 13 of their first 20 attempts and were up 40-32 before UConns Ryan Boatright hit a 3-point basket with 8 seconds left. ' ' '
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