PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard couldnt believe when he got a clear look at the rim. With the final buzzer about to sound, he took his shot. "I got my feet squared up and it felt real good leaving my hands," Portlands point guard said. "Once I saw it on line, I said, Thats got a chance." Lillards shot fell and the Trail Blazers stunned the Houston Rockets 99-98 to take their playoff series in six games and advance to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time in 14 years. In the frenzied postgame celebration, Lillard took the public address microphone and shouted "Rip City!" The hometown crowd roared. Portland, making its first playoff appearance since 2011, had been eliminated in the first round in its last six trips, and hadnt advanced to the second round since 2000. "Its a great feeling," said fellow guard Wesley Matthews. "Im excited for Portland, of course excited for us. The grind of the season: Youre a competitor, you want to win, you want to play, you want to advance, you want to be a champion. ... Its unbelievable." Dwight Howard made four consecutive free throws to tie the game at 91 before making a bank shot that put Houston ahead with 3:04 to go. Robin Lopez scored on a tip shot to give the Blazers a 94-93 lead with 2:15 left, setting up a wild finish. Howards layup and foul shot put the Rockets back up 96-94 before Nicolas Batums fadeaway jumper tied it again with 39.9 seconds left. Chandler Parsons scored on a reverse layup with 0.9 seconds left to give Houston the lead. Lillard prevented the series from going back to Houston with his 3-pointer as time ran out. He finished with 25 points. The Trail Blazers said Lillard is the first player to make a buzzer-beating shot to win a playoff series since John Stocktons 3 that led Utah over Houston in 1997s Western Conference finals, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "He made a hell of a shot," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said of Lillard. Portland will face the winner of the series between San Antonio and Dallas. The Mavericks forced a deciding Game 7 with a 113-111 victory over the Spurs on Friday night. There are five first-round playoff series that have gone to seven games. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 30 points and 13 rebounds. He averaged 29.8 points during the series. After losing the opening two games in Houston, then claiming one of a pair in Portland, the Rockets staved off elimination with a 108-98 victory on Wednesday night to narrow Portlands advantage in the series to 3-2. Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Jeremy Lin redeemed himself from a poor performance in Game 4 with 21 points off the bench. James Harden led the Rockets on Friday night with 34 points. Howard had 26 points and 11 rebounds as Houston -- which earned the nickname "Clutch City" back in the mid-1990s when the team won back-to-back NBA championships -- failed to become the ninth team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series and advance. "It hurts," Howard said. "When you put everything youve got on the floor and somebody hits you with a dagger like that, its a tough pill to swallow." After Lillards 3, Howard went over to congratulate his friend and told him he was proud of him and to go win the title. Aldridge helped the Blazers steal the first two games in Houston, scoring 46 points in a 122-120 overtime Game 1 win, then 43 in a 112-105 victory. The Rockets claimed the first of two in Portland, 121-116 in overtime, led by Harden with 37 points. The series third OT game ended in a 123-120 Blazers win. Aldridge gave the Rockets credit for making the Blazers better. "We felt like they definitely helped us grow. Were so young in the playoffs, but they definitely helped us grow and we feel we should be better for the next round," Aldridge said. "Were happy now, but were not satisfied." NOTES: The Blazers honoured former coach Jack Ramsay, who led the team to its lone NBA championship in 1977, in a moving pregame ceremony. Ramsay died Monday after a long battle with cancer in Florida. ... A fan at the game held a sign reading: "Play like its 1977." ... Lillard has multiple 3-pointers in six straight playoff games, a franchise record. ... It was the first time that the Blazers had defeated Houston in the post-season after three previous meetings. Roman Burki Jersey . The NFL announced Friday that the Texans sixth-year veteran offensive lineman will replace Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters in the Jan. Achraf Hakimi Dortmund Jersey .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft. http://www.footballdortmundpro.com/Kids-Eric-Oelschlagel-Jersey/ .Ryan Anderson had 14 points for the Pelicans, who trailed 78-63 after three periods before trimming the deficit to 86-83. Jrue Holiday had 13 points and Eric Gordon added 12 for New Orleans.Mike Scott and Jeff Teague each had 11 points for Atlanta. Omer Toprak Dortmund Jersey . -- Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias says he has stress fractures in both legs and isnt sure when hell be able to play again, leaving the Tigers two weeks to fill his spot for opening day and perhaps a lot longer. Jeremy Toljan Dortmund Jersey . Monta Ellis had 30 points and nine assists, Nowitzki was another of seven Dallas players in double figures with 11 points and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-104 Tuesday night.KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The Montreal Impacts winless streak has grown to seven. And based on its performance Saturday night, the end may not be anywhere near. Sporting Kansas City handed Montreal a 4-0 defeat on Saturday -- the Impacts worst loss to date -- in front of 20,306 fans at Sporting Park, the venues 40th consecutive sellout. "Its a tough result because we actually played well in the first half," Montreal midfielder Justin Mapp said. "But in a place like this, you have to capitalize on your chances and find a way to win, and we didnt do enough tonight." It started ugly for the Impact. It only got worse. Sporting KC striker Dom Dwyer scored a pair of second-half goals -- giving him four in his past four matches -- but the clubs best offensive output of the season required some help from Montreal. Montreal midfielder Calum Mallace actually supplied the first goal of the match, it just wound up in the wrong net. After Sporting KC defender Matt Besler launched one of his signature long throw-ins into the goalie box, Mallace attempted to clear the pass away from danger, but instead he flicked a header into his own goal. For a team that entered the night having allowed the most goals per game in the Eastern Conference, it certainly didnt help the Impacts cause. "It was a fluke goal," Mallace said. "You dont want to concede any goal, but when they score one like that, its even harder." To make matters worse, it spoiled an otherwise flawless opening 60 minutes from the Montreal defence in one of the leagues toughest venues for opponents. Montreal (0-4-3) owned the better of the chances in the opening half, but it couldnt manage to capitalize on any of them. Though it certainly came cclose.dddddddddddd In the 14th minute, Felipe Martins and Marco Di Vaio broke free for a two-on-one and executed the play well. Di Vaio forced Sporting KC keeper Eric Kronberg off his line, then shifted a quick pass to Martins, who fired toward an unmanned goal. Except Sporting KC defender Aurelien Collin managed to get back in time to clear the ball off the line, preserving the third shutout of the MLS season for Kronberg. "It was disheartening," Mapp said. "We have two or three really good chances to go up one (goal) ourselves, and they they kind of get a half-chance play like that to go in. Its tough. But we were still in a decent spot at halftime." The shutout disappeared with the fluke goal. And the offensive chances soon disappeared, too. Montreal didnt manage a shot on goal in the second half, instead watching Sporting KC (3-1-2) produce an unanswered onslaught of offence. Collin moved up from his spot in the Sporting KC central defence to score in the 71st minute. After Dwyer battled for a loose ball in the goalie box, it fell to Collin, who chipped a left-footed shot past Montreal keeper Troy Perkins for his second goal of the season. Dwyer joined the fun shortly thereafter. He finished off a crossing pass from late-game substitute Jacob Peterson in the 74th minute, then headed home a crossing pass from Graham Zusi in the 86h minute. "We just came out a little flat in the second half," Mapp said. "Against a team like that, you really have to be disciplined and tuned-in for 90 minutes. If youre not, they can pod goals quickly like they did." Again searching for its first victory of the season, Montreal returns home Saturday for a match against Philadelphia. ' ' '