he passing attack which fueled the win streak unti

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Defense was the difference for the Trail Blazers.After struggling for the past half-dozen games, Portland had more of a complete effort in a 119-104 victory over New Orleans on Friday night. Damian Lillard scored 27 points and CJ McCollum added 24 to snap the Pelicans four-game winning streak.I think what we did on the defensive end allowed us to get out in transition and move the ball, and play at the pace that we wanted to be at. It worked in our favor, once we did it consistently, Lillard said.Lillard added 11 assists for the Blazers, who were coming off a 1-4 road trip. It was the 2,000th win in franchise history.Anthony Davis, who went into the game ranked second in the league with an average of 31.3 points a game, led the Pelicans with 31 points and 13 rebounds.The Blazers led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, but the Pelicans closed to 105-101 on Terrance Jones dunk and Jrue Holidays jumper. Portland responded with an 8-0 run, capped by Maurice Harkless reverse layup that made it 113-101, and New Orleans couldnt catch up.Obviously its really good to get a win, Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. Weve been struggling a little bit. I thought offensively we were pretty good for most of the night. Defensively, after about two minutes into the second quarter, we were good the last three quarters.The Pelicans have rebounded after an eight-game losing streak to start the season and were coming off a 117-96 victory at home over the Timberwolves. But the win was costly because New Orleans lost Dante Cunningham in the first half because of a non-displaced right proximal fibula fracture. He will miss four to six weeks.The four-game winning streak coincided with the return of Holiday, who missed the start of the season to care for his wife, Lauren Holiday, following the birth of their child and surgery to remove a tumor on the right side of his wifes brain. Lauren Holiday was a standout on the U.S. womens national soccer team for eight years until her retirement last year.Holiday finished with 16 points.Portland, coming off a 137-125 loss in Cleveland, led by eight points in the first quarter but New Orleans pulled in front by the second, taking a 38-32 lead on Holidays 3-pointer. Portland reclaimed a 47-43 lead on consecutive baskets from Jake Layman and McCollum.McCollum led all scorers in the first half with 19 points and the Blazers led 66-57.The Blazers went on an 8-0 run to open the third quarter, capped by McCollums 3-pointer that made it 74-57. Meyers Leonards dunk and Lillards long 3-pointer extended Portlands lead to 94-78.If youre going to be content to exchange baskets with this team youre probably going to struggle because theyre really good offensively, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.TIP-INSPelicans: New Orleans players and coaches had Thanksgiving dinner at the family home of Jones, who grew up in Portland. His family was terrific to us, Gentry said. ... The Pelicans have four players on the injured/inactive list: Tyreke Evans (right knee), Quincy Pondexter (left knee), Cunningham (right leg) and Cheick Diallo (D-League assignment).Trail Blazers: It was Stotts birthday. ... There was no update on the status of Al-Farouq Aminu, who has a strained left calf. ... Mason Plumlee finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds. ... Portland has won 11 straight over the Pelicans at the Moda Center.SECOND CHANCESThe Blazers had 23 second-chance points compared to two for New Orleans, something that was a concern to Gentry: You give up 12 offensive rebounds and they get 23 second-chance points, he said, that means theyre scoring every time they get a rebounds and that puts way too much pressure on your offense.MILESTONESBesides his birthday, it was also Stotts 191st win as coach of the Blazers. He ranks fourth in franchise history behind Jack Ramsay (435), Rick Adelman (291) and Nate McMillan (266).Portland is the 15th NBA team to hit 2,000 wins.UP NEXT:Pelicans: New Orleans visits the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.Trail Blazers: Portland hosts the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Wholesale Air Jordan 1 . Hey!" The lower tier of the School End of Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road was packed solid with a very festive-sounding Chelsea choral section in this particular part of South Africa Road London, W12. Discount Air Jordan 1 . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. http://www.cheapairjordan1forsale.com/ . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Authentic . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. Cheap Air Jordan 1 China .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. (STATS) -- No FCS team has wrapped up a spot in the playoffs. Sure, many traditional powers like North Dakota State, Sam Houston State and Eastern Washington are almost certainly headed there.Yet, none of them can become the first to punch their ticket to the postseason.The team with a chance to do it doesnt have a rich playoff history. It didnt get one first-place vote in its conferences preseason poll. It wasnt even part of the STATS FCS Top 25 until this week.That team is none other than Lehigh.The 24th-ranked Mountain Hawks have mostly flown under the radar despite putting up huge offensive numbers and winning seven consecutive games, a run which puts them in the company of the FCS big boys. The streak is tied for third-longest nationally with No. 16 North Dakota, behind only top-ranked Sam Houston and No. 5 The Citadel.A victory Saturday afternoon over Bucknell would give Lehigh (7-2, 4-0) the Patriot League title and an automatic playoff berth for the first time since 2011.The coaching staff, all of our players have done a great job working to get our program back to the caliber of where we wanna be and were on the doorstep of getting another ring here, coach Andy Coen said. Thats what we talk to our players about. If youre gonna work hard and do the right things, youre gonna have an opportunity to win a championship. That will be in our hands here on Saturday.The only other team with a chance to earn a playoff spot this weekend is The Citadel if it beats Samford, but that game begins 90 minutes after the Mountain Hawks kick off the final home game for their seniors.Many of them were around for past heartbreak against Bucknell (3-5, 2-1), so the Mountain Hawks wont take this game lightly even though the Bison appear to be far inferior. Their only league wins came against Holy Cross and Lafayette, which have a combined 5-13 record.Lehigh was 6-1 in 2013 before being blown out 48-10 by a Bucknell team which entered with a 2-4 record.We already had that conversation with some of our veteran guys, Coen said. They remember what happenned here three years ago.dddddddddddd Were not gonna make that mistake again.The Bison do boast the Patriots No. 1 defense, surrendering 372.6 yards per game. However, when they did have to face a high-powered offense last week against eighth-ranked Charleston Southern, they were torched for 548 yards and 49 points.Lehighs offense is just as potent if not moreso. The Mountain Hawks are averaging more than 500 yards and 40 points per game, and the scary part is that theyre finding better balance.It was the passing attack which fueled the win streak until the past two games, when sophomore Dominick Bragalone rushed for a combined 374 yards and five touchdowns on just 32 carries. Plus, dual-threat quarterback Nick Shafnisky was back last week after missing 2 1/2 of the previous four games with an ankle problem, and he rushed for a season-high 108 yards and three TDs while throwing for 238 and a score in a 58-37 whipping of Fordham.For the future, its gonna cause more problems for opposing defenses, senior fullback Kenny Crawford said of the ground game stepping up. Doms really been picking it up. The O-line has been playing tremendous. Our offense has become very dangerous and explosive.It doesnt seem like the Bison can keep up. Theyve topped 28 points and 400 total yards only once all season.However, if they somehow pull off a shocker at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pa., the Patriot title will be back up for grabs because Lehigh, Bucknell and either Colgate or Fordham -- which play each other -- will all have one league loss.Coen isnt letting his team think much about whats at stake Saturday.We talked about it briefly at our team meeting on Sunday, but then it was right back to work, he said. You wouldnt have known if it was Week 3 or Week 5, and certainly you wouldnt have known it was for a championship this week. Well start revving up the energy level and those types of things as we get closer to the game. ' ' '