SALT LAKE CITY -- Portlands Damian Lillard just needed to make one shot to get going. Mark Wohlers Jersey Braves . Once he saw that go down, he went on a fourth-quarter scoring flurry. "That first 3 felt real good," Lillard said. "Once that went down, I felt if I got another clean look, Im gonna raise up again. And then it happened a couple more times." Lillard scored 14 of his 16 points in a key run to rally the Portland Trail Blazers past the Jazz 111-99 on Friday night. "On the offensive end, I need to tell my teammates whats coming. As a point guard, youre the head of the team," Lillard said. But even the second-year guard didnt know when his offence would start flowing. When it finally did, the Jazz had no answer. Wesley Matthews had 21 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 14 rebounds -- his 40th double-double -- and Nicolas Batum added 15 points to keep Portland in the race to host a first-round playoff series. Derrick Favors scored 21 points and Enes Kanter had 15 points and 13 rebounds, but the Jazz have lost eight of nine. Early in the fourth quarter, the Jazz led by two and Lillard hadnt converted a single field goal. Over the next 3:24, Lillard made four 3-pointers and a pair of free throws. "We closed out with our hands down," Utah coach Ty Corbin said. "But give them credit, they made plays down the stretch." After that, the Blazers led by double-digits for the first time at 96-85 with 6:28 remaining and soon earned their seventh victory in their past eight games. "He hit those 3s and he just kind of felt it. Those 3s really turned the momentum of the game," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "Damian just took it on himself to make something happen." Marvin Williams was out with a knee bruise and the Jazz started the five players that figure to be the core as they rebuild. The quintet -- Gordon Hayward, Favours, Kanter, Trey Burke and Alec Burks -- are all 23 years or younger and have gained experience during this often-frustrating season for a franchise that once made the playoffs 20 years in a row. Burks has primarily filled the sixth-man role while veteran Richard Jefferson had been the only Utah player to start (and play) every game this season. The youthful lineup paid dividends early, but the Jazz struggled in the critical moments against a better team as they have all season. Burks had 16, Burke had 14 points and 11 assists and Hayward added 14, but no one could stop Lillard when he was determined to score in the final period. The Blazers drew within a half game of Houston for the fourth slot in the Western Conference as Minnesota edged the Rockets 112-110 on Friday. "You always want home court. If we can get it, we definitely want it. We saw Houston lost so that helps our chances," Aldridge said. Portland won its final road game of the season and has two remaining at home. The Blazers swept the Jazz for the first time in franchise history. The Blazers defence had improved over the past few months but the Jazz got the shots they wanted, for the most part, until Portland clamped down in the fourth and scored 35 points on the other end. "We just knew we had to take care of business. We got locked in and played better defence. It was just an understanding," Aldridge said. The Blazers went 7 for 8 from beyond the arc in the final period and though they were outrebounded by a 47-41 margin, Portland grabbed four offensive rebounds to get second shots down the stretch. "Were coming together at the right time. Defensively weve been locked in and our offence is starting to come around again. Were looking forward to the playoffs," Stotts said. The Jazz led most of the first half before Matthews scored 10 points in the final 3:09 of the second period to lift the Blazers to a 53-51 advantage at the break. Notes: Rudy Gobert was accidentally backhanded in the face by Burks as they pursued a rebound in the second quarter. ... Lillard, who was already frustrated and had not scored at that point, got whacked in the chin in the fourth quarter by Haywards head. ... Utah is 1-30 against Western Conference opponents this season when scoring fewer than 100 points. ... In his eighth start of the season, Burks played a career-high 42 minutes. Bill Madlock Jersey Cubs . Still, Inter moved one point ahead of Parma in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League spot. Udinese remained 14th, 11 points above the relegation zone. Inter was beaten 2-1 by Atalanta at home on Sunday and has won only seven of 16 matches at the San Siro this season, as the squad seems to still be searching for its identity under new owner Erick Thohir and first-year manager Walter Mazzarri. Discount Jerseys For Sale . -- Alex Anthopoulos spoke volumes with what he didnt say on right-hander Ervin Santana. https://www.discountjerseysonline.com/jim-bouton-jersey-braves-57 . With the final four being arguably the four best – and most complete – teams from the regular season, picking a winner is not as easy as it sounds.CORTINA DAMPEZZO, Italy -- Defending overall World Cup champion Tina Maze finally got her first victory of the season, winning the prestigious Cortina downhill Saturday to signal a return to form just in time for the Sochi Olympics. The Slovenian clocked 1 minute, 37.79 seconds down the Olympia delle Tofane course, which was bathed in sunshine, then performed her trademark handstand celebration during the podium proceedings. "There were a lot of emotions," Maze said. "It was a really long time. ... When I find the right feeling like I found it today I can ski fast." Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden of Switzerland finished second, 0.27 seconds behind, and Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein was third, 0.38 back. Maze had a record-breaking season a year ago with 11 wins. This season, she had only three podium results -- until this race. "When you win a lot you dont learn much," Maze said. "With my ups and downs its a lot of learning." Two weeks ago, Maze made a staff change in her personal team, which is run by her boyfriend and coach Andrea Massi. They replaced Walter Ronconi with former Switzerland coach Mauro Pini. The switch seems to have paid off and the timing couldnt have been better -- in the final downhill before the Sochi Games, where the womens downhill is scheduled for Feb. 12. Pini urged Maze to put more emotion into her skiing. "That was really good because Andrea was always saying to ski without feelings," Maze said. "But sometimes thats not possible. "(Pini) brought a lot of peace to our team because compared to Andrea and I hes one step in front of us," Maze added. "And thats what we were expecting from someone in that position. He came really motivated and that makes us easygoing and we have more energy for ourselves." Pini was formerly Lara Guts personal coach and he led the Swiss mens squad at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, when Didier Defago won gold in downhill. He theen coached the Swiss womens team and more recently was a TV commentator. Ralph Garr Jersey Braves. "I could sense a good feeling from the first words we shared with each other," Pini said. "Tina never forgot how to ski. She was always capable, she just needed to focus her energy better and get rid of those negative vibes." "At this level a couple different words here or there can create all the difference," Pini added. "Its not like we had to start over from scratch." With the skies perfectly clear to show off the jagged peaks that provide some of the most spectacular scenery in the Dolomite Range, Maria Hoefl-Riesch finished fourth to follow up her victory in Fridays downhill. The German said she felt some pain in her left knee after landing a jump awkwardly a day earlier. Still, Hoefl-Riesch maintained her lead in the overall and downhill standings. In another strong showing from the U.S. Ski Team without injured Lindsey Vonn, Stacey Cook matched her fifth-place finish from Friday and teammate Julia Mancuso placed seventh to match her best result of the season from a super-G two days earlier. "It always stings when you are so close to the podium, but I know this is a positive move heading toward Sochi," Cook said. This was the third of four races in four days. Elisabeth Goergl won a super-G on Thursday and another super-G is scheduled for Sunday. Weirather finished fourth and second in the opening two races this week. "Its hard to have four good races in a row but I will try," she said. Two of the races were originally scheduled for last weekend in Cortina but were wiped out by heavy snowfall. The other two were moved from Garmisch-Partenkirchen due to a lack of snow in the German resort. The womens circuit then moves to Kranjska Gora for a giant slalom and slalom next weekend -- the final races before Sochi and Mazes home event. "Im really excited to ski that slope," Maze said ' ' '