MILWAUKEE -- The Portland Trail Blazers kept up their strong start and extended the Milwaukee Bucks early-season woes. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points, Damian Lillard added 19 and the Trail Blazers got their eighth straight win, beat the Bucks 91-82 Wednesday night. Portland held the lead throughout the second half but had difficulty pulling away until late in the fourth quarter. "We got a win. Thats all Im worried about," said Portland guard Wesley Matthews, who had 15 points, all in the first half to help the Blazers complete a sweep of a four-game Eastern Conference road trip. "To finish a road trip undefeated and to do it with the defence and energy that we had in the second half is great," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. Luke Ridnour scored 13 points to lead the Bucks, who lost their sixth in row and eight of 10 on the season. They last won on Nov. 6 against Cleveland. Portlands last loss came a night earlier against Houston. "Our margin of error is very small," Bucks coach Larry Drew said. "Were trying to dig ourselves out of a hole and the only way to do that is to play every possession like its going to be the last possession. Portland is hot, needless to say, but we were right there but just couldnt get over the hump." Milwaukee pulled within six points late in the fourth on Caron Butlers 3-pointer. However, Lillard had a breakaway dunk and a 3 of his own to put Portland up 89-78 -- matching the Blazers largest lead of the game. The Bucks got no closer than seven again. "We are in positions to win games but in the fourth quarter we are just making mistakes," Milwaukees Zaza Pachulia said. "We have to keep getting better individually and as a team because nobody is happy in this locker room." Portland shot just 41 per cent for the game while winning for the 10th time in 12 games this season. "Our mentality is right. Were thinking greedy, were thinking win like were supposed to," Matthews said. Bucks guard O.J. Mayo, who had nine points, added to the Bucks injury woes when he sprained his left ankle. Portland opened the third quarter on a 8-0 run to take a 61-51 lead. The Blazers took an 11-point lead late in the quarter when Nicolas Batum hit a 3 as he fell to the court. The Bucks responded as Ersan Ilyasova scored his first points of the contest when he made a 3, then followed it with a leaner in the lane to cut the deficit to 70-64 at the end of the quarter. Portland held a 53-51 lead at the half. The second quarter ended with an exchange of traditional three-point plays. Lillard drew a foul after making a reverse layup on a strong drive to the basket. Ridnour then made an acrobatic floater along the baseline while being fouled as the clock wound down. Ridnour, who has been battling a back injury, had 11 first-half points for the Bucks. Milwaukee shot 50 per cent over the first two quarters, compared to nearly 49 per cent for the Blazers. Milwaukee finished the game at 44 per cent, while Portland connected on just 41 per cent of its shots. Stotts said he was disappointed with his teams first-half defence. "In the first half, there were three or four times where we had a chance to really nail down a defensive possession and it seemed like (Milwaukee) came up with the ball and finished the play." Matthews, returning to the arena where he starred in college for Marquette, scored 13 points in the first quarter, including a trio of 3-point field goals, but the Bucks held a 24-23 lead. NOTES: Ilyasova and Butler returned to the Bucks lineup after missing time because of injuries. Ilyasova saw his first action since Nov. 2. Brandon Knight remained out with a sore hamstring. Ten players saw action in the opening period for the Bucks, who dressed only eight players for a Nov. 13 game against Orlando. ... Portland has won eight in a row in the same season for the first time since a 13-game streak in December 2007. 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After 123 starts during seven seasons in Major League Baseball, the 33-year-old right-hander was turned into a reliever by the New York Mets when they brought him up from the minor leagues on April 16. Eight days later, manager Terry Collins took a chance -- a roll of the Dice-K? -- and Matsuzaka responded with a perfect ninth inning Thursday to cap a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. He hadnt saved a game since May 2000, his second season with the Seibu Lions of Japans Pacific League, when he struck out four during the final three innings of a 9-0 win at the Chiba Lotte Marines. "Its definitely different," he said through a translator, "but I think Im starting to get used to going from the bullpen." Chris Young homered to start New Yorks comeback from a 1-0, fifth-inning deficit, slumping Curtis Granderson singled in a run as a pinch hitter and Daniel Murphy drove in two runs. Bartolo Colon (2-3) allowed four hits in seven innings, struck out eight and walked none, sending Lance Lynn to his first career loss in April. Matsuzaka, who completed a four-pitcher, four-hitter, was a rookie of the year in Japan in 1999, MVP as his national team won the first World Baseball Classic in 2006 and was given a $52 million, six-year contract by the Boston Red Sox after they paid Seibu $51,111,111.11 for his rights. Matsuzaka went 15-12 in his first season with the Red Sox and 18-3 in his second, but he injured a hip during the 2009 WBC and was never the same, hurting his arm and eventually needing elbow ligament-replacement surgery. He was just 50-37 for the Red Sox and signed a minor league contract in February 2013 with Cleveland, which released him in August. Then he joined the Mets, started seven games and signed a minor league deal with New York, which initially sent him to Triple-A Las Vegas this spring. But when Bobby Parnells season ended with a torn elbow ligament on opening day, the Mets had to scramble to restock their bullpen. Jose Valverde struggled as the closer and Kyle Farnsworth took over the role. Manager Terry Collins wanted to give the 38-year-old Farnsworth a rest after three appearances in four days. "I just said this is a good opportunity to see how Dice handles it," Collins explained, "and he did well." In a 15-pitch outing, Matsuzaka retired Allen Craig on a lineout to right after falling behind 3-1, struck out Daniel Descalso in an eight-pitch at-bat and got Peter Bourjos on a game-ending foulout to the catcher. "t;Before, I never really thought I would be able to pitch out of the bullpen because I just take so long to prepare," Matsuzaka said.dddddddddddd "I think I just have to keep pitching well to gain full confidence from the team, but I think having had a few opportunities in tight situations definitely is encouraging." Collins said Farnsworth, who has two saves, remains his first-choice closer but Matsuzuka may receive more ninth-inning opportunities. His preparation, which includes lengthy stretching, will have to change. "If hes going to pitch the back end of the game, be it the eighth, the ninth, somewhere in there," the manager said, "I dont want him to wear himself out in the fifth inning, at 8:15. I want him to kind of save something." Dice-K said its as much mental as physical. "Just to comfort myself, I think I throw more than I probably have to," he said. New York also gave 40-year-old right fielder Bobby Abreu hit first big league start since July 25, 2012. Abreu went 1 for 3 with an opposite-field double to left in the fifth -- his first hit with the Mets. "Its been a long time," he said. "It was kind of exciting. At first I had to calm down my emotions and just go out there and play the game." New York took three of four from the defending NL champions and has won four of five overall. St. Louis lost for the sixth time in nine games and has gone 291 at-bats without a home run since Allen Craig connected at Milwaukee off Wily Peralta on April 16. Lynn (4-1) had been 12-0 through April in his big league career, including one March victory. But given a fifth-inning lead, he allowed the Mets to tie the score in the bottom half and go ahead 2-1 on Murphys RBI double in the sixth, a ball that dropped just in front of diving centerfielder Jon Jay. Lynn was chased in a two-run seventh after Eric Young Jr. bunted and reached on a two-base error when the pitcher threw off first baseman Matt Adams glove and into right field. Granderson had been 2 for 20 against left-handers this year before he greeted Kevin Siegrist with an RBI single, and Murphy singled in the final run. "Weve been home six days in the past 2 1/2 months," Lynn said. "I think a lot of people are looking forward to getting home and sleeping in their own beds." NOTES: With hitters on both teams complaining about plate umpire Alan Porters wide strike zone on a blustery afternoon, New York batters struck out 10 times, raising their total to 213 and passing Miami (203) for the major league lead. ... Zack Wheeler (1-2) starts Fridays series opener at home against Miamis Henderson Alvarez (1-2). Cheap Chargers Jerseys Cheap Rams Jersey Cheap Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Vikings Jerseys Cheap Patriots Jersey Cheap Saints Jerseys Cheap New York Giants Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Raiders Jerseys Cheap Eagles Jerseys Cheap Steelers Jerseys Cheap 49ers Jerseys Cheap Seahawks Jerseys Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Titans Jerseys Cheap Redskins Jerseys ' ' '