PORTLAND, Ore. -- A healthy LaMarcus Aldridge makes a world of difference for the Portland Trail Blazers. Aldridge scored 28 points in his third game back from injury and the Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to three games with a 105-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night. "Whether hes scoring or not, just getting him touches has a big effect on the game, has a big effect on how the defence reads our offence," Blazers centre Robin Lopez said of Aldridge. Reserve Mo Williams added 17 points and Wesley Mathews had 15 for the Blazers, who avoided a three-game sweep in the season series. "LA coming back has brought us back to what we do and how we do it," Williams said. "With LA, we know what we need to do and where we need to go, where we get our shots, and when to be aggressive." Portland opened a two-game lead over Golden State for the fifth place in the Western Conference playoff race and pulled within 2 1/2 games of No. 4 Houston with seven games remaining. Zach Randolph scored 21 points and Marc Gasol had 20 for the Grizzlies, who lost back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 3-5 and dropped a half-game behind idle Dallas for the Wests eighth and final playoff berth. The Blazers shot 52.0 per cent (39 of 75) and had five players score in double figures. Aldridge, who missed seven games with a back contusion, was the catalyst on offence, making 10 of 20 shots from the field and going 8 for 8 at the free-throw line. The Grizzlies were determined to play Aldridge straight up defensively and not double, as they had in their two wins over Portland. Memphis looked mostly to Randolph, their 6-foot-9, 260-pound power forward, to go toe-to-toe with the Blazers All-Star. "LaMarcus is their horse," Randolph said. "Hes what makes them go, so anytime youve got your best player out there, it makes a difference." Portland dominated the second quarter, making 10 of 16 shots (62.5 per cent) and getting eight points from both Aldridge and Williams to extend a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter to a 57-45 halftime advantage. "We knew exactly what they were going to run," Grizzlies guard Tony Allen said. "It was a great game plan defensively, and they executed." Mathews and Aldridge combined for 13 points during a first quarter that had eight lead changes and six ties before Will Barton followed his own miss to score and give the Blazers a 25-23 lead. The Grizzlies, making their third stop on a five-game swing, made 3 of 14 shots in the first six minutes of the second quarter and were outscored 16-6 as the Blazers extended the lead to 41-29 on two free throws by Aldridge with 5:59 left in the half. "We matched Memphis physicality," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Our shooting lineup gave us some separation in the first half. We got a lot of good effort off the bench, too." Mike Conleys 3-pointer pulled the Grizzlies within 43-34, but the Blazers reeled off six quick points to open their largest lead of the second quarter, going up 49-34 when Damian Lillard set up Thomas Robinson for a transition layup with 3:58 to play in the half. Lillard, held scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting in the first half, hit his first four shots of the second half, including a 3-pointer that pushed Portlands lead to 78-60. Trailing 91-70 early in the fourth, the Grizzlies mounted one final push and cut the Blazers lead to 103-96 on James Johnsons 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:12 to play. Gasols basket pulled Memphis within 103-98 before Lillard made two free throws with 6 seconds left to close out the scoring. "Portland came out more aggressive and played with more energy," Grizzlies coach David Joerger said. "They have a ton of playmakers and they made us chase them all around the floor." NOTES: The Grizzlies are 16-1 record in road games in which they hold teams to fewer than 90 points and are now 4-15 record when allowing more than 90 points. . Portlands 105 points were the most against Memphis during all of March. The Grizzlies entered Sundays game leading the West in points allowed at 94.0 points per game. . Lopez became the fourth Blazer to record 300 offensive rebounds in a season, joining Kermit Washington, Buck Williams and Chris Dudley. . After making all five of his free throws, Matthews has made 36 consecutive foul shots dating to March 14 at New Orleans. William Perry Bears Jersey . Kalish got his first hit since Sept. 11, 2012, when he rapped an RBI triple in the first inning Sunday in the Chicago Cubs 8-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Dick Butkus Jersey . Thats when the eight-time champion revealed that a painful back is slowing his serves -- and, all in all, giving him more trouble than his opponents so far. https://www.bearssportsgoods.com/Womens-...nverted-Jersey/. Prado stuck his glove down with Colorados Charlie Blackmon sliding into the bag, and quickly jumped back in pain after applying the tag. Prado held his left wrist as trainers came out of the Diamondbacks dugout to check him. Anthony Miller Jersey . Today, their baseball playing sons were reportedly traded for each other. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Cubs dealt minor league outfield Trevor Gretzky to the Angels for catcher Matt Scioscia. Walter Payton Youth Jersey .C. -- The Edmonton Oilers used a late-power-play goal to get a hard-fought road victory.MILWAUKEE -- Chris Bosh scored 14 points, LeBron James had 13, and the short-handed Miami Heat wrapped up their three-game trip through the Midwest with an 88-67 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. James Jones added 10 for Miami in place of star guard Dwyane Wade, sidelined a second straight game with a sore hamstring. The Heat also played without Ray Allen and Mario Chalmers. It didnt matter against the team with the NBAs worst record. Milwaukee tried to match Miamis energy, but couldnt keep with the more talented opponent -- even one without two All-Stars. Defence keyed Miamis win. The Heat led 46-29 at halftime and held the Bucks to a season low for points in a half and in a game. John Henson had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee. On paper, this was a mismatch from the opening tip -- the two-time defending NBA champions against a young, undermanned squad that fell to 14-59 on the season. But the Heat at times played a bit disheveled, perhaps a little worn from their third straight road game and fourth in five contests. James extended his consecutive-game streak of double-digit scoring to 564, the fourth-longest run in NBA history. But James only got to 10 with about 5:16 left in the third quarter on a 3. Fresh off recording a triple-double in a 110-78 blowout win Friday night in Detroit, James had nearly as many turnovers (three) as points (four) in the first half. His two early buckets, though, came off open dunks that thrilled the crowd, a few of whom were wearing James jerseys. Miami opened the game 3-of-14 from the field. The shooting improved, and the Heat clamped down on the other end and held the Bucks to 12-of-39 shoooting (30 per cent) in the first half, and 34 per cent for the game.dddddddddddd The Heat held an opponent under 40 per cent shooting for the fourth straight game, and ended their road trip with two straight wins after losing Wednesday in Indiana. Just like Friday night, James spent the fourth quarter on the bench with a victory well in hand. The only drama in the second half when James would get to double digits in scoring. A dunk with 6 minutes left in the third gave Milwaukee a 54-38 lead. Khris Middleton missed a jumper, and James corralled the rebound before spotting up at the wing for his 3 to get to double figures. Zaza Pachulia and Udonis Haslem exchanged buckets before Pachulia missed a jumper with about 4 minutes left. James got the rebound and then threw a long outlet pass to streaking Haslem down court for a layup. James clapped, slapped his right hand on his thigh and waited down court on defence. His night was just about over. Ramon Sessions had a game-high 15 points for Milwaukee, while Toney Douglas and Rashard Lewis each added 13 for the Heat. Bothered by a sore hamstring, Wade watched in a grey suit and white sneakers in returning to the arena in which he played college ball at Marquette. NOTES: Allen, sidelined with a stomach virus, played in Milwaukee from 1996 through part of the 2002-03 season. He holds the franchise record for most 3-point field goals in a game at home with 10. ... Chalmers missed the game with a bruised quad, and Greg Oden was also sidelined by back spasms.... The Bucks have yet to win consecutive games all season. They were coming off a 108-105 win Thursday over the Lakers. ' ' '