ore the match just so I could see what it was like," he said. "It was the first time I had set foot on it and I d

HOUSTON -- LaMarcus Aldridge had just fouled out late in overtime after scoring a career-high and franchise playoff-record 46 points when he went to Portland teammate Damian Lillard with a simple message. Fake Astros Jerseys . "I said: Take it over," Aldridge said. Lillard did just that, finishing with 31 points and making the go-ahead free throws in overtime to lift the Trail Blazers to a 122-120 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night in a thrilling first-round series opener. Aldridge fouled out with about a minute left in overtime and Lillard, who was making his playoff debut, scored Portlands next five points and put the Trail Blazers on top by one point with a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left. "When youve got your best player playing like that, it fires you up," Lillard said. "When he went out of the game, I felt like our team ... had to have L.As back and come through for him." Joel Freeland made one of two free throws seconds after Lillards free throws to give the Blazers the win in their first trip to the post-season since 2011. Game 2 is Wednesday night in Houston. Aldridge, who was playing in his home state, also had 18 rebounds and two blocks. "Hes been a handful for us all year long," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We just didnt have any answers for him." James Harden and Dwight Howard each scored 27 points for Houston, and Howard grabbed 15 rebounds. Houston could have tied it, but Harden missed a short jump shot at the buzzer. He had missed a 3-pointer on Houstons second-to-last possession. "Ive got to play better," Harden said. "I didnt shoot the ball well ... Ive got to shake it off, but it will be better in Game 2." It was a physical game with the teams combining for 79 free throws. A three-point play by Lillard gave Portland a one-point lead with 44.5 seconds remaining. Francisco Garcia and Howard both made one of two free throws after that to give Houston a 120-119 lead 20 seconds later. Aldridge fouled out when he knocked Patrick Beverley to the floor setting a pick with 1:04 left in overtime. An emotional Aldridge continued to yell at the referees even after he went to the bench. "This is one of those games where I could show my team that I wanted to lead," Aldridge said. Beverley re-injured his right knee on the play where Aldridge fouled out and McHale said the Rockets would know more about the guards status after an MRI exam on Monday. Beverley missed eight games late in the season because of a torn meniscus in that knee. A dunk by Robin Lopez gave Portland a 116-114 lead before he fouled out seconds later. Howard made both free throws to tie it. Houston scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, with the first four from Howard, to make it 86-73. But Portland used a 10-0 run, with the help of the Hack-A-Howard defence of intentionally fouling the centre, to tie it at 98 with 2:46 remaining. Howard missed four straight free throws as Portland cut the deficit. A 3-pointer by Lillard had tied it at 104-all before Harden put Houston up with two free throws. Aldridges tip-in with 2.9 seconds left tied it at 106. Houston had a chance to win it in regulation, but Hardens shot was off. Howard and Jeremy Lin both made three-point plays to start overtime before Aldridge and Nicolas Batum hit consecutive 3s to tie it back up. Portland trailed by 11 when it used a 9-2 spurt to get within 73-69 with about two minutes left in the third quarter. Aldridge started the run with four points and Wesley Matthews finished it off by scoring the last five and capping it with dunk on a fast break. The Rockets had a four-point lead early in the third quarter when Harden heated up, scoring 10 points of a 12-3 run that extended Houstons advantage to 66-53 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the period. NOTES: Rockets Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston Texans star J.J. Watt watched the game from courtside seats. ... Houston general manager Daryl Morey asked local rappers Slim Thug and Bun B if they could make a remix of the 2005 hit "3 Kings" for the Rockets, and the pair came through in just one day. The two did a concert before the game across the street from the Toyota Center and dropped the track, which mentions several players by name, to wrap up the show as Morey bobbed his head and sang along. Jose Cruz Jr. Astros Jersey . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951. Houston Astros Store . -- Tony Finau won the Stonebrae Classic on Sunday for his first Web. https://www.cheapastros.com/183o-francis-martes-jersey-astros.html . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. LONDON -- Milos Raonic didnt mince words when describing his latest early exit from the All England club. Raonic was eliminated in the second round at Wimbledon on Thursday as he dropped a 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (4) decision to Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands. The loss left Montreals Eugenie Bouchard as the last remaining Canadian player in singles competition. She beat Ana Ivanovic on Wednesday to advance to the third round. Sijsling needed just over two hours to complete the straight-sets victory over Raonic. "At one stage I lost 12 points in a row -- pathetic," Raonic said. "When I did have chances he played well and I couldnt do what I wanted to do. "Wimbledons still my favourite tournament. Its me thats the problem, not the court." Raonic had opportunities to break Sijsling in the second set and get back into the match, but the hard-serving Dutch native had an answer every time. "At the end of the second set I had those three break point and he hit huge serves to save them, I didnt do enough with second serve and he put a lot of pressure on me, he said. "He played much better than I expected. I was trying to force myself in the second set. He found the answers when I did get something going." Raonic, the No. 17 seed from Thornhill, Ont., has now lost in the second round here in all three career appearances at the Grand Slam event. After winning just a single match over the short grass-court season, Raonic will look ahead to the summer hardcourt campaign most suited to his big-hitting game. He said hes looking forward to a short break before getting in his first long-term training with new coach Ivan Ljubicic. "It will be three weeks of hard work, Im looking forward to it, he said. "I know I can gain confidence from working on my game. I want to get things right." Earlier in the day, Ottawas Jesse Levine dropped a 6-2, 7-6 (7), 6-3 decision to eighth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina. Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. OOpen champion, overcame a three-point deficit in the second-set tiebreaker before taking the third set in 31 minutes. Luis Gonzalez Jersey. "In the first set I was grasping at everything, it took me a set to settle in," said Levine. "In the second I started to play well, I served for the set and saved a couple of set points. "But guys in the top 10 can come up with the big shots at the right moment and thats what he did. Im happy with how I played and the showing I had." The loss prevented Levine from equalling his best career Grand Slam result. He reached the third round at the All England Club in 2009. Levine, the world No. 112, said he had a private moment before playing on Centre Court at the All England Club for the first time. "I had a locker-room attendant take me out before the match just so I could see what it was like," he said. "It was the first time I had set foot on it and I didnt want to be a deer in the headlights during the match. "It was different when it was full of people and I was in a pressure situation, but overall it was amazing. Id watched Wimbledon at home and now it was me playing out there." Del Potro, who didnt play the French Open because of a respiratory illness, is the only man left in the Wimbledon draw other than Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray with a Grand Slam tournament title to his name. He also won the Olympic bronze medal at the All England Club last summer. In womens doubles, Bouchard and Croatias Petra Martic defeated Laura Arruabarrena and Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 6-2 6-3. Levine and Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver were to play Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Rajeev Ram of the U.S in mens doubles, but the match was postponed due to rain. Bouchards next singles match is scheduled for Friday against Spains Carla Suarez Navarro. Watch exclusive bonus online coverage throughout the competition on TSN.ca, including full coverage of select matches not being televised. ' ' '