CHICAGO -- The Portland Trail Blazers had dropped three stra

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CHICAGO -- The Portland Trail Blazers had dropped three straight games and appeared in danger of losing considerable playoff ground in the tough Western Conference before LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the lineup on Thursday. Giovani Lo Celso Jersey . Two games later, the Blazers seemed to have turned things following a pair of comfortable wins, the latest a 91-74 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. Is the turnaround as easily explained as the return of an All-Star performer? Well, yeah, the Blazers say. "Other than us getting our best player back, which changes everything, I think our urgency is going up," Damian Lillard said. "After the loss at Orlando (on Tuesday), we realized, All right, its time to turn it around now. We cant wait and we cant have all of these lackadaisical efforts. "Everybodys got on the same page and, during these last two games, weve really defended and done everything together." Mo Williams scored 18 points to lead five Blazers in double figures. Lillard had 16 points, Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez each had 13, Wesley Matthews had 11 and Thomas Robinson added 10. The Blazers got past the Bulls easily, despite a quiet night from Aldridge, who was playing just his second game after missing two weeks with a back injury. He had five points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes after having 25 points and 16 rebounds in Atlanta. "His presence on the court puts pressure on everyone," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "He does a lot more to help us win than just his field-goal percentage." No one in the Bulls locker room would disagree. "He is a load down there; a great player," Joakim Noah said. "You can tell when he is on the court, whether he scores or not. He changes their team. He is one of the best in the game." Carlos Boozer had 16 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes to lead Chicago. D.J. Augustin had 15, Taj Gibson 13 and Noah added 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulls, who had a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win on their own, lost both games of the season series and have dropped 11 of 13 overall against Portland, including five of seven at the United Center. With the New York Knicks loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Bulls still managed to wrap up a playoff spot. Before Friday, the Bulls had been 10-3 in their last 13 home games, averaging 96.8 points on 44.5 per cent shooting during that span. But it was apparent early that they wouldnt approach either of those marks in this one. "We were flat," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They had something to do with that." Getting off to fast starts was one reason behind the Bulls recent home success, but they were cold at the start, going 8-of-23 (34.8 per cent) from the field in scoring 16 points in the first quarter. Minus Boozers 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting, the rest of the team managed just six points on 3-of-13 shooting. The Blazers had a 47-36 halftime lead and then took charge at the start of the third quarter, beginning the second half with a dunk by Lopez and a 3-pointer by Batum to make it 52-36. In all, Portland stretched the run to 15-2 for a 62-38 lead. The Bulls ended the third quarter on a mini-spurt -- including a three-point play on a dunk and foul by Gibson -- to trim the deficit to 73-58 entering the fourth quarter. The Bulls got the ball first in the final quarter and had a couple of inside looks on that initial possession, but came up empty. Lillard then essentially dashed any hopes of a huge rally with a 3-pointer at the other end to make it 76-58. The Bulls failed to score 80 points for the 11th time this season and are 0-11 in those games. "Our defence tonight was just an example of everybody being there for each other," Lopez said. "When you know there is someone behind you, it gives you the confidence to be aggressive." NOTES: Bulls G Derrick Rose, out for the season with a torn right meniscus, suffered the injury in the first game against the Blazers on Nov. 22 and had surgery three days later. ... Thibodeau was asked if he was taking part in the Bulls NCAA pool. "I didnt get a chance to participate," the coach said. "I was looking at that Quicken Loans one. I think I would have won that." That was the contest in which Warren Buffett offered $1 billion to anyone who could fill out a perfect bracket. No one made it through the third day without at least one game wrong. ... Portland entered with a 20-18 road record but was 2-7 in last nine. Thomas Meunier Jersey . -- The Green Bay Packers have signed quarterback Graham Harrell to the active roster from the practice squad and placed tight end Andrew Quarless on injured reserve. Kylian Mbappe Jersey . Mitchell first announced on Twitter that he has signed with the Steelers and his agent Brian Hamilton confirmed the signing to The Associated Press. Financial terms were not released. The Steelers have not announced the addition of Mitchell. http://www.psgsoccershop.com/c-4-thiago-silva-paris-saint-germain-fc-jersey.aspx .Brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman midway through the fourth quarter, and New England beat the San Diego Chargers 23-14 for its eighth win in nine games.MONTREAL - Adonis Stevenson has dodged more verbal blows than punches this year and is glad to be getting back in the ring to do some real boxing.The 37-year-old from Montreal will defend his World Boxing Council light heavyweight title Dec. 19 at the Pepsi Colisee in Quebec City against little-known Russian Dmitry Sukhotsky, an opponent who has been panned as yet another easy mark.Stevenson, a power-punching lefthander, had hoped to be in against ring legend Bernard Hopkins, and there was pressure to face heavy hitter Sergey Kovalev, but neither of those bouts came to be.That sparked accusations that Stevenson (24-1) has been ducking the best in the division to milk his title for paydays against second-tier opponents.Stevenson bristled at that suggestion at a news conference on Wednesday.My manager, Al Haymon, negotiates. Im a boxer, he said. If it doesnt happen, Its not my fault and its not Al Haymons fault. Its just negotiations.Its not like Im ducking the best boxers. Its not about that. For sure I wanted to fight Hopkins. When I first won the title I called out Hopkins. Sure Im disappointed, but the negotiations didnt happen with him. Its not that Im afraid of him or anyone.Promoter Yvon Michel said 33-year-old Sukhotsky (22-2) was the best opponent available for the bout, the main event on a card to be aired on the U.S. specialty channel Showtime.Stevenson dropped a planned showdown with Kovalev by leaving the HBO network to join Showtime, hoping for a shot at Hopkins. But the 49-year-old Hopkins left the Canadian out to dry by jumping to HBO to face Kovalev. The unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO titles takes place Saturday in Atlantic City.Michel said Stevenson should face a top opponent in the spring in mandatory challenger Jean Pascal. Stevenson and Pascal are both Montreal boxers of Haitian descent, but there is no love lost between them.Pascal, the former WBC champ who lost the title to Hopkins, has been calling Stevenson out for weeks on social media, suggesting the champion is afraid to face any truly dangerous opponents.If hes number one, Ill fight him, said Stevenson. I dont have a problem.Hes just using my name to build up his name. He says Im scared, Im this, Im that. Thats just him talking. Its not going to work.Trainer Sugar Hill said Stevenson has to focus on the fight hes got rather than the ones that might have been.Sukhotsky is not well known, but he has a strong record and has faced some decent opponents. He lost a bid for the WBO title by decision in 2009 to Juergen Braemer in Germany and dropped a decision in 2012 to Cornelius White in Las Vegas.He has never been knocked out or even knocked down. Stevenson had to pick himself up off the canvas in an unexpectedly difficult win by decision in hhis last outing in May against Andrzej Fonfara. Marco Verratti Paris Saint-Germain Jersey. Stevenson joked that while he doesnt know Sukhotsky, he wont Google him. That referred to the bout in which Stevenson won the title in 2013 against Chad Dawson, whose pre-fight trash talk including saying Who is this guy? I had to Google him. Stevenson knocked Dawson out cold in only 76 seconds.I dont know him, but Ive seen some tapes, said Hill. Those are the guys who are most dangerous, the people you dont think about.Its a dangerous fight. Anyone in these big weight classes is a danger because they have the weight to go with the punches. So were not looking past this fight. But truthfully, Adonis doesnt care who hes fighting.Hill is excited to start training next week because they will be moving into a new Kronk Gym in Detroit. The legendary gym that produced Thomas Hearns and other greats has been in a few locations since the original venue was closed by the city.The last location shut its doors when its founder, training great Emanuel Steward, died of an intestinal ailment in 2012, so they trained wherever they could find space.I have to finish putting the ring up, said Hill, Stewards nephew. I have to put Emanuels name on it and things like that.Adonis was at the last Kronk because Emanuel worked with him the last two fights before he passed. This is a more permanent gym, but it will be added delight for Adonis because hes going to be the first one, and the first champion, in that gym. He gets to break the new gym in.The co-feature has former super-middleweight contender Andre Dirrell against an as-yet undetermined opponent. The American Dirrell, (23-1), is on a comeback from a bout with Arthur Abraham in 2010 that left him with a brain injury.Michel said public demand moved Showtime to include Artur Beterbiev (6-0), an impressive Russian light heavyweight fighting out of Montreal. He will face American Jeff Page Jr. (15-0).Beterbiev has needed only 13 rounds to dispatch six opponents, including former world champion Tavoris Cloud, who went down in the second at the Bell Centre in September.But the best bout of the night should be a welterweight rematch between Romanian-born Ionut (Jojo) Dan (33-2) of Montreal and Kevin Bizier (22-1) of Quebec City. The winner gets the No. 1 ranking in the IBF and becomes mandatory challenger to champion Kell Brook of England.The southpaw Dan went into Biziers hometown in November and won a split decision in an action-packed bout. Now he has to do it again, with more at stake.I think I had better experience than him and maybe I wanted it more, Dan said of their last encounter. I know hes got more experience from the last fight and he knows me better, but I know him better too.For sure, itll be an exciting fight. ' ' '