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HOUSTON -- LaMarcus Aldridges son JJ, who turned 5 on Wednesday, texted him after the Portland Trail Blazers playoff win and told him he looked like Spider-Man on one of his dunks. To the Houston Rockets the Portland star probably looked like a superhero on more than just that one play. Aldridge continued his dominance against the Rockets, scoring 43 points to lift the Trail Blazers to a 112-105 victory and a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. Aldridge has made the most of the return to his home state and put the Trail Blazers in control heading home for Game 3 in Portland on Friday. The former University of Texas star who grew up in Dallas laughed heartily and said maybe when asked if hed rather stay in the Lone Star state after the way hes played in the first two games. "(Leading) 2-0 going home feels great, but its not over," he said. "Were going to stay hungry, stay humble and go home and try to duplicate the same (success)." Aldridge became the first player with consecutive games of 43 points games in the playoffs since Tracy McGrady did it in April 2003 after scoring a career-high and franchise playoff-record 46 in an overtime win in Game 1. Hes also the first player Trail Blazers history to have two 40-point games in the post-season and his 89 points in a teams first two playoff games trail only Michael Jordan (1986, 1988) and Jerry West (1965) in the last 50 years. Hes helped the Trail Blazers win two road games to start a playoff series for just the second time in franchise history and the first since they took the first two against the Lakers in the 1977 Western Conference Finals. Damian Lillard made six free throws down the stretch to help out in the win. But the guard gave all the credit for the win to Aldridge. "What can they do to stop him? He was great once again, just like Game 1," Lillard said. "When a lot of guys couldnt get going and couldnt hit shots, he just carried us. He played like an MVP again." The Rockets spent the last two days of practice focused on how to slow Aldridge down, but nothing they did seemed to faze the 6-foot-11 player. "We tried changing it up tonight," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "Tonight, he was picking and popping and moving and we were having trouble running people at him. We were trying to get the ball out of his hands as much as we could." Aldridge credited coach Terry Stotts for moving him around early in the game to help evade Houstons double-teams. "I made tough shots," Aldridge said. "I dont think too much was easy tonight. I just got in that rhythm and started making shots." James Harden knocked down a 3-pointer with about 30 seconds left to get the Rockets within 3. Lillard made two free throws before Harden fouled out about 10 seconds later. Mo Williams and Lillard both made a pair of free throws after that to secure the win. Lillard finished with 18 points. Dwight Howard was unstoppable early and scored 25 points in the first half, but managed just seven in the second half. After missing 20 shots in Game 1, Harden promised a better performance in this game. But it was much of the same as he was 6 of 19 and finished with 18 points. "We dont have our same flow, our same mojo that we had throughout the season," Harden said. "We dont have our same swag ... weve got to get that back." The Rockets trailed by nine points before a 5-0 run cut the lead to 102-98 with about a minute left. Both teams made a pair of free throws after that before Lillard found Wesley Matthews wide open for a reverse layup to make it 106-100 with 33 seconds left. A one-handed dunk by Aldridge over Omer Asik gave Portland a 96-87 lead with about five minutes left. With Aldridge on the bench to start the fourth, Houston scored the first four points of the period to cut the lead to two points, but Williams and Dorell Wright made consecutive 3s to make it 89-81 midway through the quarter. Aldridge made 10 of Portlands first 14 points of the second half to help the Trail Blazers build a 67-58 lead with about eight minutes left in the quarter. Houston scored the next nine points, with the last five from Chandler Parsons, to tie it at 67 a couple of minutes later. Portland an 83-77 led entering the fourth quarter. The Trail Blazers scored seven straight points to take a 53-51 lead late in the second quarter, but Beverleys basket at the buzzer tied it at halftime. Howard scored Houstons first 13 points and had 19 -- with five dunks -- by the end of the first quarter to help the Rockets to a 31-23 lead. NOTES: Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, who has been working with Howard this week, watched the game from a courtside seat. ... Wright finished with 15 points. ... Howards 19 points in the first quarter were a franchise-high for a quarter in the playoffs, surpassing the 18 Olajuwon scored against Utah on May 5, 1995. Nike Shoes Wholesale China .com) - Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 51 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the struggling Bucks 114-101 on Tuesday. Discount Nike Shoes Online . Hawkins severely sprained his left ankle while making a diving catch during training camp and went on injured reserve with a designation he could return midway through the season. He was back at practice Wednesday. http://www.discountshoesnike.com/ .C. -- After turning Tobacco Road into "Raleigh Top," Tennessee is headed to the round of 16. Cheap Nike Shoes Wholesale China . The team let Keaton Ellerby, James Wright and Matt Halischuk become unrestricted free agents after declining to make them qualifying offers. Ellerby, 25, appeared in 51 games for the Jets last season and had two goals and four assists. Nike Shoes Clearance Sale . Lynchs attorney, Ivan Golde, told The Associated Press on Thursday of the plea deal that was reached with the Alameda County District Attorney Office. The plea will be formally entered in court in Oakland, Calif.Blacksburg, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - Pat Connaughton made five of Notre Dames 12 3-pointers and the eighth-ranked Fighting Irish cruised to an 85-60 road victory over Virginia Tech on Thursday. Connaughton finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the wire-to-wire win for the Irish (18-2, 6-1 ACC), whose only loss in the last 15 games came against No. 2 Virginia. Jerian Grant totaled 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Zach Auguste added 16 points and eight boards, and Demetrius Jackson scored 12 in the rout. The Hokies (8-10, 0-5) have been trending the opposite way and dropped their sixth straight overall, though the last three came against ranked opponents. Ahmed Hills 13 points paced Virginia Tech in the absence of leading scorer Justin Bibbs, who sat out a second straight game due to a concussion. Auguste was not in the starting lineup the previous two games due to an academic issue that has presumably been resolved. The 6-foot-10 forward wasted little time getting involved in his return with six points in the first four mminutes, including a dunk that provided Notre Dame with a 12-4 lead.dddddddddddd The margin grew to a dozen, 27-15, following a Grant 3-pointer, and it was a 38-28 difference at halftime. Jackson drained a pair from the long range in the first three minutes of the second half to keep the Irish in front by double digits, and Grant fueled an 8-0 run that extended the lead to 55-34. Grant assisted on a Connaughton 3-pointer, converted a three-point play and fed Auguste for a layup after picking Jalen Hudsons pocket at midcourt. The closest the Hokies got from there was 16 and the largest they trailed was 27. Game Notes Notre Dame is off to its best 20-game start since its 1973-74 team opened 19-1 ... The Irish, who came in second nationally in field goal percentage (.528) connected on 49.2 percent from the field... Notre Dame held a 43-31 rebounding advantage and posted a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio (19-to-6) ... Both teams play Sunday as Notre Dame visits NC State and Virginia Tech hosts Virginia. ' ' '