ATLANTA -- Portland coach Terry Stotts and his staff were having an informal meeting in the hallway outside their locker room when LaMarcus Aldridge returned from a postgame TV interview. Where to Buy Cheap Jerseys . The assistants greeted Aldridge with compliments and high fives. Stotts had only one word for his high-scoring forward: "Thanks." Aldridge had 25 points and 16 rebounds in his return after missing seven games with a lower back contusion, and the Trail Blazers beat the Atlanta Hawks 100-85 on Thursday night to end a three-game losing streak. "It felt good to be back," Aldridge said. "I didnt feel 100 per cent but I did what I could do and luckily I made shots." Damian Lillard added 21 points for the Trail Blazers, who had lost seven of 10 and were in danger of falling out of the fifth spot in the Western Conference playoff standings. Lillard said Aldridge, who posted his team-leading 37th double-double of the season, made the difference. "Were a whole different team with him," Lillard said. "Hes our best player. He brings balance to our team. We had an inside presence and we were able to play inside-out, like we have all year. I just think with him out there we just got more quality shots. "Having him back allows everybody to fall into place. The game just comes easier for everybody." Aldridge said the win was "very important, just for our mental psyche, our confidence ... the standings." The Hawks have lost five straight. They lead the Knicks by only 1 1/2 games in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Jeff Teague, who was scoreless in Wednesday nights loss at Minnesota, led the Hawks with 22 points. Lou Williams had 16 points, including 13 in the final period when Atlanta closed the deficit to six points. Atlantas Kyle Korver missed his fifth straight game because of back spasms and centre Pero Antic sat out after he twisted his right ankle at Minnesota. The Trail Blazers led 53-37 at halftime. The Hawks narrowly avoided their season low for points in the opening half. Atlanta opened the second half with a 15-5 run, capped by DeMarre Carrolls 3-pointer, to trim the lead to 58-52. Williams had eight points in Atlantas 10-0 run that again cut Portlands lead to six points at 80-74. A three-point play by Aldridge pushed the lead back to double digits at 87-76. Korver, the 3-point specialist, has not played since March 18, when Atlanta beat Toronto for its fifth straight win. The Hawks have not won since losing Korver. Its only the latest in a string of ugly losing streaks for Atlanta the last two months. Atlanta has lost 19 of 25 and had streaks of eight and six straight losses in that span before the latest slump. Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said "there were stretches where we really competed" against the Trail Blazers. "We cut some leads and got it to six at one point," Budenholzer said. "The whole group, in trying times and trying circumstances, has given a lot. Jeff Teagues energy throughout the game allowed us to be close. Were finding ourselves. We need to be disciplined and focused. In those stretches where were not, it can hurt us and it can bite us." Portland closed each of the first three periods with 3-pointers -- by Mo Williams, Wesley Matthews and Lillard. Officials needed a review to confirm there was time remaining in the first half when Matthews launched his long 3. Nicolas Batum had 12 points for Portland and Robin Lopez and Matthews each had 11. Mo Williams had 11 assists and eight points. NOTES: The Trail Blazers, who beat Atlanta 102-78 in Portland on March 5, won their first season series over the Hawks since the 2007-08 season. ... Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson attended the game. ... Elton Brand had 11 points and 12 rebounds as the fill-in starter for Antic... The Hawks season low for first-half points was 34 against San Antonio on Jan. 24. ... The Hawks are 10-20 against the Western Conference. What is the best place to buy Cheap Jerseys . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. What is a good website to buy sports jerseys . The matchup will be made up in Minnesota at a later date. The arena was evacuated about 45 minutes before the scheduled 9:30 p.m. EST tipoff when a generator malfunction outside the arena sent smoke pouring into the building, according to NBA spokeswoman Sharon Lima. https://www.wheretobuycheapjerseys.com/ . LA (SportsNetwork.BALTIMORE -- It was one of those rare days when everything went right for the Houston Astros. Houston took an early lead and added to it late. The starting pitching was solid. The bullpen was nearly perfect. The result was a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday that enabled the young Astros to avert a three-game sweep. "Overall, a good team win," manager Bo Porter said. Jason Castro and Marc Krauss homered to account for all of Houstons offence, and Jarred Cosart (2-3) allowed two runs over six innings for the Astros, who had lost seven of eight before ending Baltimores five-game winning streak. Castro hit a three-run homer off Chris Tillman (3-2) in the first inning, and the Astros made the advantage stand up. "When we can come out and score early, thats really when were at our best," Castro said. "It kind of gives some of the young staff a little bit of a breather from the beginning." It was 3-2 before Krauss connected against T.J. McFarland with a runner on in the seventh. "Those are the runs we have not been able to get," Porter said. "Those tack-on runs that give you an extra cushion, make it a three-run lead instead of a one-run lead. That was a huge home run." Houston is 11-11 when it hits a home run and 1-15 when it doesnt. Although the Astros bullpen came in with a 6.21 ERA, Tony Sipp struck out five in two perfect innings and Chad Qualls worked a hitless ninth for his second save. "I have confidence no matter who they put in behind me that they can get the job done," Cosart said. Jose Altuve had three hits for the Astros, who improved to 6-12 against the Orioles -- including 2-10 at Camden Yards. Everything seemed to fall into place for the team with the worst record in the major leagues. "Weve played some good baseball the last two days," third baseman Matt Dominguez said. "Pitched the ball well, got some timely hits. Hopefully that can give us a jumpstart." Adam Jones drove in both Baltimore runs, giving him 501 RBIs in 981 career games. Tillman gave up three runs, four hits and a season-high five walks in fivee innings. Where Can Buy Cheap Jerseys. The right-hander settled down after issuing three walks and a home run in the first inning, but needed 105 pitches to get 15 outs. "It was a struggle for me. Fastball command wasnt there for me from the get-go," Tillman said. "It was a battle all day." Before the game, the Orioles activated Chris Davis (strained left oblique) from the 15-day disabled list and put catcher Matt Wieters on the DL with a strained right elbow. Davis went 2 for 4 in his first game since April 25. "Felt good," Davis said. "Timing is a little off, little in-between. But it was definitely good to be in there, moving around again." Houston took a 3-0 lead before Tillman retired a batter. After Altuve and Dexter Fowler walked, Castro hit the right-handers next pitch over the centre-field wall. Tillman has yielded seven first-inning runs this season, his most in any inning. "He kept us in the ballgame and threw some zeros up after that," manager Buck Showalter said. "But it wasnt what hes capable of or what weve come to expect. Or more importantly, what Chris has come to expect." Jones hit a two-run single to get Baltimore to 3-2 in the third. A double by Davis in the fifth put two runners in scoring position, but Jones struck out before Nelson Cruz flied out. NOTES: The Orioles were denied consecutive three-game sweeps for the first time since 2005. They won three in a row at Tampa Bay before facing the Astros. ... The game drew 45,944 fans, the second sellout of the season at Camden Yards. ... Baltimores Nick Markakis singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, one short of his career high. ... Tillmans 399th and 400th career strikeouts came against George Springer in the first and third. ... Houstons Alex Presley snapped an 0-for-14 skid with a sixth-inning single. ... Bud Norris takes the mound for Baltimore on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against Detroit. The Astros return home to face Texas. ... Since coming to Houston from the Padres organization, Sipp has retired all 12 batters hes faced with seven strikeouts. ' ' '