ATLANTA -- The Portland Trail Blazers credit improved defence for back-to-back road wins that have kept their playoff hopes alive. The Atlanta Hawks say they must revive their defence to have any hopes of home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Wesley Matthews scored 28 points to lead three Blazers with at least 20 points and Portland beat the Hawks 104-93 Friday night for their second road win in as many nights. Damian Lillard scored 22 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and 13 rebounds, giving him at least 20 points in seven straight games. Aldridge scored 28 points in the Blazers 99-89 win at Chicago on Thursday night. "Weve been playing a lot better defence in the last two games," Lillard said. The Hawks and Bulls are fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Eastern Conference standings. Atlanta trails fourth-place Brooklyn by 2 1/2 games in the race for home-court advantage in the first round. "That was a quality road win against a very good playoff team," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "I was very pleased with our defence, particularly in the second half. With back-to-back wins like this on the road against Chicago and Atlanta, Im very proud of my team." The Blazers are 10th in the Western Conference, three games behind the eighth-place Lakers. "Were going to keep on fighting until were mathematically eliminated," Matthews said. The Hawks led by 11 points in the third quarter before Matthews rallied the Trail Blazers. "This team never quits playing, whether during a game or during the course of a season," Stotts said. The Hawks completed a disappointing 1-2 homestand. Josh Smith led Atlanta with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Jeff Teague scored 21 points and Al Horford added 15 points with 11 rebounds. The Blazers made 10 of 18 3-pointers, including five of eight by Matthews and four of five by Lillard. Nine of the 3-pointers came in the second half. Hawks coach Larry Drew said that was proof his defence wasnt doing the job. "Thats breakdown. Thats major, major breakdown," he said. "Weve got to get back to that blue-collar mentality with our defence. Weve got to get back to an almost training camp-like attitude." Horford said the Hawks must regroup in their final 13 regular-season games. "We just had too many defensive breakdowns," Horford said. "I told the guys we just have to figure out who we are and where we are at this point of the year. "By this point of the year, I think we should know. Now we have these games that are remaining to put it together." Drew said the Hawks have "turned into a team which is trying to outscore people" instead of making defensive stops. "It is not who we are, not who we said we would be at the very beginning of our season," Drew said. "I thought our defence let us down. We did not do a good job. We had too many breakdowns across the board." J.J. Hickson also posted a double-double for Portland with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Portland led 52-51 early in the third quarter before Smiths basket on a pass from Horford started a 15-3 run for the Hawks. Smith had two jams -- each set up by Teague -- in the run, which left the Hawks leading 66-55. Stotts called two timeouts during Atlantas run. The Blazers began their comeback following the second timeout with 5:26 remaining in the third period. The Blazers only points during Atlantas run came on a 3-pointer by Matthews. The third-year guard from Marquette added a jumper and two more 3s in a stretch of 11 straight points for Portland, cutting the Hawks lead to 76-73 at the end of the third period. Portland went up 82-78 with a 9-0 run early in the final period. The Hawks came no closer than two points the rest of the way. A steal and basket by Teague cut the Blazers lead to 90-88. Portland responded with eight unanswered points, including a 3-pointer by Lillard, to stretch its lead to 98-88. Kyle Korvers 3-pointer midway through the third quarter gave him at least one 3 in 62 consecutive games, tied with Peja Stojakovic (2008) for the fifth-longest streak in NBA history. It was his only 3-pointer of the game. NOTES: Stotts was Atlantas coach from 2002-04. ... The Blazers ended a streak of four straight losses in Atlanta. Portlands last win in Atlanta was on Jan. 21, 2008. ... Horford posted his 40th double-double. ... Hickson and Aldridge recorded their 38th and 34th double-doubles, respectively. ... Portland had a 48-41 advantage in rebounds. Barcelona Alen Halilovic Jersey . The Toronto-born midfielder was voted to the MLS All-Star Fan XI team and named to Major League Soccer Best XI after leading the Timbers to a first-place finish in MLSs Western Conference with a 14-5-15 record. Barcelona Andres Iniesta Jersey . -- One thing has remained consistent about Magic coach Jacque Vaughn whenever he is asked how he gauges improvement for his team. http://www.barcelonajerseysteamshop.com/Marc-Bartra-FC-Barcelona-Jersey.html . The 26-year-old converted third baseman is slated to become the Brewers starting first baseman this season. Barcelona Alex Song Jersey . -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal. Claudio Bravo Jersey . While Leyland could put him on the mound sooner, hes already made it clear that he wont. Before Game 6 of the AL championship series against the Texas Rangers on Saturday, Leyland said that even if Detroit forces a seventh game on Sunday night, he would not use his ace in relief.HOUSTON -- James Harden had 21 points and five rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 108-104 win over the Orlando Magic in a preseason game Wednesday night. Harden finished 7 of 12 from the field, including 4 of 6 from behind the arc in 18 minutes - all in the first half. Harden had 15 points in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Houston a 33-29 lead after one en route to a 61-53 halftime lead. Patrick Beverley added 13 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes, and Dwight Howard had eight points and four rebounds in 18 minutes -- also all in the first half -- to lead the Rockets (3-1) to their third straight preseason win. Houston played without Jeremy Lin, who was sent home due too illness.dddddddddddd Reserve Manny Harris led the Magic (1-3) with 17 points on 8 of 16 shooting in 23 minutes. Andrew Nicholson finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, Aaron Afflalo added 13 points in 23 minutes, Maurice Harkless and Romero Osby had 10 apiece. Orlando first-round pick Victor Oladipo struggled from the floor, scoring nine points on 3-of-12 shooting in 20 minutes as the Magic shot 22 per cent from beyond the arc and 12 of 18 from the free throw line. Donatas Montiejunas chipped in 14 points for Houston, Francisco Garcia had 11 and Terrence Jones added 10 for the Rockets, who shot 41.7 per cent from behind the 3-point line and hit 23 of 27 from the free throw line. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys Mamadou Tounkara Jersey ' ' '