Paul MersonI thought Swansea were outstanding

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. 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. Brock Holt Jersey . The traditional pre-Masters event was halted early due to inclement weather. Harrington, who tied for first in 2003 and won in 2004, became the first three-time champion of the event. Eduardo Nunez Red Sox Jersey .The Hanwha Eagles said the team was impressed with Morgans contact ability and base-running skills.The 34-year-old debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007 and hit . https://www.cheapredsox.com/1011z-hector...ey-red-sox.html. LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Bobby Doerr Red Sox Jersey . Reyes, 26, was traded from Atlanta to Toronto in July 2010 and spent the remainder of the season in the minors. He began 2011 in the majors and made 20 starts with the Blue Jays, going 5-8 with a 5.40 earned run average before he was waived on Aug. Brock Holt Red Sox Jersey . - David Tomasek had two goals in regulation time and was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Belleville Bulls upset the Oshawa Generals 6-5 on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action.West Hams top-four hopes suffered a blow after they were beaten 4-1 by Swansea on Saturday in the penultimate game to be played at Upton Park. A victory for the Hammers would have taken them within two points of fourth-placed Manchester City, but a rampant Swansea sprung a shock through goals from Wayne Routledge (25), Andre Ayew (31), Ki Sung-yueng (51) and Bafetimbi Gomis (90+3) .Stephen Kingsleys own-goal (68) had briefly reduced the deficit for West Ham, who remain in sixth place after suffering their first home defeat since the end of August. Swansea move up two places to 11th after claiming their first victory in east London for 60 years. West Ham will play their final match at Upton Park on Tuesday night when they take on Manchester United, live on Sky Sports 1 HD. Slaven Bilic praised Swanseas approach to the game but criticised his side for playing like passengers Slaven Bilic made two changes to the West Ham team that won 3-0 at West Brom last Saturday, with Darren Randolph and Victor Moses coming in for Adrian and Diafra Sakho, and he was initially rewarded with a positive start. Dimitri Payet came close to opening the scoring inside three minutes, but his curling effort from the edge of the box was turned behind by Lukasz Fabianski. Swansea winger Modou Barrow gets to the ball ahead of West Ham midfielder Chiekhou Kouyate The France international continued to be a threat for West Ham and went close again after 18 minutes, firing a free-kick just over the crossbar. But, against the run of play, Swansea broke the deadlock and stunned a boisterous home support into silence. Ki and Kyle Naughton combined to great effect with the latter delivering a fabulous first-time ball across the six-yard box for Routledge to tap home. Francesco Guidolin thought Swansea were excellent in their 4-1 win but refused to answer any questions regarding his future From then on, Swansea grew in confidence and were soon 2-0 up.dddddddddddd Kingsley, one of six changes made by Francesco Guidolin, picked out Ayew inside the 18-yard box and the forward made no mistake, crashing his effort past Randolph. West Ham briefly threatened to pull a goal back before half-time, but Andy Carroll and Manuel Lanzini failed to keep their efforts on target. After the interval, Swansea continued to be the most threatening of the sides and grabbed their third when Ki rattled his volley into the bottom corner of the net following good work on the left flank by the impressive Modou Barrow. Kingsley raised hopes of a West Ham comeback when he inadvertently bundled home from close range after Michail Antonio and Sakho were denied by Fabianski.But Swansea would extend their lead in the closing stages with substitute Gomis slotting his shot into the bottom corner after a neat exchange of passes with Ayew. Pick your team Aguero? Ozil? De Bruyne? Pick your Fantasy Six-a-Side team for the chance to win ￡10,000 Soccer Saturday verdict - Paul MersonI thought Swansea were outstanding, I really did. They picked their passes on the counter attack and they were very ruthless.The atmosphere at the start of the game was absolutely phenomenal, at the end you would have thought it was raining. It was terrible. The fans couldnt believe it, Bilic couldnt believe it.Everybody has one of those games in their locker during the season, I dont care who you are. But to pick this day, and I really do think it was Oh, Swansea have got six changes, well turn these over Match ratingsWest Ham: Randolph (6), Antonio (5), Cresswell (5), Reid (5), Ogbonna (5), Noble (6), Kouyate (5), Moses (5), Lanzini (6), Payet (6), Carroll (5). Subs used: Valencia (N/A), Sakho (6), Emenike (5).Swansea: Fabianski (7), Naughton (7), Fernandez (7), Amat (7), Kingsley (7), Ki (8), Cork (7), Fer (7), Routledge (7), Barrow (8), Ayew (8).Subs used: Rangel (7), Britton (N/A), Gomis (7).Man of the match: Andre Ayew. ' ' '