Gallerie » ack-to-back playoff appearances in large

NEW YORK -- LaMarcus Aldridge was stunned, suddenly finding himself matched against a version of Kevin Garnett that hadnt been seen yet in Brooklyn. "I think he had one of those flashbacks to when he was in Minnesota and I was coming in as a rookie," Aldridge said. Just as quickly, the old Garnett reverted to just old, and the young Portland Trail Blazers ran right by the Brooklyn Nets. Aldridge scored 27 points, Wesley Matthews added 24 and Portland shot 54 per cent in a 108-98 victory Monday night that extended its winning streak to seven. "This team is good. Guys can get going," Aldridge said. Damian Lillard finished with 19 points and nine assists as the Trail Blazers withstood the Nets blistering start to win seven in a row in the same season for the first time since a 13-game run in December 2007. Portland (9-2) is just a half-game behind San Antonio and Indiana for the NBAs best record. The Blazers will try to complete a perfect 4-0 road trip Wednesday at Milwaukee. Meanwhile, the Nets (3-7) remain one of the NBAs biggest disappointments, shooting 9 of 41 (22 per cent) in the second half. Garnett made all six shots in Brooklyns 40-point first period, then went 2 for 13 from there to finish with a season-high 16 points. "I take the blame for this," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "We got stagnant on the offensive end, so that falls on my shoulders. We came out flat in the third quarter." Shaun Livingston scored 23 points for the Nets, who stormed out to their best first quarter of the season and then seemed to run out of gas. "Theyre a talented team. Theyve got Hall of Famers on that team and we had to throw our first punch, because we felt like they did that to us in that first quarter," Matthews said. "We came at them defensively and ramped it up." Garnett and Paul Pierce were back in the starting lineup after missing Saturdays loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles with injuries, though Brook Lopez and Deron Williams continued to rest sprained left ankles. Pierce, who had a sore left groin, played as if he was still hurting, managing just 11 points on 2-for-12 shooting. Neither he nor Garnett spoke to reporters. "Its been a tough month for us," said Jason Terry, who came with them from Boston. "Were going to stay optimistic, man. We have a great situation here and were just going to keep building." Portland turned the game around in the third quarter, limiting the Nets to 3-of-18 shooting and outscoring them 27-12 to take an 83-78 lead. They then opened the fourth with a 12-4 spurt to open a 95-82 advantage when Mo Williams was credited with a basket on a goaltending call. Matthews was 5 of 8 from 3-point range, improving to 30 for 57 for the season (52.6 per cent). He kept the Blazers in the game in the first quarter, when the Nets made 14 of 19 shots for a 40-31 lead. "What won the game for us was turning it on the last three quarters defensively," Matthews said. "Were not going to outscore teams on a consistent basis and win. We have to practice what we preach, which is defence, and thats what we were able to do tonight." Garnett, who hadnt been in double figures yet in the Brooklyn black and white, got there in this one by hitting five jumpers in less than 3 minutes at the start. He took a seat after starting 6 for 6 and then Livingston took over. He made all three of his shots in the period, including a driving, left-handed slam dunk over Robin Lopez that had teammates leaping up off the nearby Nets bench. But they fell apart in the third, just as they have in all their losses. Brooklyn has won the third quarter in all three victories and been outscored in the period in every loss. "We were hot. We had momentum. But you can go cold at any time in the game, so thats where we have to make adjustments," Livingston said. "Were all veterans out there on the floor." NOTES: Aldridge grabbed eight rebounds, ending his streak of five straight double-doubles. ... The Nets were also without reserve forward Andrei Kirilenko, who continues to be bothered by back spasms. ... Brooklyns previous high was 33 points in the first quarter at Washington. The Nets also lost that game after a bad third quarter. Yeezy From China .And although FIFAs investigators are preparing to release the findings of a World Cup corruption probe, Hassan Al Thawadi dismissed any chance of Qatar losing the showpiece event. China Shoes Store . "For the past several weeks, Logan has been dealing and playing with an upper body injury," said general manager Doug Wilson in a statement. "Despite his efforts to play through it, the injury has not responded as we had hoped and Logan has made the decision to undergo a surgical procedure to repair the problem. https://www.chinashoes.us/ .C. - Canadian ice dancing, it seems, is in good hands. Fake China Shoes . The day began ominously for the Rangers when star pitcher Yu Darvish was scratched from his scheduled start with stiffness in his neck. Fill-in Scott Baker gave up three hits over six innings and Chris Gimenez hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the sixth off Phil Hughes. China Shoes To USA . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors and Steve Kerr have completed the coaching contract agreed to last week. The sides finalized the five-year deal worth up to $25 million Monday. The team said it will introduce Kerr at a news conference Tuesday at its downtown Oakland practice facility. "Were very pleased to introduce Steve Kerr as our new head coach," Warriors general manager Bob Myers said in a statement. "We are confident that he will be an extremely good fit for our team and our organization as we venture into the future. The fact that he played for several of the greatest coaches in the history of the game -- including Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich -- will serve him well, as will the many nuances that he learned from performing on the brightest stage during his incredibly successful, championship-filled career." Kerr, 48, had been in talks with the New York Knicks about becoming their coach after Jackson took over as team president in March. He won three titles for Jackson in Chicago and another two under Popovich in San Antonio during his 15-year playing career. Kerr also served as general manager of the Phoenix Suns from 2007-10 beefore going back to the TNT broadcast table.dddddddddddd He replaces Mark Jackson, who was fired by the Warriors on May 6 after three seasons and back-to-back playoff appearances in large part because of his sour relationship with team management. Jackson already has agreed to a multiyear deal to rejoin the lead NBA announcing team for ESPN/ABC. Jackson is working the Eastern Conference finals and NBA Finals with Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy. The Warriors job is certainly a far more attractive one than when owner Joe Lacob hired Jackson away from broadcast table in June 2011. The Warriors are coming off a 51-win season and consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in 20 years, and theyve surrounded star Stephen Curry with a talented young core. "Im really excited about the unique opportunity to coach a very talented team and work for this committed management group," Kerr said in a statement. "In my estimation, the Warriors, from top to bottom, have become one of the marquee organizations in the NBA in recent years. Im looking forward to becoming part of that environment and building upon the success of the last two seasons." ' ' '