anklin Morales, Hector Santiago and Matt Sho

HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Jeremy Lin came off the bench to score 21 points and help the Houston Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 108-98 on Wednesday night to avoid elimination. The Trail Blazers lead the first-round series 3-2 entering Game 6 on Friday in Portland. A basket by Damian Lillard got the Trail Blazers within two points before James Harden stepped back and swished a 3-pointer to make it 103-98 with about three minutes left. The shot brought the crowd, which was clad almost completely in red shirts emblazoned with the words "Clutch City" on them, to its feet. That started an 8-0 Houston run to close it out. Harden finished with 17 points and seven assists. Houston finally slowed down LaMarcus Aldridge, limiting him to eight points, after he averaged 35.3 points in the first four games. Wesley Matthews led the Blazers with 27 points and Lillard added 26. Lin got extended minutes on Wednesday night with Pat Beverley dealing with an illness. Beverley had five points in 21 minutes. The Rockets led by as many as 17 points in the first half. Portland cut it to one point three times in the fourth quarter, but never went back on top. Terrence Jones added a basket for Houston after the big 3 by Harden before Howard got after Aldridge on the other end. He blocked his short jump shot, sending it out of bounds. Portland got the ball back and Aldridge got the ball again, but he badly missed a shot with Howard in his face as the shot clock expired, leaving Aldridge yelling for a foul. The Rockets were up by nine early in the fourth quarter after four quick points from Lin before Portland used an 8-0 run, with the first four points from Nicolas Batum, to cut the lead to 91-90 with 7:39 remaining. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Matthews cut Houstons lead to 62-58 early in the third quarter. He added 12 more points in the period to finish with 18 of Portlands 29 points. Howard and Lin carried the Rockets in the third, combining for 18 points. Howard had 10 and Lin scored the rest, including a long two as the shot clock expired with Lillard right in his face. Matthews, who was 4 for 5 from long range in the third, made two 3-pointers within 20 seconds late in the quarter to cut Houstons lead to two points. But Lin finished off the quarter with a three-point play to make it 82-77 entering the fourth. Robin Lopez received a flagrant-1 foul when he fouled Howard in the air while fighting for a rebound and pulled him to the ground by the shoulders on the way down. Howard made one of two free throws to stretch Houstons lead to 74-68 with three minutes left in the quarter. Houston led by three after one and used an 11-0 run to start the second quarter and go up 41-27. Jones scored the first four points in that span and rookie Troy Daniels capped it with a 3-pointer. The Trail Blazers had six turnovers while the Rockets built the lead and didnt score until a pair of free throws by Aldridge with about nine minutes left until halftime. Howard picked up his third foul soon after that and went to the bench. Portland scored the next five points to get within seven but the Rockets used a 10-0 spurt to push the lead to 51-34. Lin had a reverse layup and a 3-pointer during that run. The Trail Blazers ended the first half with a 14-5 run, with eight points from Lillard, to cut the lead to 56-48 at halftime. Aldridge had just six points at halftime after sitting out about half of the first quarter after getting his second foul. NOTES: The Trail Blazers wore patches on their jerseys to honour Hall of Famer Jack Ramsay, who died on Monday at 89. Ramsay coached the team to an NBA title in 1977. The plaid patch has the words "Dr. Jack" and a "77" to honour the championship team. The Blazers will wear the patch for the remainder of the post-season. ... Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon watched from a courtside seat. ... Chandler Parsons added 20 points for Houston. Jerseys NFL China . -- Jake Peavy arrived at Bostons spring training complex on Monday with a large white bandage covering his left index finger, the result of a weekend accident. China Jerseys Authentic . Durant had 33 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, hit the tying 3-pointer late in regulation and made the go-ahead foul shots in overtime to lift the Thunder past the Wizards 106-105. John Wall missed a driving layup attempt at the buzzer for Washington, which was seeking its third straight win. http://www.cheapjerseysnflchinaauthentic.com/. The Toronto Argonauts signed the veteran linebacker to a three-year deal Tuesday, hours after the start of CFL free agency. Cheap Jerseys For Sale . The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid. NBA Jerseys Cheap . Phoenix got injured centre Emeka Okafor and a top-12-protected first-round draft pick in 2014 -- giving the rebuilding Suns potentially four choices in the opening round. The Suns also sent guards Kendall Marshall, Shannon Brown and Malcolm Lee to Washington so the deal will work financially.New York, NY - All-Stars Salvador Perez of Kansas City and Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay joined the final roster for Major League Baseballs tour of Japan. The MLB team will play a five-game series against a squad of Japanese League All-Stars, starting next week. Perez, the catcher for the AL champion Royals, will be joined by three other members of the teams pennant winners -- pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, backup catcher Erik Kratz and shortstop Alcides Escobar. Longoria will be the primary third baseman for the club and will be joined in the infield by Houstons Jose Altuve, Seattles Robinson Cano, Colorados Justin Morneau and Clevelands Carlos Santana. Altuve, Cano and Morneau had previously been announced as team members. Tampa Bays Ben Zobrist and Minnesotas Eduardo Nunez will play both in the infield and the outfield, while other outfielders for the squad will be Houstons Dexter Fowler and Los Angeles Dodgers star Yasiel Puig, who was also previously selected to play in the series. Lucas Duda of the New York Mets can also play the outfield, as well as first base. Astros designated hitter Chris Carter and Dodgers catcher Drew Butera will also make the trip. Joining Guthrie on the pitching staff for the MLB team will be Tampa Bays Jeff Beliveau, Washingtons Jerry Blevins, Chriis Capuano of the Yankees, St.dddddddddddd Louis lefty Randy Choate, Baltimores Tommy Hunter, Pittsburghs Mark Melancon, Colorados Franklin Morales, Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker of the Angels, Houstons Jose Veras, Milwaukees Rob Wooten and Japanese natives Hisashi Iwakuma of Seattle and Tsuyoshi Wada of the Cubs. Three players previously named to the squad wont participate, as Washingtons Bryce Harper, Baltimores Adam Jones and the Angels Albert Pujols all opted out of the series. Bostons John Farrell will be the manager for the team, replacing Ron Washington, who had initially been selected as the skipper in August before resigning as manager of the Texas Rangers in September. It will mark the 11th All-Star series and the 36th time overall that a team of Major League Baseball players will tour Japan for games. The current five-game format was adopted in 2006, the last time a group of MLB stars squared off against a team of Japan All-Stars. The MLB team went 5-0 eight years ago. The opening game will take place in Osaka on Nov. 12 before heading to Tokyo for three games on the weekend of Nov. 14-16. The final game of the series will be in Sapporo on Nov. 18. Two exhibition games will bookend the series -- the first on Nov. 11 and the last on Nov. 20. ' ' '