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CLEVELAND -- The Portland Trail Blazers kept it real simple with the game on the line. Just get the ball to Damian Lillard, and get out of the way. No need for any fancy calls when Lillards on the court. The point guard made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining, lifting Portland to a 119-116 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. "There is no explaining it," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Damian had it going, so we ran it through him." Lillard had a career-high eight 3-pointers while scoring 36 points. The 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year also had a fadeaway jumper as time expired to give Portland a 111-109 overtime victory over Detroit on Sunday. "That was cold-blooded," Cleveland guard Dion Waiters said. "We knew Lillard was getting the ball. That was a big-time shot." Anderson Varejaos tying basket for Cleveland with 7.1 seconds left prompted a Portland timeout. Lillard took the pass at mid-court, dribbled to the top of the key and buried the winning shot over Alonzo Gee from about 26 feet out. "Hes more capable of dribble-driving by you and finishing," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "Their last game he drove by somebody and shot a pull-up. So you pick your poison." Lillard had enough time to drive to the basket, but he decided to shoot from beyond the arc. "I didnt want to get in too deep because theyve got some giants in there," Lillard said. "And Alonzo Gee is a great athlete, so I didnt want to drive on him. I gave him a move to get him off balance, and I wanted to be ready when I froze him." Portland (22-4) has the best record in the NBA and is 11-0 against the Eastern Conference. The Blazers have won five straight and are 12-2 on the road. Kyrie Irvings bid for a tying 3-pointer from about 35 feet bounced off the back of the rim at the buzzer. Irving and Waiters scored 25 points apiece for Cleveland. LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 15 rebounds for Portland. Lillards 3-pointer with 5:47 remaining gave Portland a 104-101 lead. Lillard then found Wesley Matthews for another 3, and Aldridges jumper pushed the lead to 109-101 with 4:16 to play. Matthews made a 3-pointer and Aldridge scored to make it 114-104 with 2:15 remaining. Irving then scored nine straight points for the Cavaliers, including a three-point play with 33.8 seconds left that cut the lead to 116-114. After Aldridge missed in the lane, the Cavaliers called timeout with 16.5 seconds remaining. Irving drove into the lane and found Varejao, who tied the game. "That was an offensive shootout by both teams," Stotts said. "They made a great comeback to tie the game, but we keep finding a way to win. Obviously, Damian was fantastic." Waiters scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. He missed the morning shootaround after banging knees with teammate Tyler Zeller in practice Monday. Lillard hit three 3-pointers within a span of 1:09 in the third quarter as the Blazers scored nine straight points to overcome a 69-61 deficit. The Blazers began their four-game trip with a 35-point win in Philadelphia on Saturday in which they hit 21 3-pointers and followed that with two dramatic victories. They went 15 for 33 from long range against the Cavs. Cleveland scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to take a 97-92 lead. Six points by Waiters and a 3-pointer by Earl Clark accounted for the run. The game featured two of the hottest players in the league. Irving was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 29 points in three games last week. Aldridge was named the Wests top player for the third time this season after averaging 25.5 points in the Blazers four wins last week. Cleveland has lost to Miami and Portland by a total of 10 points in its last two games. NOTES: Tuesday marked the second career matchup between Irving and Lillard. The two faced off in Portland in January when Irving scored 31 points and Lillard was held to 13 in Clevelands 93-88 win. ... The Cavaliers scored 59 points in the first half, the most they have totalled in the first two quarters this season. ... The Blazers end their trip Wednesday against Minnesota. ... Portland rookie G C.J. McCollum, a Canton native, hasnt played this season because of a broken left foot. . -- LeGarrette Blount wasnt satisfied with three short touchdown runs, not against a team coming off the second greatest comeback in playoff history. . The two-time former Formula One champion downplayed his third-place finish three weeks ago in China and said progress is going slow for Ferrari as it tries to make up ground on Mercedes. . - Justin Turner is at his best with runners in scoring position, and he delivered again in a big spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers. . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. . -- Two out of three aint bad.Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Old Southwest Conference foes square off in the 2014 Texas Bowl, as the Arkansas Razorbacks do battle with the Texas Longhorns. The two teams had shared conference affiliation from 1915 to 1991, when Arkansas left to join the Southeastern Conference. The Southwest Conference disbanded entirely five years later, with Texas helping form the Big 12 Conference. The Texas Bowl, also known formerly as the Meineke Car Care Bowl, has been in existence since 2006, and this is the first time either Arkansas or Texas has appeared in the game. In last years installment, Syracuse outlasted Minnesota in a 21-17 final. Arkansas, which went an even 6-6 this season and won only two of its eight conference games to finish last in the SEC West, is making its 40th bowl appearance and hoping to improve upon the 13-23-3 record it has logged over the years. The Razorbacks did not make a bowl game last season, ending a run of three consecutive years in which they played after New Years. Their most recent postseason endeavor resulted in a 29-16 win over Kansas State in the 2012 Cotton Bowl. We are very excited to play in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl against a former Southwest Conference rival, Arkansas coach Brett Bielema said in accepting the bid. We are looking forward to honoring the tradition of Razorbacks before us and putting on a great show in an outstanding venue against a prominent opponent. Texas has a long, storied history in the postseason, logging a 27-23-2 record in bowl games, and it is coming off back-to-back appearances in the Alamo Bowl -- the first resulting in a 31-27 win over Oregon State, and last year falling in a 30-7 decision to Oregon. The Longhorns recently completed their first regular season under head coach Charlie Strong, and they went a disappointing 6-6 overall, 5-4 in conference to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place with Oklahoma and West Virginia. Were excited to be playing in the Advocare Texas Bowl and against an old SWC rival in Arkansas, Coach Strong said. It will be a tremendous opportunity for our team to play in front of so many of our fans and especially for our seniors who will be doing it for the last time as Longhorns. Texas owns a 56-21 lead in the all-time series with Arkansas, but it was the Hogs who claimed victory in the only previous bowl matchup, taking a 27-6 decision in the 2000 Cotton Bowl. Arkansas, which has won five straight games against teams from the Big 12, is led on offense by the two-pronged rushing attack of Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins, both of whom topped the 1,000-yard plateau and combined for 23 TDs, becoming the only pair of teammates in the FBS to rush for 1,000 yards in the regular season. When the Razorbacks decided to air it out, Brandon Allenn did his best in throwing for 2,125 yards, 18 TDs and only five INTs.dddddddddddd He was also sacked only 11 times. Spreading the ball around was the key, as seven different players logged double-digit receptions, led by Keon Hatcher (39 rec., 517 yards, five TDs) and Henry Hunter (36 rec., 495 yards, two TDs). As a result, the Hogs lit up the scoreboard for 32 ppg while amassing 410.6 ypg. They were 46 percent efficient on third-down conversion attempts, and came away with points on 80 percent of their trips to the red zone. On the defensive side of the ball, Arkansas can boast having the SECs top tackler in LB Martrell Spaight (123 stops), and he also added 8.5 TFL, a sack, an INT and a forced fumble. Brooks Ellis (68) is No. 2 on the teams tackles list, but he is well of the pace set by Spaight. Ellis is one of three players with two picks, while Trey Flowers is the teams most disruptive force at the point of attack, as he was credited with 13.5 TFL, which included five sacks. The Razorbacks are yielding only 20.2 ppg behind typical allowances of only 124 ypg rushing and 221.4 ypg passing. They have recorded just 21 sacks, but have come up with 22 turnovers. Texas had its share of difficulty on offense this season, the team ranking ninth in the Big 12 in scoring (22.6 ppg), passing offense (211.8 ypg) and total offense (360.5 ypg). Most of the issues lie in the fact that the team got inconsistent quarterback play, as Tyrone Swoopes completed 58.8 percent of his passes for 2,352 yards, 13 TDs and 10 INTs. John Harris paced the receiving corps with 64 grabs for 1,015 yards and seven scores, while Jaxon Shipley tallied 58 catches for 571 yards and one TD. As for the UT rushing attack, if featured backs Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray, each of whom rumbled his way to more than 625 yards while combining for 13 TDs. Swoopes added 294 yards and three scores on the ground. The Texas defense was the teams saving grace this season, as it permitted just 23.2 ppg to rank third in the conference. The effort against the pass was its hallmark as the Horns finished first in the Big 12 with an aerial allowance of only 186.2 ypg. They also surrendered the fewest passing scores of any team in the league (11). Jordan Hicks and Steve Edmonds were all over the field for coach Strongs club, logging 138 and 122 total tackles, respectively. They combined for 25 of the Longhorns 95 TFL, with Hicks also coming up with a pair of INTs -- the team credited with 15 picks in all. Dylan Haines had four INTs and Quandre Diggs three more for a UT defense that recovered only seven fumbles. Hassa Ridgeway logged six of the teams league-leading 39 sacks. The Horns were also quite effective in the red zone, ranking second with a yield of only 76.9 percent. ' ' '
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