PORTLAND, Ore. -- Houston has a LaMarcus Aldridge problem. The Trail Blazers All-Star forward has been dominating with more than 40 points in each of the opening two playoff games with the Rockets in Houston. Portland is up 2-0 as the series moves to Rip City on Friday night, giving the Rockets little time to figure out how to defend Aldridge. He opened the playoffs with a franchise post-season-best 46 points in the Blazers 122-120 overtime victory, then followed it up with 43 points in the 112-105 win on Wednesday night. Rockets coach Kevin McHale summed it up best when he said: "So far, hes had a hell of a series." Aldridge found success in the paint in the opener so the Rockets adjusted -- but so did Aldridge, who went outside to pepper Houston with midrange jumpers. Thirteen of his 18 field goals came from 10 feet out or more. "Hes making tough shots, hes getting to the foul line. Hes offensive rebounding. Hes doing the whole package and its tough for us," said Houston guard James Harden. "We gotta figure something out real soon. In game three, it is either we win or its over." Aldridge is the first player to score 43 or more points in consecutive playoff games since Tracy McGrady in 2003, and the first to score at least 40 in back-to-back post-season games since LeBron James in 2009. It almost goes without saying that Aldridge is the first Blazer with at least 40 points in back-to-back playoff games. "You can tell just by his approach how hes really dialed in and hes playing big. Hes really taken it upon himself to do all these things," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said Thursday. "Give him all the credit. Hes been wanting this moment for a long time and hes rising to the challenge." Aldridge acknowledged the team for his success. "This team in general just believes in me so much and they ride the wave so well," he said. "When Im going one through 15, they are all cheering and telling me to shoot it. If I pass up a shot, theyre all mad at me and I think having 15 guys having your back like that is great." Aldridges play has put Portland in charge as the team returns home. The Blazers havent opened a playoff series 2-0 since 1977, when they got the early jump on the Lakers en route to the Western Conference title. Portland went on to beat Philadelphia for its lone NBA championship Portland ranked seventh in the league during the regular season with just 10 losses at home. Only three teams have come back to win after losing the first two games of a seven-game series at home: The last was the 2004-05 Mavericks, who came back against the Rockets. Houston is 0-7 overall when falling behind 0-2 in the first round since the 1983-84 expansion. Dwight Howard said its no time to panic. "Weve played against Portland in the regular season and we were successful. We just got to play basketball. We cant look back. We have to stay positive," he said. "They (Portland) won two games but its the first to four and we cant let our heads down. We dug a hole but we can always get out of it." Howard had 32 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesdays loss, while Harden had 18 points. Harden was the leagues top shooting guard in the regular season, but hes 14 of 47 from the field in the playoffs for his worst two-game stretch of the season. Part of that is due to Portlands Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum taking turns at shutting him down. "Weve done a good job guarding without fouling and one thing about playoff basketball is that everybody has the every possession mentality," Stotts said. "We didnt fall asleep on him and I dont think he got a lot of easy looks and every great player in this league, you just want to make them work and I think Nick and Wes in particular really have made him work." For his part, Harden isnt really concerned about a slump. Hes more focused on the Blazers -- and stopping Aldridge. "Im not worried about my offence, Im worried about our defence, our defence as a team. When we get stops and get out in transition everybody feels good about themselves and thats when the assists flow in and things start going well," he said. "If we cant get stops it makes it more difficult. They are a very good team." MLB Jerseys 2020 Online . He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. Nike MLB Jerseys For Sale . Louis Cardinals won the World Series last season, but after losing first baseman Albert Pujols to free agency and manager Tony LaRussa to retirement, they opened the 2012 season in 12th spot in the TSN. https://www.mlbjerseys2020.com/ . Watch the announcement live on TSN.ca at 12:30pm et/9:30am pt. This years honourees will be recognized at the 2014 Hockey Canada Foundation Celebrity Classic, scheduled for June 23-24 in Vancouver. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers. BOSTON -- Carlton Fisk cleared the Green Monster to beat the Cincinnati Reds. All Grady Sizemore had to do was hit it. The Red Sox outfielder lined one off the bottom of Fenway Parks left-field Wall to drive in the winning run on Tuesday night and Boston beat Cincinnati 4-3 in 12 innings -- the longest game between the teams since Fisks historic homer in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. "It will never get old to walk off," said Sizemore, who had three hits in the game. "I was just glad I could come through." An All-Star with the Cleveland Indians, Sizemore missed all of the last two seasons while recovering from back surgery. The Red Sox brought him in as an extra outfielder, knowing the low risk would pay off big if he returned to the form that earned him MVP votes from 2005-08. "Ive got to believe that tonight gives him even further feeling like hes contributing here rather than being someone coming back from an injury," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "Nights like tonight go a long way and continue to rebuild Grady." Sizemore singled in a run in the third and had another base hit in the eighth, then came up with nobody out in the 12th after David Ortiz and Mike Napoli had already singled off Logan Ondrusek (0-2). He hit the first pitch to left-centre, and the outfielders didnt even bother picking it up as Ortiz scored easily. Craig Breslow (1-0) pitched one inning of scoreless relief for the victory. Boston beat Cincinnati for the sixth time in seven games since the Reds rebounded from the Fisk homer to win Game 7 of the 75 Series to take the title. The teams also met for interleague series in 2005 and 08. Dusstin Pedroia had three hits, including two doubles, as the Red Sox won for the third time in four games.dddddddddddd Napoli drove in a pair of runs as the Red Sox opened a 3-1 lead only to see Junichi Tazawa give it up in the eighth. "We finally got something going a little late," Reds outfielder Ryan Ludwick said. "Any time you lose a game, you think about missed opportunities." Red Sox starter Felix Doubront allowed one run on five hits, but he walked two batters in the sixth before leaving with one out and a 3-1 lead. Burke Badenhop threw one pitch to Skip Schumaker to get an inning-ending play. It was still 3-1 in the eighth when Joey Votto drew a one-out walk and Brandon Phillips doubled to put runners on second and third. Todd Frazier singled in one run, and Ryan Ludwick tied it 3-all with a sacrifice fly. NOTES: Reds starter Homer Bailey gave up three runs on five hits and five walks, striking out five in six innings. ... The Reds placed RF Jay Bruce on the 15-day disabled list with a torn meniscus in his left knee and selected the contract of OF Roger Bernadina from Triple-A Louisville. Bruce had arthroscopic surgery on Monday and is expected to miss about a month. ... The game marked the 99th anniversary of Babe Ruths first of 714 career homers, on May 6, 1915. The Red Sox LHP also pitched 12 1-3 innings and took the loss in a complete game against the Yankees at the Polo Grounds. ... The Reds announced that their April 28 rainout against the Cubs will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on July 8. ... Red Sox DH David Ortiz played in his 2,000th career game. ' ' '