He should know pressure; he creates

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Damian Lillard had his lowest-scoring game of the season. CJ McCollum made up the difference by matching the best game of his career.McCollum scored 37 points, 16 in the fourth quarter, to help the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 100-94 on Sunday.I just went into the game being aggressive, McCollum said.McCollum had 10 straight Portland points in the closing minutes put the game away, and also matched his career best with six 3-pointers. Lillard added 19 points and seven assists, and Maurice Harkless finished with 18 points.He was big-time, Lillard said about McCollum. Thats who he is. We see him get hot like that all the time. ... As a point guard, and as somebody that knows how capable he is of taking over a game, you go to it.Marc Gasol led Memphis with 21 points, and Mike Conley added 16 points and seven assists. Zach Randolph had 15 points and seven rebounds.The game was close with 13 lead changes and 12 ties before Portland pulled away late behind McCollum hitting 6 of 9 shots in the fourth.He had a good rhythm, Portland coach Terry Stotts said. I thought he took (shots) in rhythm. He got within the context and flow of the game.Conleys 3-pointer from 31 feet at the horn, gave Memphis a 51-47 lead at the break, but the Grizzlies struggled in the second half.We cant seem to find a level of consistent play throughout the game, and thats really hurting us right now, Memphis coach David Fizdale said after his teams second straight loss.TIP-INSTrail Blazers: Lillard entered the game ranked second in the league in scoring, averaging 34.2 points. His previous low-scoring game this season was 27 at Phoenix Wednesday. ... Portland has scored at least 100 in all seven of its games. ... McCollums performance marked the first time this season someone other than Lillard led Portland in scoring.Grizzlies: Memphis G Tony Allen left in the second quarter with a right hip injury. He returned in the second half. ... Gasol has made a 3-pointer in all six games hes played this season. ... Conley, who entered the game ranked second in the league in 3-point shooting at 59.3 percent, was 1 of 5 from outside the arc.LADIES and GENTLEMEN, CHANDLER PARSONSParsons, the Grizzlies biggest off-season acquisition, started in his season debut Sunday and missed all eight of his shot in just under 22 minutes. Parsons, signed by Memphis during the offseason for four years, $94 million, did not play in the preseason or in the first six regular season games, recovering from right knee surgery. I expected him to be rusty, Memphis coach David Fizdale said. The guy hasnt played in I dont know how long.DAME DINGED UPLillard injured his left thumb in the second quarter, but didnt leave the game although he kept shaking the hand the rest of the half. While the thumb was swollen, he didnt anticipate any long-term affects. Lillard also rolled his ankle. It would take more than that to keep me out of the game, he said.STILL ADJUSTINGWith Parsons debut, Memphis employed its fifth different starting lineup in the first seven games as first-year coach David Fizdale searches for consistency.UP NEXTTrail Blazers: Portland returns home to face the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. The Trail Blazers lost to Phoenix 118-115 in overtime last WednesdayGrizzlies: Memphis closes out a four-game homestand on Tuesday night against the Denver Nuggets.William Perry Youth Jersey . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Riley Ridley Youth Jersey . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. http://www.bearsfootballpro.com/Authentic_Richard-Dent_Bears_Jersey/ . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Mike Ditka Bears Jersey . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. Brian Urlacher Youth Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre.India had done remarkably well through the first two sessions of the second day in Mohali. Their makeshift opener provided a fine start to the innings and when he was dismissed, their captain took control. Virat Kohli often talks about intent in the terms that even while defending, you should appear dominant. Both he and the teams other in-form batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara, exemplified that after lunch against the threat of reverse swing.England had men on the drive. Their quicks bowled impeccable lines and the legspinner Adil Rashid held his discipline as well. All of that meant India could get only 31 runs in 16 overs between the 26th and 42nd. Kohlis patience was tested with many deliveries loitering in the corridor outside the off stump and he did well as a batsman watching them all carefully and letting them go repeatedly.Yet so relentless was the bowling that the leading edge was found. In the 37th over, Ben Stokes had the Indian captain reaching away from his body, the bat face turned a touch too early, and the ball flew uppishly into a gap between two cover fielders.Pujara, at the other end, has little problem lasting through a spell like this. While batting, at least. The post-day press conference was a different story. The lines they were bowling, I felt, was a little negative, he said. But I still feel the way we batted, the way we showed character, we were leaving the balls outside the off stump and building a partnership which was very crucial for the team.Nevertheless, maintaining their plans for so long - well over an hour - began taking its toll on the visitors. Jonny Bairstow dropped a difficult catch, diving low to his left in the 45th over, and Rashid and Gareth Batty dished out treats labeled hit me. The batsman who was reprieved, Pujara, recorded his third fifty-plus score of the series.India went to tea at 148 for 2; trailing by 135 runs. Then, they lost three wickets for eight runs in 10 minutes.Nothing quite established the value of good fielding as the final session.Second ball in, Pujara hammered a filthy long hop in the air towards deep midwicket. Chris Woakes raced in off the boundary, dived forward and grabbed the ball in both hands inches before it hit the turf. To follow that, Jos Buttler dived to his right to intercept a front-foot slice from Kohli and then broke the stumps down at the non-strikers end while throwing on his knees and the debutant Karun Nair was run out. To get power and accuracy from such an awkward position was remarkable. Equally so was Englands discipline. They had kept Kohli scoreless for 10 successive balls, making him desperate enough to call and then send his partner back. Kohli faced another period like this and was eventually dismissed by Stokes foor 62 with a substantial 19 overs left to stumps.dddddddddddd. Nothing quite established how good R Ashwin is as a batsman as the events that followed.There is a line Rajinikanth, his favourite actor, says while portraying an old man in response to the villain asking how he was still stylish despite his age. Koodave poranthathu, engeyum pogathu [I was born with it, and it aint goin nowhere]. Ashwin is similar with bat in hand. The on-drive he hit off James Anderson, on the up against the new ball, then holding the pose, was as good as any punchline in any movie. It was the substance that he lacked, until this year.In the leaves and the blocks, the calm in the face of England building momentum, the way he led Ravindra Jadeja in what could be a match-defining partnership of 67 in 19.3 overs, and patted him on the back for a job well done, were the signs of Ashwins development. He is no longer part of the lower order. He doesnt need a proper batsman at the other end to tell him what to do. He has become one of those himself, scoring more runs than Misbah-ul-Haq, Faf du Plessis and Ross Taylor this year off relatively the same number of matches.The 57 not out Ashwin made in Mohali was his third fifty of the series. All of them, not to mention a handy 32 in the second innings to save the Rajkot Test, were made under pressure. He should know pressure; he creates a suffocating amount of it when he bowls and maybe as a result knows just what to do to avoid it when he bats. There was a big point of concern, though. Ashwin had to hobble between the wickets for most of his innings.I havent spoken to Ash after he came out, Pujara said. But when he was bowling there wasnt anything wrong. Probably he might have caught some niggle when he was batting. Im yet to speak to him.Nothing quite established how much fun Test cricket can be as the work of these two teams.England were on top, with a lead of 79 when Kohli was dismissed. Their lead at stumps was a mere 12 thanks to Ashwins steel and Jadejas restraint - the latter withstood Andersons reverse swing, he didnt mind being 8 off 34 and looked perfectly fine handling the second new ball.I would say that we have an advantage because both our allrounders are playing, Pujara said. So tomorrow, the first session will be very crucial for us. Our game plan would be simple -- we would be looking to take a lead of 75-100 runs. If they continue to bat, you never know. Both of them can bat. We saw in the last game that Jayant Yadav can also bat. Our lower-order has been contributing in all the Test matches. We expect them to continue tomorrow as well. ' ' '