PORTLAND, Ore. Ethan Ampadu Chelsea Jersey . - The last time Nicolas Batum had a triple-double, it came because of a casually tossed buzzer-beating 3-pointer in a rout of San Antonio earlier this season. The Trail Blazers forward was embarrassed and said he never meant to disrespect the Spurs, so it didnt count. This one counted. Batum had 14 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 14 assists for his fourth career triple-double in Portlands 110-94 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. And he did it with a fractured finger. "Ive said it many times about Nic — hes very versatile and he does a lot of things," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "When he stays aggressive, good things happen." LaMarcus Aldridge kept Portland in it despite a sluggish start and finished with 36 points and nine rebounds. The Blazers, who came in having lost four of their last six, avoided a season-high three-game losing streak. After struggling to pull ahead in the third quarter, Mo Williams hit a 3-pointer and Thomas Robinson made a layup to give the Blazers 90-82 with just over six minutes left. Aldridge made consecutive jumpers, Damian Lillard added a 3-pointer and Portland took a 97-87 lead. Batum extended it with a 19-foot-jumper. Batum got his 10th rebound with less than a minute left and many in the crowd gave him a standing ovation. His first triple-double this season came in a 115-105 victory over San Antonio on Nov. 2 — but that was the one he doesnt count. "I have to do a lot of things on the court especially on offence and defence to do my job," he said. "I know my job. I know my role." Batum sustained an avulsion fracture of his left middle finger, meaning a fragment pulled away from the bone, in a loss to Philadelphia on Saturday night. He has been playing with a splint. Portland was coming off a 123-119 loss at Sacramento on Tuesday night. Lillard had a career-high 41 points in the defeat, but was held to 11 against the Magic. "I was (tired), just a little bit," Lillard said. "But Nico was making a lot of the plays, so thats what was working for us." Arron Afflalo had 22 points for the Magic, who lost their fifth straight. Orlando was coming off a 101-81 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night to open a five-game road trip. "I thought our intensity was good in the first half," Afflalo said. "We just got off course in the second half." Orlando was without 7-foot centre Nikola Vucevic, who sustained a concussion in the loss to the Clippers and is listed as day-to-day. The Magic shifted their lineup to make room for rookie Victor Oladipo, who made his 17th start of the season to the delight of a big contingent of Indiana fans who were at the game. Portland led by as many as eight points early, but the Magic closed the gap and the score was knotted at 24 going into the second quarter. Afflalo hit consecutive 3-pointers to cap a 16-2 run and the Magic took a 46-34 lead. Portland answered with an 11-3 run to pull within 49-45, but Afflalos 18-foot jumper gave the Magic a 51-45 lead at the break. Stotts addressed the Blazers sternly during halftime. "It was the first time Ive seen that much emotion from him," said guard Wesley Matthews, who finished with 17 points. "I cant repeat any of it, and it was one of those things where he almost didnt even have to do it, but it was good that he did. We thrived off that." Aldridge led all scorers with 21 points in the first half, and his layup and free throw evened it at 53 early in the third quarter. But the Blazers couldnt pull in front and the Magic answered by scoring the next eight points. Aldridge hit a jumper from the top of the key to narrow it to 66-63 before Lillard hit a 3-pointer to tie it for the Blazers again with 2:40 left in the third quarter. Again, the Blazers couldnt get ahead until Matthews basket made it 76-75 with 10:45 left. "We fought the entire game," Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said. "Were short-handed and guys really pulled for each other. We contained the 3-point shooting in the first three quarters and they end up making 3s in the fourth. You give them a lot of credit. Thats a good team." Robinson, who had only been played sparingly lately, was a spark off the bench for the Blazers in the fourth quarter and finished with six points and three rebounds in 11 minutes. NOTES: The Blazers activated rookie guard C.J. McCollum, who made his NBA debut late in the first quarter. McCollum, the 10th overall pick in last years draft out of Lehigh, fractured his left foot before the start of the season. He was activated earlier this week, but did not play at Sacramento. He finished with four points and two rebounds in 13 minutes. ... In addition to his triple-double, it was Batums third consecutive double-double, a career first. ... Batum joins Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant and LeBron James as the only players with four triple-doubles in the past two seasons. Eden Hazard Jersey . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. Austin became the latest No. 12 seed to pull off an upset, tying the game on Desmond Haymons did-that-just-happen four-point play with 3. Willy Caballero Chelsea Jersey . UEFA said Wednesday that the champions of England and France only have to include five home-trained players in their 21-man squads next season instead of the expected eight. Only one of the five players needs to be trained by the club itself. http://www.chelseasoccerjerseysonline.com/womens-marcin-bulka-chelsea-jersey/ . According to Tony Barrett of The Times, the Liverpool captain is set to announce that he will leave the club at the end of the 2014-15 season.Most diminutive players are forced to take the long road to NHL arenas, if they get there at all. The Habs Brendan Gallagher waited until the fifth round to hear his name called at the 2010 draft. Teammate David Desharnais never heard his name called and needed to ply his trade in the ECHL before the Habs took notice and signed him as a free agent. Mike Weaver was similarly undrafted. Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec went in the third round of their respective drafts. St. Louis was passed over by midget teams, ironically, ignored by the QMJHL, undrafted, signed by the Flames but later bought out after being exposed and unselected during the 2000 expansion draft, signed by Tampa Bay, and then became a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer, Stanley Cup winner, and Olympic gold medalist. But too small to play in this mans NHL, for sure.(h/tNational Post)If smaller skaters are in tough against the closed-mindedness of hockeys front offices, then life is near impossible for wee goalies. If the hockey community had its way, Dustin Tokarski would be working the take-out window at a Tim Hortons in Saskatchewan. At 511, he is everything the scouts are not looking for in a goalie. He is not the prototype. He is not Carey Price. Tampa Bay scout Charlie Hodge (himself a small, 56, NHL goaltender who accomplished nothing in the league with his limited stature other than six Stanley Cups and two Vezinas) had to beg the Lightning to draft Tokarski in the fifth round. And while, despite Montreal folklores contention, the legend of Tokarski is still being written, his play in the Eastern Conference Final is argument for a less structured approach to the game in both drafting and roster building.In a league that clings desperately to intangibles like "grit", "sandpaper", and "hockey sense", its laughable that they ignore these very qualities in players simply because they couldnt look Chris Pronger in the eye if standding on a barstool. Andreas Christensen Jersey. . And perhaps its the fact that they are ignored that makes them the players they are, products of adversity. More likely its a lack of ambition and creativity in front offices, which denies ambitious and creative players the opportunity to play in the league, and to better the game.The argument in favour of a broader notion of what makes an NHLer is on the ice this postseason, and in particular in the Rangers-Habs series and their respective runs to the Conference Final. Desharnais has been arguably Montreals best forward, if not their most consistent. Gallagher is proving that strength comes from within, and not gigantism. Tokarski has gone from relative obscurity to revelation. Weaver is more adept at blocking shots than Peter Budaj. Sixth-rounder Hagelin is proving to be perhaps the fastest skater in the league. Zucarello, affectionately nicknamed the Hobbit, is a force with his speed and creativity. And the grandfather of them all, St. Louis, is authoring a tale for the ages, the kind of postseason story that makes the playoffs so compelling.(h/t 5 Minutes For Fighting)Maurice Richard, Bobby Hull and son Brett were 510. Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr were measured at 6, but they were wearing their shoes. Guy Lafleur was also listed at 6, but at least two of those inches were hair. At some point during the 90s, when scouting staffs inflated and Eric Lindros arrived, the NHL experienced a sea change in philosophy. They became infatuated with size and believed they could manufacture skill and scoring through systems. The result was lower scoring, issues with concussions, and endless tinkering with rules in order to create the very scoring that they themselves had diluted. In witnessing one of the most entertaining and compelling postseasons in recent memory, one hopes that the NHL can again changes its ways, and value skill no matter what size the package it comes in. ' ' '