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PORTLAND, Ore. Nick Castellanos Jersey . -- 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." Kirk Gibson Jersey . Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony scored 21 and the New York Knicks won their eighth straight game, 93-92 over Philadelphia on Friday night, sending the Sixers to their 23rd straight loss. Jordan Zimmermann Jersey .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders. http://www.tigersgearshop.com/ .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. HARRISON, N.J. -- If Chivas USA continues the play the way it has under new coach Wilmer Cabrera, its now-17-game winless streak on the road is going to end soon. Chivas USA came within seconds of its first road win in more than a year, only to see Peguy Luyindula of the Red Bulls nudge a corner kick into the net as four minutes of stoppage time was about to expire Sunday, allowing winless New York to salvage a 1-1 tie. "Of course we are disappointed," goaltender Dan Kennedy said after Chivas USAs road drought increased to 0-13-4. "We are disappointed giving up a goal in the last minute of the game, the last seconds really. I dont know how much time was added on, but it seemed deep into the game." Kennedy said no one is thinking about the skid because its basically a new team with a different coach and new ownership. The past is irrelevant, he said. The Red Bulls (0-3-1) had some luck on the game-tying goal against Chivas USA (1-1-2). Eric Alexander, a second-half substitute, floated a corner kick from the left side into the box and Luyindula went up and knocked it into the net past a stunned Kennedy for his first of the season. "It wasnt clean," said Kennedy, who didnt think the shot came off Luyindulas head. "It kind of fluttered in. In the end we came in here against the Supports Shield winner and got a point and made it really, really tough on them." Neither Luyindula, nor Alexander nor Red Bulls captain Thierry Henry spoke to the media after the game. "We feel relieved, but we still havent gotten our three points, so were not entirely happy," Red Bulls midfielder Lloyd Sam said. "Youre happy not to lose the game, but we need to get our first win. Miguel Cabrera Jersey. . Weve had two home games and the second half we were all over them. We should have had a couple of more goals." Erick Torres first-half penalty kick and Kennedys outstanding play kept Chivas USA ahead from the 25th minute on. Kennedy was under constant pressure in the second half. He made a kick save on a breakaway by Bradley Wright-Phillips in the 73rd minute, nudged a dipping Dax McCarty shot over the bar and stopped a header by Henry in the final 10 minutes. A couple of other shots went just wide of the net. He finished with four saves. Chivas USA has not won away from its Carson, Calif., home since a 4-1 decision over Chicago on March 24, 2013. The Red Bulls start is still better than last season. They opened 0-2-2 before turning things around and posting the best regular-season record in the league. Torres, who has four goals in as many games, scored in the 25th minute after defender Richard Eckersley shoved Thomas McNamara in the back as he went to head a cross into the box. The penalty seemed foolish because the ball was clearly too high for McNamara to head. Torres penalty kick went into the middle of the net as Red Bulls goaltender Luis Robles dove to defend his left side of the net. "Im sad because we made a really strong effort and then to get a goal in the 94th minute obviously you leave the game very frustrated, very angry, very upset," Torres said through a team translator. Chivas USA did not have a shot on goal other than the penalty kick. The Red Bulls saw Australian forward Tim Cahill leave the game in the first half with a pulled right hamstring. Before he left, Kennedy stopped Cahill on a header off a free kick by Henry. ' ' '