PORTLAND, Ore. -- LaMarcus Aldridges big night against the Houston Rockets wasnt about the stats, the All-Star votes or the fans chanting "MVP! MVP!" "This was a we needed a win night for me," said Aldridge, who had 31 points and a career-high 25 rebounds in the Trail Blazers 111-104 victory Thursday. For Aldridge, it was important that Portland (19-4) come away with a win after losing to the Rockets earlier this season -- a rare blip for the Western Conference leaders. It was the first time in franchise history that a Blazers player scored 30 or more points with 25 or more rebounds. "Im blessed," Aldridge said. "(But) I felt tonight, it was needed." Dwight Howard had 32 points and 17 rebounds for the Rockets, who beat the Blazers 116-101 on Nov. 5. That was one of just two losses at home this season for Portland. The Trail Blazers led by 10 early in the fourth quarter, but Chandler Parsons hit a 3-pointer to narrow it to 93-88 with 7:07 left. Houston closed to 97-95 after James Harden made a layup and a free throw with 4:45 to go. Nicolas Batums 3-pointer pushed Portlands lead to 102-95 before Wesley Matthews layup and free throw made it 108-96 with 2:04 left and all but put the game out of reach for the Rockets. "They made some big plays down the stretch," Howard said. "It seemed like every time we would close the gap, they came down and got a great shot. This was big for them." Blazers centre Robin Lopez added 16 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season, a career high. Portland was coming off a 105-94 victory in Utah on Monday. The Blazers have scored 100 or more points in 10 consecutive games. Houston had won two straight, including a 98-88 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday. The Rockets (15-7) were without Omer Asik, who missed his fourth straight game with a bruised right thigh. Houston did get back guard Jeremy Lin, who missed the previous six games with a sprained right knee. Rockets coach Kevin McHale was not with the team because of the death of his mother. Her funeral is scheduled for Friday in Minnesota. Assistant coach Kelvin Sampson ran the club against the Blazers. "Portland is obviously really good, and theyre really good in this gym," Sampson said. "They are playing with a lot of confidence right now." Neither side was able to get in front by more than five points in the first half. Portland held a 21-20 lead after the opening quarter. Aldridge was just 1 for 7 from the floor but he had nine rebounds. Houston went ahead 32-28 on Parsons layup and Howards hook shot, and the Rockets led 44-43 at halftime. Neither team shot well, with Portland at 32 per cent and Houston at 36 per cent. The Rockets had just five first-half assists. The Blazers opened the second half with an 11-3 run capped by Matthews 3-pointer to take a 54-47 lead. Portland stretched the lead to 59-49 on Lopezs dunk and free throw. Aldridge got rolling with 11 points and eight rebounds. The Rockets closed the gap to 70-68 late in the third quarter when Howard hit a pair of free throws and dunked. Omri Casspi tied it at 70 on free throws with 2 minutes left. The game was tied going into the fourth quarter, but Portland scored 10 unanswered points to go up 86-76. "I think we go into games with a certain level of confidence, but, at the same time, we realize that were playing hard and our success is because were playing hard," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "Our record is what it is, but its not easy. You have to compete every night." NOTES: Aldridge has four 20-20 games, making him the fourth Blazers player with that many. He is the only NBA player with two this season. ... Houstons Terrence Jones went to Portlands Jefferson High School. ... It was the opener of a three-game road trip for the Rockets. ... The Blazers embark on a four-game trip starting at Philadelphia on Saturday. ... Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas threw mini footballs into the crowd to promote Portlands new Arena League team, which begins play next season. Darnell Savage Jr. Packers Jersey . Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series. Ray Nitschke Youth Jersey . But luckily for the Canadian squad, one goal was all it needed. Winnipegs Sophie Schmidt scored the winner off a Diana Matheson corner kick to seal Canadas third-place spot in the Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino in Brazil on Sunday. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/El...Packers-Jersey/. In the late match, Shinji Okazaki scored two goals to pace Mainz to a 3-2 victory at Werder Bremen. Goals from Milan Badelj, Maximilian Beister and Hakan Calhanoglu ended Hamburgs two-match losing run and kept Hannover winless in seven games. Rashan Gary Packers Jersey . Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes. Elgton Jenkins Womens Jersey . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions.Morgantown, WV (SportsNetwork.com) - The 17th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on Tuesday evening, as they play host to the Virginia Tech Hokies at WVU Coliseum. Buzz Williams first season in Blacksburg has gotten off to a fast start. The Hokies are sitting at a solid 8-4 on the season thanks to the teams current four-game win streak. Virginia Tech was in action on Saturday and blew out Presbyterian at the Cassell Coliseum, 87-65. Bob Huggins Mountaineers have quietly gone about their business this season, but continue to rise in the national rankings thanks to wins in 11 of their first 12 games. West Virginia is also sporting a four-game win streak entering this contest, but has been idle since a Dec. 22 lopsided victory over Wofford (77-44). These two teams have quite the history. Former Big East foes (2000-03), West Virginia and Virginia Tech are meeting for the 78th time in a series that dates back to 1921. The Mountaineers hold a 47-30 series advantage, but the Hokies have won four of the last six meetings, including an 87-82 victory in Blacksburg last season. Both teams got off to slow starts, but Virginia Tech started distancing itself from Presbyterian thanks to a 15-5 run in the first half and took a 45-32 lead into intermission. The Hokies maintained a double-digit lead over the final 20 minutes to post their fourth straight win. Freshman Ahmed Hill led the team with a career-high 18 points. Four other Hokies joined Hill in double digits, as Jalen Hudson (15 pts), Adam Smith (14 pts), Justin Bibbs (13 pts) and Joey van Zegeren (13 pts) all joined the offensive onslaaught, as Tech shot a sizzling .dddddddddddd536 from the floor in the victory. Offensive proficiency has been the name of the game under Williams this season. The Hokies are averaging a modest 70.8 ppg, but are making the most of each and every trip down the floor, converting just under 50 percent of their shots (.492). Long-range acumen is also a strength, with the team knocking down over 41 percent from behind the arc. Bibbs headlines a trio of double- digit scoring threats for Tech with his 12.7 ppg. Smith is a close second at 12.4 ppg, followed by van Zegerens 10.4 ppg. West Virginia isnt getting it done with quite the same accuracy, but the team is still putting up a hefty 78.7 ppg. A lot of that has to do with the Mountaineers tenacity on the defensive end. The team is forcing an impressive 22.8 turnovers per game and leads the nation in steals (159), steals per game (13.3) and turnover margin (+11.2). Offensively, West Virginia is led by senior guard Juwan Staten, who is netting 15.9 ppg. Forwards Jonathan Holton (11.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Devin Williams (10.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg) provide frontcourt balance. The Mountaineers once again dominated an opponent, as smothering defense was simply too much