on in the fifth immediately after the Phillies had cut

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Dorell Wright hadnt hit a game-winner since high school, and certainly hed never had a winner that was his only basket of the game. But on Wednesday night, Wright hit a 3-pointer with 7.9 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the late-charging Sacramento Kings 100-99. The three points amounted to his final total. "That was pretty cool right there," the nine-year NBA veteran said after the game. "Especially since I was mad at myself for not making my shots the whole game." Ray McCallum missed a 21-foot jumper as time ran out for the Kings and Portlands Robin Lopez grabbed the rebound and held it tight for the victory. LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points to lead the Blazers, who have won six of their past seven games. "It was an exciting way to win a game," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Dorell picked a good time to make his shot." Portland, which has missed the playoffs for the past two seasons, clinched a post-season berth with a 100-94 victory over New Orleans on Sunday. The Blazers were fifth in the Western Conference with three games left. DeMarcus Cousins had 30 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings, who were without injured guard Rudy Gay. Sacramento has lost four straight and sit near the bottom of the conference in front of the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah. Sacramento trailed by as many as 15 points late in the first half, but the Kings pressured the Blazers in the second and tied it at 84 on McCallums 3-pointer with 8:17 left in the game. Damian Lillards 3-pointer put Portland up 91-86, but Cousins layup tied it again at 93 with 3:12 left. Aldridge dunked, but Travis Outlaws jumper tied it again before Cousins scored to make it 97-95 for the Kings with 1:31 left. It was Sacramentos first lead of the game. Lopez made two free throws for the Blazers to tie it at 97 with 42.3 seconds to go. Cousins made a pair of free throws to give the Kings back a 99-97 lead with 14.8 seconds left before Wright made the 3 for the win. After the game, Wrights Blazers teammates nicknamed him "Little Robert Horry." "We didnt get a great shot, didnt get great execution on that last play, but a great opportunity for Ray to make a play," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "But he came up a little bit short." Lillard had 19 points and 10 rebounds. "We made it a lot tougher than it should have been," Lillard said. Gay also missed Tuesday nights 107-92 loss at Oklahoma City because of a lower back strain. Guard Isaiah Thomas missed his ninth straight game because of a right quad injury. Former Blazer Travis Outlaw got his fourth start of the season for the Kings. The Kings appeared worn out after playing the night before and Portland pulled away in the second quarter with a 10-0 run that made it 48-35. The Blazers extended the lead to as many as 15 points and went into the break with a 56-46 lead. But the Kings closed the gap to 68-65 on Jason Thompsons dunk midway through the third quarter. Cousins hook shot got Sacramento within 70-67. But Portland responded with a 9-0 run capped by Thomas Robinsons jumper to pull back ahead 79-67 before the quarter was over. Sacramento had a nine-point run to narrow it to 79-77 with 10:45 left. Lillard answered with a 3-pointer for the Blazers. "Were playing against great teams that are playing for something and its not like they arent giving it their all," McCallum said. "So to know that we can compete with some of these top teams should give us a lot of confidence." Notes: The Portland Trail Blazers -- as well as owner Paul Allen -- are appearing on Thursday nights episode of Portlandia on the IFC channel. All-Star forward Aldridge previously appeared on the show as Penny Marshalls boyfriend. ... Former Oregon State guard Jared Cunningham was playing the final game of a 10-day contract with the Kings, although Sacramento could keep him until the end of the regular season. ... It was Blazers rookie Alan Crabbes birthday. Isaiah Hartenstein Rockets Jersey . Brooks replaces right-hander Yordano Ventura, who left his last outing with a sore elbow. Ventura is expected to miss one start. Brooks has made one relief appearance for the Royals this season, allowing six runs in two innings in a May 3 loss to Detroit. Vincent Edwards Rockets Jersey .com) - Jimmie Johnson won Sundays AAA Texas 500 while championship contenders Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski as well as their teams were involved in a post-race fight on pit road after the two clashed in the closing laps at Texas Motor Speedway. https://www.rocketsrookiesshop.com/Michael-Carter-Williams-City-Edition-Jersey/ . On the day after Billy Horschel posted his 12th straight round in the 60s, won his second straight tournament against a world-class field and picked up an additional $10 million bonus as the FedEx Cup champion, Watson was kicking back in his seat at a Kansas City Royals game. Russell Westbrook Jersey . -- After a year spent travelling the world, Brooks Koepka suddenly is in a position to play a lot more golf at home. Carmelo Anthony Rockets Jersey .com) - The Boston Bruins announced Monday that the team has signed goaltender Niklas Svedberg to a one-year contract. WASHINGTON -- Stephen Strasburg turned in a strong outing and the bats produced another bunch of runs. After two months of mediocrity, perhaps the Washington Nationals have turned the page. Strasburg struck out 11 in seven innings Wednesday night and the Nationals kept the Philadelphia Phillies bats quiet yet again in an 8-4, rain-interrupted win. The Nationals have won four of five, outscoring the Texas Rangers and Phillies 34-10 during that span. True, five games represent barely more than 3 per cent of the regular-season schedule, but they had to start somewhere. "Its been a lot of fun for us, pitching the ball good and swinging the bat well," said leadoff hitter Denard Span, who had two doubles and two RBIs. "Hopefully we keep it going." Strasburg (5-4) had the Phillies flailing as he hit double digits in Ks for the 15th time in his career -- and for the fourth time without issuing a walk. Ten of the right-handers 11 strikeouts were swinging, including Marlon Byrd (95 mph fastball), Ryan Howard (95 mph fastball) and Domonic Brown (88 mph change-up) when the rain started to fall in the sixth inning. "Facing a lefty-heavy lineup is difficult," Washington manager Matt Williams said. "But he used his changeup really well and spotted his fastball." The only consolation for the Phillies is that they scored an earned run for the first time in four games when facing the Nationals ace. The streak reached 25 innings before Philadelphia crossed the plate twice in the fifth -- once earned, once unearned. John Mayberry Jr. added a two-run pinch-hit homer in the seventh, but by then Strasburg had been working with a cushion of a half-dozen runs. The tarp came out shortly afterward, delaying the game for 1 hour, 48 minutes. Anthony Rendon finished with three hits and three RBIs, including a solo homer. Danny Espinosa had a two-run double that was a foot or so away from a grand slam, and Strasburg himself added a single, walk and run scored for the Nationals, who aare above .dddddddddddd500 for the first time in two weeks. "The offence has kind of kicked it back in," Williams said. Philadelphias A.J. Burnett (3-5) again had control issues in his worst outing of the season. Tied for the majors lead in walks entering the game, he issued four more free passes, including back-to-back walks in Washingtons four-run fourth and a walk to Strasburg in the three-run sixth. "Theyre unaggressive walks. I dont care if theres a base open. Thats not me," Burnett said. "Thats putting me in passive mode. Thats my fault. Ive got to go after hitters. I dont care if a base is open. I dont care whos up. I mean, thats not who I am. Ill take six aggressive walks over boo-boo walks that are 3-0 sliders, 3-0 curveballs or whatever it is." Burnett allowed eight runs over six innings. He was particularly bothered by the home run he gave up to Rendon in the fifth immediately after the Phillies had cut a 4-0 lead to 4-2. "For somebody who harps on shutdown innings, Im pretty (bad) at it," he said. "And I will be better. Guys throws up runs, you need to put up zeroes after that." The Phillies have lost five straight and are an NL-worst 9-19 since May 4. "Sun is going to come up, believe or not," Burnett said. "It might be a little cloudy." NOTES: It was Burnetts first loss against the Expos-Nationals franchise since April 8, 2002, when his Florida Marlins fell 10-2 to Montreal. He had been 5-0 in nine starts and one relief appearance against the franchise since then. ... Phillies leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins had the first four-strikeout game of his 15-year career. ... Mayberry has three pinch-hit homers this season. ... X-rays taken Wednesday on Darin Ruf were negative a day after the Phillies outfielder collided with a concrete wall during a game with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Ruf has a sprained left wrist and a cut on his right knee that required stitches, but he has no broken bones. He is on the seven-day disabled list. ' ' '