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HOUSTON -- One night after struggling to contain one of the highest scoring guards in the NBA, the Rockets will get a second chance to shore up their defense when Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard pays a visit to Toyota Center on Thursday night.Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook torched Houston (6-5) for 30 points, seven rebounds and nine assists in a 105-103 Thunder victory. Westbrook entered the game second in the NBA in scoring (32 points per game) and assists (9.9), and pacing the NBA in usage rate at 41.4 percent.Lillard brings similar credentials, ranking fifth in scoring (29.8 points) and eighth in usage rate at 32.6 percent. But for all the success Westbrook had on Wednesday night and the potential for a similar eruption when they play host to Portland (7-5), the Rockets stumbled against the Thunder because their offense collapsed in the fourth quarter again.Houston has struggled with pace, scoring and shooting percentage in the fourth quarter this season and those issues were at the forefront of their loss to Oklahoma City. The Rockets posted just 13 points in the final period and were held scoreless between a Clint Capela dunk with 6:26 remaining and an Eric Gordon 3-pointer just prior to the buzzer. They missed nine consecutive shots during that stretch, adding to what has been a prevailing problem for an offense that oftentimes scores at will.We have that problem a little bit, Rockets coach Mike DAntoni said of holding the ball too long down the stretch of close games. I thought we got good shots. It might not have been your classic move the ball, move the ball, move the ball but I thought we had some looks. The 3s they had looks at we had them and they made them and we missed them. Sometimes it just comes down to youve got to make shots and we just didnt do it.The Trail Blazers issues are defense and rebounding. They entered Wednesday 29th in scoring defense (111.2 points per game) and 27th in defensive rating. The Bulls ravaged Portland on Tuesday night while rolling to a 113-88 victory at Moda Center, finishing plus-18 on the glass. Chicago managed 19 offensive boards, par for the course with Portland ranking 29th in defensive rebounding rate at 72.3 percent.Our defensive rebounding is a concern, Portland coach Terry Stotts said. Its addressed and weve got to get better and focus on it.Similar to the Rockets, Portland leans on offensive might to carry the weight most nights. The Trail Blazers trailed 13-2 before recording their first basket with 6:48 left in the first quarter against the Bulls and were down 17 when someone other than C.J. McCollum scored a basket.Yet for all the concerns over defense and rebounding, the NBA remains a make-or-miss league. When the Rockets and Portland make shots, particularly from the perimeter, they are difficult for any defense to slow. When they dont, whether in the first or fourth quarter, problems arise.Were not a paint team. We rely on 3s, we rely on penetration, Stotts said. When youre struggling offensively in the first quarter there are going to be a lot of bloated numbers across the board. Yeezy Wholesale Authentic .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Cheap Wholesale Yeezy .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. http://www.yeezyoutletireland.com/ . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Yeezy Clearance . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Cheap Yeezys Ireland .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. If England are to be given a fight over the five days in Chittagong, Bangladeshs top six batsmen will have to be the ones at the forefront. They will have to attack, consolidate and defend whenever necessary and leave very little to do for the rest of the line-up that is filled with newcomers, those still raw at the top level and returnees.Since the first Test squad was announced earlier this week, there has been much discussion about the lack of experience among the four - Mehedi Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Nurul Hasan and Kamrul Islam Rabbi - who never played Tests, and the other four - Soumya Sarkar, Shuvagata Hom, Shafiul Islam and Taijul Islam - who played so few. But the story should be about the six who have given this team the backbone by developing into the strongest batting line-up in their history.The initial thrust will be provided by Tamim Iqbal, Bangladeshs leading scorer in each format, who will renew the countrys most successful batting partnership for any wicket with the born-again Imrul Kayes. The talented but hardly used Mominul Haque comes at No. 3 to press on and consolidate with Mahmudullah, Bangladeshs most versatile batsman. Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan will be expected to take advantage of their overall experience to push on from a good start or if things go wrong, stop a top-order collapse. They will also have to guide the middle to lower order for the rest of the innings.Both Tamim and Imrul are in good form, with Tamim now the leading scorer for Bangladesh in Tests and the first to reach 5,000 ODI runs. Over the last two years, his highlight has been a more mature approach off the field which has led to a fitter body and a freer mind. His 206 against Pakistan was a masterpiece in concentration as he pulled Bangladesh out of a potential defeat.His 312-run stand with Imrul in Khulna was the first 300-plus opening stand in the second innings of a Test. The pair has averaged nearly 50 per innings, and as much as it has to do with Tamims effervescence, Imrul has lately become a forceful character.Long known as the meek half of the batting pair, Imrul has come of age since that Khulna Test in which he kept wicket for 132 overs (in his first ever stint as a wicketkeeper after Mushfiqur had been injured) before hitting 150 in nearly six hours. He still lost his place in the limited-overs format with the emergence of Soumya but kept making runs in Tests and after the 2015 off-season training regime, Imrul has become a completely different batsman. He now tries to pose trouble to bowlers every ball, and found success against England during this tour with a century in the one-day warm match then another in the first ODI..ddddddddddddIt will be interesting to see how Tamim and Imrul can now go against Englands Test attack.Mominul, the left hander whose Test average hasnt dropped below 50 since making his debut in 2013, should be provided some cushion as this will also be his first international cricket in 14 months, having now become a Test regular (or limited-overs outsider). He will have the hardest time among the top six given that he has only played 15 first-class matches during this time, though he has averaged 45.91.After Mominul comes Mahmudullah. In the gap between Bangladeshs Tests, he has become the teams main big hitter in T20s and in the last two years he has also made himself into the ODI sides chief accelerator in the middle overs, in addition to his role of calming down the middle order in Tests. It is unlikely that Mahmudullah will confuse his roles in the three format, rather it could boost his run-making in Tests.His brother-in-law and the Test captain Mushfiqur will once again have a lot in his plate but he is the most experienced player in this squad. The burden of being the captain, wicketkeeper and middle-order dependable could weigh down on him but to keep the team on the right track, in the most challenging of situations, is what Mushfiqur trains so hard for, so it wouldnt be a huge surprise if he thrives on the workload.Shakib will be the other senior player with a lot on his plate. He is the teams only bowler of note, be it in a wicket-taking role or in restricting the scoring rate. It will not be possible for him to do both at the same time, but for most of his Test career, he has had little time between a marathon bowling spell and a batting stint. He would certainly hope to have less to do but that is unlikely given the make-up of the team.There wont be any let-up in their responsibilities when they are not batting or bowling, too. Mushfiqur being the captain, will need to take extra care of all the youngsters. Tamim is known to take them under their wing while Shakib will remain the figurehead, the one they would be awed by, but someone whose one word of encouragement could spark something out of a debutant.All six of Bangladeshs top order will have to play their part in seizing the key moments - passages of play, sessions or entire days if they can - if the team are to take control, but it is within their ability. They have always relished Test cricket, although hardly get play any these days. This series against England is a chance for them to show their development as cricketers and characters. ' ' '