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NEW YORK -- In the last week, the Brooklyn Nets have faced two elite point guards in the Western Conference.Their meetings with Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City and Chris Paul in Los Angeles did not go well.On Sunday, the Nets return home and face another top point guard when they host Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers.The Nets return from their five-game trip with a 4-8 record and a three-game losing streak, partially because they could not stop Paul and Westbrook.On Monday, Paul had 21 points and nine assists in Brooklyns 127-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. A night later, second-year point guard DAngelo Russell shredded Brooklyns defense by scoring 32 points in a 125-118 loss.We stopped moving the ball offensively and stopped making the extra pass, and that fueled their transition, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. Defensively, weve slipped in these past three games.The road trip ended Friday when Westbrook torched the Nets for 30 points in a 125-104 loss. If Westbrooks performance was not frustrating enough, the Nets were within three points and then gave up a 12-1 run while Westbrook was relaxing on the bench and enjoying his latest triple-double.It was a continuation of a trend against opposing point guards for the Nets. Brooklyn has allowed an opposing point guard to get at least 20 points in six games and has lost each time.If those were not bad enough for Net fans, Lillard is a sore spot from 2012. The Trail Blazers used their sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft to get him and the pick was obtained from the Nets for Gerald Wallace, who eventually was traded to the Boston Celtics along with three first-round picks in the ill-fated Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce deal.Lillard is averaging a career-high 28.7 points per game while also shooting a career-best 45.5 percent. He scored 27 points Friday but shot 8 of 24 from the field in a 113-101 loss at New Orleans as Portland dropped its third straight.I feel like soon its going to go in that direction, Lillard told reporters. We just have to stay true to it, stay true to what we do.During its slide, Portland has lost by an average of 18 points per game. Lillard is shooting 34.9 percent (22-of-63) while Portlands defense has allowed 117 points and been outscored by 36 points in the last three opening quarters.Its a long year, were not in panic mode, Portland forward Ed Davis said. I mean it is an 82-game season. We just finished with game 14. We are still working on things.We obviously are not playing the best basketball right now, but we are still .500. Its not like we are on an eight-game losing streak, but we are on a three-game losing streak. We just need to take it one day at a time, stay together and see what happens.One thing that will not happen Sunday is Jeremy Lin returning from a strained left hamstring. Lin was injured in the first half of a 105-100 win over the Detroit Pistons Nov. 2 and the Nets are 3-4 without him.Lin was re-evaluated Thursday and the Nets did not have a further timetable. He accompanied the Nets on the trip and did some running and shooting after not participating in Fridays morning shootaround.Just progressing as planned. Hes on target. Im not going to give exact dates but hes progressing on schedule. Atkinson told reporters Friday. Im going to listen to the performance team. Were going to be smart about this, take a long term approach.Without Lin, the Nets have tried different things at point guard. Rookie Isaiah Whitehead started the first two games before getting a concussion, Sean Kilpatrick shot 14-of-49 while starting the next four and Randy Foye played 15 minutes as the starter Friday.However, the starting point guard matters little if the Nets are unable to rebound effectively. Brooklyn was outrebounded 46-30 Friday and while it is around the middle of the pack with 44.2 rebounds per game, the Nets had a minus-30 rebounding differential in their last three games.Weve got to do a better job protecting the rim. I thought they were getting to the rim, and we didnt protect it like we should, and we need to do a better job, Atkinson said.Portland has won five of the last six games with the Nets and six of its last nine road games in the series. Lillard has scored at least 30 points in his last three games against the Nets while Brook Lopez has scored at least 20 points in his last five games against Portland. Mikkel Boedker Jersey . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Max Domi Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. https://www.cheapcoyotes.com/398z-fredrik-sjostrom-jersey-coyotes.html . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Conor Garland Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Kyle Turris Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. CHICAGO -- The T-shirt in the window of a shop on Damen Avenue elicited plenty of nervous laughs from Cubs fans before Game 4.It read: If We Lose, Its Rigged.While its unlikely that line from GOP candidate Donald Trumps stump speech will catch on in a deep-blue, Democratic stronghold like Chicago, Clevelands 7-2 win Saturday night left more than a few of those fans were grasping at straws.How could a team that had five starters picked and seven players total at the All-Star game find itself on the brink of elimination? How could a team that won a major league-leading 103 times in the regular season turn around and hit .204 -- 50 points lower -- in the biggest games?Heres how: Third baseman Kris Bryant, last seasons Rookie of the Year and the front-runner for the NLs Most Valuable Player Award this season, is batting just .071. Shortstop Addison Russell, who collected 21 home runs and 95 RBI in the regular season, has two total bases in the four games. Javier Baez, who tore through the Giants and Dodgers pitching staffs in both the division and championship series, is at .118.Small wonder the Indians have won as many World Series games in two nights at Wrigley as the Cubs have in total since the ballpark opened more than a century ago.Its just been abnormal in some ways, Chicago manager Joe Maddon said afterward. But theyve been pitching great. ...We just need that offensive epiphany somehow to get us pushing in the right direction. And if we do that, he added a moment later, based on what they have left pitching-wise, I kind of like our chances.Try telling that to fans whove waited 71 years just to see a World Series game in their hometown, never mind the 108 years since their beloved Cubbies actually won it all. Then again, plenty of them believe they saw it coming.Behind the old ballpark on Waveland Avenue, the limousines and town cars were lined up and idling in the bottom of the eighth. It didnt help that Cub fans were again done in by one of their own. Just an inning earlier, Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, who grew up in suburban Northbrook -- and went to the same high school as Steve Bartman -- put the game out of reach with a three-run home run, then pointed to his family in the stands.I did, I knew where they weree sitting and I saw the red towel, Kipnis said, nearly blushing, so I knew where to look.ddddddddddddendors, meanwhile, were fast changing their pitch. One selling Cubs-themed floppy hats had already begin hawking them as warm-weather gear instead of historic souvenirs. Stay warm, look cool, wear them for Halloween, he yelled.If you want to scare Cubs fans, sure.Anne Riecken, 92, was being wheeled out of the park by her daughter trying to beat the rush. She stopped long enough to register her displeasure.I dont know why I though this year was going to be different, she said. But I guess its enough we finally made it back.She thought about it, then added quickly, Last night I was so mad about the way they were hitting I would have kicked some of them in the shins.Considering the lack of success most of the moves Maddon has made have registered in that department, it might have been as good a suggestion as any. As she headed for a waiting gold cart to shuttle her back to the familys car, Riecken was asked whether shed lost faith in the teams unofficial motto, Wait `Til Next Year.I dont think Im going to be around next year, she replied with smile and a rueful laugh.But John Hurley, with his 5-year-old son in tow, vowed to return if the Cubs made it back. Both wore Cubs caps and matching oversized, black-rimmed glasses, a style made popular around town by the late Harry Caray, the teams legendary announcer. John Hurley grew up here, but lives in California now.Just another year of being a Cub fan, I guess, Hurley said. But dont call me `disappointed. This is progress and its historic. And if they get back, and this team is more than good enough to do it, well definitely come back.Of course, he starts kindergarten next year so Im not sure well be able to do this for a whole week again. Or maybe well just pull him out of school, he laughed. I guess well cross that bridge when we get there.Right now, he said, brightening, were just concentrating on tomorrow night.Theyre not alone.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitke . ' ' '