ded Schaub to the Raiders for a sixth-round draft pick

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- When Magic coach Jacque Vaughn was asked about his teams noticeable win discrepancy this season in games at home versus on the road, he likened their home floor to feeling like a "fluffed pillow" for his young team. It found that warm embrace again, this time at the expense of a team fighting for its playoff positioning. Tobias Harris had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Orlando beat the Portland Trail Blazers 95-85 on Tuesday night to stop a nine-game losing streak. Nik Vucevic added 22 points and 10 boards for the Magic, who led by just eight at the half but used scoring spurts in the third and fourth quarters to put the game away. Victor Oladipo had 13 points and six assists. Orlando improved to 16-18 at home, compared to 4-34 on the road. "When you play on the road its a lot different," Harris said. "Their crowd gives them energy just like our crowd does. We know we have to get better on the road, but were playing good at home and tonight was a good win for us." The Magic earned their fifth victory against a Western Conference team, but just their third over one that entered the night in position to make the playoffs. Orlando previously posted wins against the Clippers and Thunder in the Amway Center. The Magic also matched their win total for all of last season with nine games remaining. "I was really pleased with the mental focus that we had from the beginning of the game, to come out and not use being on the West Coast as an excuse," Vaughn said. "It was impressive to hold that team to 85 points." Robin Lopez led Portland with 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Blazers, who entered the night in fifth place in the West, have lost three straight. They were without forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed his seventh consecutive game with a lower back contusion. After getting blown out at Charlotte on Saturday, the Blazers rebounded and showed lots of fight in nearly upending defending champion Miami on Monday night. They didnt seem to have anything left at times against Orlando, which went right at Portlands front line. The Magic outscored the Blazers 46-44 in the paint. Portland coach Terry Stotts said before the game that the tight playoff race in the West dictated a need to "accumulate wins where we can get them." He acknowledged afterward that they missed one of those opportunities against the Magic. "This is a very, extremely disappointing loss and in fact it was a game we needed to have," Stotts said. "Weve got 10 games left. Theres got to be a sense of urgency every game. Playoff race is tight. Wed like to look forward, but weve got four teams that are right on our heels, and every game has a new sense of urgency." The Magic closed the third quarter on an 11-2 run and increased their lead to 19 in the opening minutes of the fourth. Harris was the most active player for Orlando in the final quarter, scoring eight points. The Blazers were finally able to string together some baskets and cut the lead down to 11 points on a 3-pointer by Wesley Matthews with 2:31 to play. But the Magic were able to close out the game from the foul line. Orlando took an eight-point lead into halftime after shooting 50 per cent from the field in the first half. Vucevic led the scoring effort with 14 points. The Magic also had 10 assists on their 21 baskets, including four from Oladipo. Lopez scored 10 first-half points for Portland, which shot just 40 per cent from the field. The Blazers also struggled from the foul line, connecting on only 2 of their 12 attempts. The victory aside, Vaughn said there wont be any heavy focus on wins or losses for his team the rest of the way. "Have not mentioned one time what our record is to the team," he said. "What I do mention to those guys, and (will) when we practice on Thursday, is lets come to work and get better. Thats how well continue to judge each other and continue to push each other." NOTES: Orlando improved to 5-24 against the Western Conference. ... The Magic honoured Grant Hill between the first and second quarter as part of their "Legends Nights" season-long series to honour former players as part of the teams 25th anniversary season celebration. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2). Cheap NFL Jerseys . Its great to be back for another season in Banditland, and Im looking forward to another competitive season with my teammates, said Tavares. http://www.cheapchinajerseysforsale.com/. Alfredo Simon lowered his ERA to 0.86, and the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 Friday for their 16th win in their last 17 games at the Friendly Confines. Wholesale Jerseys . Since coming to the big leagues in late May, La Stella is 6 for 7 with the bases loaded, driving in 13 runs in those at-bats. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale . During the furious first few hours of free agency Tuesday, the team agreed to terms with strong safety Donte Whitner, a Cleveland native who cant wait to play in his hometown.NAPA, Calif. -- The anointed starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders is strengthening his hold on the position this training camp instead of losing it. Matt Schaub is showing signs that last years disastrous season in Houston might have been an aberration as he looks in complete command as Oaklands starter. The performance comes in stark contrast to what happened with Matt Flynn last summer. Acquired to be the starter in the off-season, Flynn lacked the necessary arm strength in training camp and ultimately lost his job to Terrelle Pryor before getting cut early in the season. Despite the presence of big-armed rookie Derek Carr, Schaub is showing no signs of giving up the starting position with the Raiders. "Schaubys getting his mojo back," said defensive tackle Antonio Smith, who was a teammate of Schaubs in Houston during his highest and lowest moments as a pro. "Hes getting his confidence back. Hes starting to believe in himself again. "Hes starting to throw with confidence. Those are things you need to be a successful quarterback. You would be surprised just much a mindset is important in this game. ... The moment you are doubting yourself is the moment you start throwing a lot of interceptions and stuff." Thats exactly what happened to Schaub last season with the Texans when he set an NFL record by having an interception returned for a touchdown in four straight games. Schaub threw 14 interceptions in all while losing the starting job to Case Keenum and posting a 73 passer rating that was his lowest in seven seasons as a starter. After starting the season with back-to-back wins, the Texans lost their final 14 games and traded Schaub to the Raiders for a sixth-round draft pick in March. "It was like a snowball effect," Smith said. "A lot of things went wrong early on even though you felt you were playing some good ball. But yyou had key things happen to you in key moments.dddddddddddd Lost a few games, then everybody starting to panic trying to find something wrong. And then things just get all out of whack." Schaub has put 2013 in the past and is focusing instead on reviving his career in Oakland where he is enjoying the opportunity to learn a new offence under co-ordinator Greg Olson after spending seven years running Gary Kubiaks system in Houston. While Schaub lacks the true No. 1 receiver he had in Houston all those years with Andre Johnson, he is excited to work with Oaklands group that includes James Jones, Rod Streater, Denarius Moore and Andre Holmes. "Were still trying to mould what our offence is going to be and what each guys role in it will be," Schaub said. "Well find out what guys do well. What things work, what things we like to do against certain looks and defences. ... Its an exciting chance to get going with this football team and this organization and climb that mountain." Schaub had success during his tenure in Houston, making a pair of Pro Bowls during his seven seasons as a starter. In 2009, he led the NFL in yards passing (4,770), completions (396) and attempts (583) and was fifth in touchdown passes (29). In 2012, he threw for 4,008 yards with 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to help Houston to its second straight AFC South title. The Raiders believe he can put up those kinds of numbers again and that he can be a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. "I think hes in a good frame of mind," coach Dennis Allen said. "I think hes very hungry. I think hes excited about the new opportunity. I think anytime you go into something new theres a little bit of, maybe its an increased focus, an increased intensity level, because it is new. You kind of force yourself out of your comfort zone a little bit. I think hes done that." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '