The offense is starting to look more formidable with

NEW YORK -- Derrick Rose had a red-hot Kristaps Porzingis and an ice-cold Carmelo Anthony, and he chose neither.Down the stretch, Rose called his own number.Rose made the go-ahead basket with 3:15 remaining and hit the jumper that clinched it with 6.8 seconds left as the New York Knicks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 107-103 on Tuesday night.Im not here to bust or brag but Im used to being in positions where I have the ball in my hand, playing in Chicago, Rose said. Ive really played like that my entire life, through grammar school, high school, college and here.Porzingis had 31 points and nine rebounds and Rose scored six of his 18 points down the stretch. Brandon Jennings had 11 assists off the bench as the Knicks won their fifth straight at home.Thats why we came here, Jennings said. We came here to win.Anthony finished with 17 points after going scoreless in the fourth quarter and shooting 2 for 12 in the second half, but tipped out the rebound of Roses miss with about 30 seconds left, allowing the Knicks to keep possession before Roses jumper that clinched it.Theres other ways to impact the game if your shots not falling and he did it another way and that was defense and rebounding, guard Courtney Lee said.Damian Lillard scored 22 points for the Trail Blazers but fell to 4-1 at Madison Square Garden. CJ McCollum added 16 points.The Blazers were trying for a New York sweep, having routed the Brooklyn Nets 129-109 on Sunday. They managed just a pair of free throws from Lillard after taking a three-point lead with 3:58 to play.Weve got to go out there and get after it. Weve got to play hard, understand who they are and what theyre capable of, Lillard said. At the end of the day its the NBA, anybody can be beat.Rose made consecutive baskets, with his reverse layup giving the Knicks a 102-101 lead. It appeared he was going to lose possession on their next trip, but the ball came out to Mindaugas Kuzminskas for a 3-pointer that made it 105-101 with 2:37 to play.Lillards free throws cut it to two with 1:22 left, but the Blazers turned it over, then couldnt grab the rebound after a Knicks miss. Rose hit a jumper as the shot clock was winding down to put away the victory.TIP-INSTrail Blazers: Portland had won four straight at MSG, with its last loss in March 2012, a few months before drafting Lillard. ... Coach Terry Stotts remained with 190 wins, tied with Mike Dunleavy for fourth on Portlands career coaching list.Knicks: The Knicks played without starting center Joakim Noah (illness) for the second straight game. ... Jennings cramped up and didnt play in the fourth quarter. ... New York won for just the second time in the last nine meetings.NEW YORK, NEW YORKStotts, on the Blazers lengthy stay in New York, where they arrived Saturday for their two-game stint:Its actually nice not to have to travel for that extra game. It makes the road trip a little more tolerable, but to be able to stay in New York four days is pretty nice, he said.SIBLING RIVALRYKnicks backup center Marshall Plumlee didnt get into the game to play against his older brother Mason, the Blazers starting center. Marshall Plumlee made his NBA debut on Sunday, a day after Mason surprised him by showing up to watch him play for the Westchester Knicks of the NBA Development League.UP NEXTTrail Blazers: Visit Cleveland on Wednesday, the first meeting since the Blazers 105-76 rout last Dec. 26 in a game they played without Lillard.Knicks: Host the Hornets on Friday in the opener of a home-and-home series. They play Saturday in Charlotte, where they have lost five straight. Vapormax Plus Black Cheap . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Vapormax Plus Womens Cheap . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. http://www.airmaxplusstoresale.com/air-max-plus-tn-cheap/tns-ultra-discount.html . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Vapormax Plus Cheap . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Air Max Plus Tn Cheap . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. CINCINNATI -- Something about the Bengals doesnt add up.The defending AFC North champions were among the leagues best in the first half of last season, when they won their first eight games.In what amounts to a full season since, theyve gone 7-9-1 -- including a playoff loss to Pittsburgh -- and no longer have the look of a contender.They entered their bye this week at 3-4-1 following a 27-27 tie with Washington in London. A team that has reached the playoffs five consecutive seasons -- and lost in the first round each time -- is in danger of not even making it that far.Weve got the guys in the locker room to do it, we just havent done it, running back Jeremy Hill said. So we can talk about it all we want, but until we go out there and do it, it doesnt mean a thing.The Bengals have a losing record even though theyve been one of the most fortunate teams in the league with injuries. Theyre basically at full strength now that tight end Tyler Eifert has returned from ankle surgery.I feel like we should be leading the division right now, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick said. Its not a long season (left), but we have a lot of games to make up for the early bumps in the road.There might be some changes in the second half, particularly on the defense.The Bengals returned the nucleus of a unit that gave up the second-fewest points in the league last season. It ranks only 21st this season and is on pace to give up nearly 100 more points than last season.The stars of the defense are having subpar years. Linemen Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, Domata Peko and Michael Johnson combined for 34+ sacks last season; theyre on pace for 19 combined this season.Atkins, a two-time All-Pro tackle, had 11 sacks last season; he has only 3+ this season. Dunlap is down from a career-high 13+ to five.Its not only on the line. The linebackers and defensive backs have struggled, too.Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther is using the bye week to evaluate each players performance and decide whether a younger player might deserve more time at their position.Some of the guys that have been here, that have been fixtures here, for some reason orr another, whether its age or whatever it is, they are not playing at a high level, Guenther said.dddddddddddd And Ive got to figure out where I can inject some other guys that can do it better or at least try to.The Bengals thought that the defense would improve when linebacker Vontaze Burfict returned from a three-game suspension for illegal hits. He is third on the team in tackles and has one sack, but hasnt made much of an overall difference.Cincinnati has given up 400 yards in three of the past four games. The only exception was a win over Cleveland in which the winless Browns rushed for 180 yards. Last season, the Bengals allowed 400 total yards only once.The offense is starting to look more formidable with Eifert back. He set a club record for a tight end with 13 touchdown catches last season.The offense was among the worst in the league at scoring inside the opponents 20-yard line while he was recovering from ankle surgery. In his first extended playing time, he caught nine passes for 102 yards and a touchdown against Washington.The running game also has improved lately after struggling through the first part of the season. The Bengals scored a season high in points during a 31-17 win over Cleveland, followed by the 27-point performance against Washington.We havent scored enough points we need for us to win games, and we all know that, Hill said. We know we have the talent in the locker room, especially with Tyler back. We saw what he can do. No reasons and excuses, we have to go out there and do it.With so many starters back from last seasons team that ran off eight straight wins, the Bengals figure theyve got a chance to have a strong second half. They play Baltimore twice, host the first-place Steelers and play at Cleveland, so the division title is still a possibility.We did it last year, Kirkpatrick said. I dont see any reason why we cant do it this year. Same guys.But so far, different results.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '