PORTLAND, Ore. Linus Ullmark Jersey . -- Houston has a LaMarcus Aldridge problem. The Trail Blazers All-Star forward has been dominating with more than 40 points in each of the opening two playoff games with the Rockets in Houston. Portland is up 2-0 as the series moves to Rip City on Friday night, giving the Rockets little time to figure out how to defend Aldridge. He opened the playoffs with a franchise post-season-best 46 points in the Blazers 122-120 overtime victory, then followed it up with 43 points in the 112-105 win on Wednesday night. Rockets coach Kevin McHale summed it up best when he said: "So far, hes had a hell of a series." Aldridge found success in the paint in the opener so the Rockets adjusted -- but so did Aldridge, who went outside to pepper Houston with midrange jumpers. Thirteen of his 18 field goals came from 10 feet out or more. "Hes making tough shots, hes getting to the foul line. Hes offensive rebounding. Hes doing the whole package and its tough for us," said Houston guard James Harden. "We gotta figure something out real soon. In game three, it is either we win or its over." Aldridge is the first player to score 43 or more points in consecutive playoff games since Tracy McGrady in 2003, and the first to score at least 40 in back-to-back post-season games since LeBron James in 2009. It almost goes without saying that Aldridge is the first Blazer with at least 40 points in back-to-back playoff games. "You can tell just by his approach how hes really dialed in and hes playing big. Hes really taken it upon himself to do all these things," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said Thursday. "Give him all the credit. Hes been wanting this moment for a long time and hes rising to the challenge." Aldridge acknowledged the team for his success. "This team in general just believes in me so much and they ride the wave so well," he said. "When Im going one through 15, they are all cheering and telling me to shoot it. If I pass up a shot, theyre all mad at me and I think having 15 guys having your back like that is great." Aldridges play has put Portland in charge as the team returns home. The Blazers havent opened a playoff series 2-0 since 1977, when they got the early jump on the Lakers en route to the Western Conference title. Portland went on to beat Philadelphia for its lone NBA championship Portland ranked seventh in the league during the regular season with just 10 losses at home. Only three teams have come back to win after losing the first two games of a seven-game series at home: The last was the 2004-05 Mavericks, who came back against the Rockets. Houston is 0-7 overall when falling behind 0-2 in the first round since the 1983-84 expansion. Dwight Howard said its no time to panic. "Weve played against Portland in the regular season and we were successful. We just got to play basketball. We cant look back. We have to stay positive," he said. "They (Portland) won two games but its the first to four and we cant let our heads down. We dug a hole but we can always get out of it." Howard had 32 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesdays loss, while Harden had 18 points. Harden was the leagues top shooting guard in the regular season, but hes 14 of 47 from the field in the playoffs for his worst two-game stretch of the season. Part of that is due to Portlands Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum taking turns at shutting him down. "Weve done a good job guarding without fouling and one thing about playoff basketball is that everybody has the every possession mentality," Stotts said. "We didnt fall asleep on him and I dont think he got a lot of easy looks and every great player in this league, you just want to make them work and I think Nick and Wes in particular really have made him work." For his part, Harden isnt really concerned about a slump. Hes more focused on the Blazers -- and stopping Aldridge. "Im not worried about my offence, Im worried about our defence, our defence as a team. When we get stops and get out in transition everybody feels good about themselves and thats when the assists flow in and things start going well," he said. "If we cant get stops it makes it more difficult. They are a very good team." Matt Hunwick Jersey . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. Jeff Skinner Jersey . TSN was honoured with several awards, with Rod Smith and James Duthie sharing the win for Best Sports Host for SportsCentre and the NHL: Season On The Brink coverage, respectively. https://www.cheapsabres.com/873v-grant-fuhr-jersey-sabres.html . Torres calmly stroked a 51st-minute spot kick down the middle with goalkeeper Romel Quinonez diving right to convert a penalty earned by Javi Martinez. Spain controlled play at the Sanchez Pizjuan but found it hard to convert against a well-organized Bolivian team before Iniesta charged forward to curl around Quinonez in the 84th to seal victory.TSN rocks the house from March 1-9 to deliver all the action from Canadas national mens curling championship, the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier, live from Kamloops, B.C. In total, Canadas Sports Leader delivers 70-plus hours of exclusive live coverage, all the way from Draw 1 (Saturday, March 1) at 4:30 p.m. ET to the Final on Sunday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET. In addition, French-language coverage of the Brier is available on RDS2, with live coverage of the Final airing on RDS. Once the preliminary draws have been played, TSN revisits the tournament highlights and previews the Final during the 30-minute Tim Hortons Championship Preview Special on Sunday, March 9 at 7 p.m. ET. TSNs esteemed broadcast team will be at the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops, B.C. to call the action. The team is led by Canadas preeminent curling voice Vic Rauter, Olympic gold medallist Linda Moore, and two-time Brier champion and Olympic gold medallist Russ Howard, as well as TSNs Bryan Mudryk and three-time Scotties winner Cathy Gauthier. This years Brier field is highlighted by 2011 World Champion Jeff Stoughton (Team Manitoba), who is looking to add to his three career titles. Former Brier winneer and 2010 World Champion Kevin Koe (Team Alberta) returns to the tournament to compete against his brother Jamie Koe (Team Northwest Territories/Yukon). Colin Miller Jersey. Rounding out the field are 2006 Brier champ Jean-Michel Ménard (Team Québec); 11-time provincial champion Brad Gushue (Team Newfoundland and Labrador); John Morris (Team British Columbia); Jamie Murphy (Team Nova Scotia); James Grattan (Team New Brunswick); Jeff Currie (Team Northern Ontario); Eddie MacKenzie (Team Prince Edward Island); Steve Laycock (Team Saskatchewan); and Greg Balsdon (Team Ontario). Fans can visit TSN Digital platforms to keep up to date with all the latest scores, news, video highlights, and tweets from the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier. Fans can also join the conversation by visiting Facebook.com/TSNCurling, following @TSNCurling, @TSNVicRauter and @BryanMudryk, and by using the hashtags #Brier and #TSN on Twitter. Following the Brier, TSN heads to Saint John, N.B. to deliver exclusive live coverage of the 2014 Ford World Womens Curling Championship, running March 15-23, 2014. CLICK HERE for TSNs broadcast schedule for the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier. ' ' '