SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- One swish after another, Damian Lillard pulled Portland closer. One or two more, and he mightve pulled off one of the NBAs most improbable comebacks this season. DeMarcus Cousins tied a season-high with 35 points to go with 13 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 32 points and the Sacramento Kings held off a furious rally by Lillard to beat the Trail Blazers 123-119 on Tuesday night. "Thats the craziest game Ive ever been a part of," Cousins said. "I could not wait until the end. I dont ever want to be in a situation with the ball in Damian Lillards hands. Im glad we got the win, but that was a scary thing." Cousins and Gay provided the spark for a 32-12 run at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters that put Sacramento ahead by 19 points. Gay fouled out with 4:12 remaining, and the Blazers nearly rallied back. After scoring just 13 points in the third quarter, Portland had 46 points in the final period. Lillard alone scored 26 of his 41 points in the fourth to power Portland within two in the final minute. But the Kings made just enough free throws to hold off the Blazers, who have lost four of their last six games. "That clock was moving very, very slow," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "Damian just kept on coming." LaMarcus Aldridge added 24 points and eight rebounds, and Nicolas Batum finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while playing with a fractured left middle finger in Portlands latest loss. The Kings had dropped two straight after beating top contenders Miami and Houston. Sacramento held a players-only meeting on Sunday, and the Kings emerged to knock off another one of the NBAs best. Gay made consecutive 3-pointers, a three-point play and a layup during Sacramentos surge in the fourth. Cousins also put back a rebound and hit a jumper to help the Kings go ahead 102-83 with 7:54 remaining. Sacramento led 117-105 with 1:12 to play when Lillard turned into a one-man wrecking crew. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year made three 3-pointers, a fast-break layup and was fouled shooting another from beyond the arc -- which just rimmed out. He made all three free throws to slice Sacramentos lead to 121-119 with 16.5 seconds left. "Once I make a few, I can get going," Lillard said. Isaiah Thomas hit two free throws before Lillard missed from long range to all but end the comeback. Lillard shot 13 of 24 from the floor and added seven rebounds and four assists. "Hes a competitor and at no time does he ever think hes out of a game," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Hes done that a lot in the two years hes been here. Hes a special player." In a matchup between one of the best and one of the worst teams in the West, Sacramento flipped the script on a Blazers team that had cruised through most of its schedule. The Blazers also had beaten the Kings on consecutive nights in November, winning 104-91 in Portland and 96-85 in Sacramento. The Kings started three players who did not start in the two previous games against Portland -- most notably Gay, who was acquired from Toronto in a seven-player trade in early December. That included Marcus Thornton moving back in the starting lineup for Sacramento, replacing seventh overall pick Ben McLemore. Thornton finished with three points and eight rebounds, and McLemore had two points and two assists. The Blazers still outscored Sacramento 35-24 in the first quarter and seemed ready to go 3-0 against the Kings this season. Portland shot 63.2 per cent from the floor and made 10 of 11 free throws in the period. Instead, the Kings opened the second quarter on a 14-5 run led by mostly reserves. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, and the Blazers held a 60-55 lead at the break. Thomas, who had 22 points and eight assists, hit a pair of 3s to highlight a 13-2 spurt for Sacramento to start the third quarter. Portlands topsy-turvy second half just wasnt enough to rally behind Lillard. "I just didnt want to lose the game," Lillard said. "We had some good spurts on offence, then some bad spurts on defence, then bad spurts on offence, and then good defence. We just need to be more consistent. But when it came down to it we still had a chance to win the game. Thats all I was thinking about." NOTES: C.J. McCollum, the 10th overall pick in the NBA draft out of Lehigh, was in Portlands active lineup for the first time this season after fracturing his left foot in training camp. He did not play. "I just didnt think tonight was the night," Stotts said ... The Blazers and Kings meet for the final time this season April 9 in Portland. Robin Yount Brewers Jersey . Joel Embiid was nearly unstoppable in the paint in the second half, and Naadir Tharpe seemingly couldnt miss. Milwaukee Brewers Pro Shop . -- Ryan Gropp scored in overtime as the Seattle Thunderbirds shut out the Spokane Chiefs 1-0 in Western Hockey League play Tuesday. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/1999y-robin...ey-brewers.html. -- Phil Hughes ended a personal losing streak that dated to last July, pitching into the seventh inning Sunday and helping the Twins top the Kansas City Royals 8-3 to avoid a three-game sweep. Ray Black Jersey . RAPTORS STRUGGLING: The bottom line is the true test in sports isnt just how you handle failure, but how you handle success. Chris Capuano Brewers Jersey .com) - Mike Conley scored 20 points with five assists to help the Memphis Grizzlies remain unbeaten with a 91-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. MINNEAPOLIS -- After what Chris Parmelee has been through the last six weeks, hell savour this home run for a while. Parmelee hit a game-ending shot in the ninth inning and the Minnesota Twins overcame David Ortizs big night to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-6 on Tuesday. "Its huge. Its one of those things thats a confidence builder," said Parmelee, who failed to make the roster out of spring training and cleared waivers before ending up back in the minors yet again. "In the long run, youve got to keep grinding." Ortiz went 4 for 5 with two homers and four RBIs, but it wasnt enough for Boston. Kurt Suzuki singled with two outs off reliever Andrew Miller (1-1) before Parmelee lined an 0-1 pitch into the right-field seats for his first two RBIs of the season. Parmelee has spent parts of the last three seasons with Minnesota, but hasnt been able to carry over the power he shows in the minors to the big league club. "He got sent down, frustrated, out of spring training," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He worked really hard down there and got back up here by playing his way back up, which is what youre supposed to do. A big one there for him." Eduardo Nunez homered and Brian Dozier had two RBIs in a five-run second for Minnesota. Ortiz hit solo homers in the first and fourth and is tied with Jim Rice on the Red Sox list with 382. It was the 42nd multihomer game for Big Papi, who began his career with the Twins and now has 17 homers and 47 RBIs against his former team. "One day youre going to go home, look back and see your names, see your name located right next to those guys, and thats a pretty good damn career," Ortiz said. Ortiz added an RBI single in the sixth and another one in the seventh that made it 6-5. "Our meetings were, Dont let him beat us. Well, that didnt work. Well have to change our meetings," Gardenhire said. Glen Perkins (1-0) pitched the ninth, striking out Ortiz and Mike Napoli to strand Shane Victorino at first base. Boston scored three times in the seventh and tied the score at 6 after reliever Matt Guerrier walked pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes with the bases loaded. Caleb Thielbar came on to strike out former Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski with the bases loaded to stop the rally. Leading 6-3, Minnesota left the bases loaded in the sixth. It also stranded runnerrs at second and third in the third and fifth.dddddddddddd Red Sox starter Jake Peavy allowed six runs on nine hits in 4 1-3 innings and failed to complete at least five innings for the first time in 18 starts with Boston. Ricky Nolasco allowed three runs and struck out six in six innings for the Twins. Joe Mauer and Suzuki each had an RBI single. The Minnesota Wild goal horn blared every time the Twins scored a run as the Wild played the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL playoffs a few miles down the road in St. Paul. As soon as Parmelee touched home plate, the horn blared even louder as his teammates mobbed him all the way to the dugout. "I was honestly just trying to hit a ball in the gap somewhere, watch Suzuki run," said Parmelee, who also hit a game-winning homer 10 days ago for Triple-A Rochester. "I was sitting fastball. You have to sit fastball against that guy. His slider is pretty nasty." A victory would have given the Red Sox their first three-game winning streak of the season. "It takes the air out of your sails quick. We felt like we were gaining some momentum," Boston manager John Farrell said. "Had we got through that last inning, we felt like we were in good shape in terms of who was remaining in their bullpen versus ours, but you tip your hat to Parmelee, who got one of one of the better left-handers in the game right now." Farrell originally listed Peavy as Wednesdays starter, but said he intended to start Peavy on Tuesday all along and "screwed up" when announcing the probables for this series. NOTES: Twins GM Rob Antony said outfielder Josh Willingham, out since April 7 with a broken wrist, took early batting practice and could begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend. ... Antony also said an MRI showed a re-aggravation of the wrist injury sustained by top prospect Byron Buxton late in spring training. Buxton will work out in Fort Myers, Florida, until the wrist feels better. ... Peavy has allowed a home run in nine straight regular-season starts. ... Farrell said before the game that Gardenhire and Indians manager Terry Francona will be his coaches for the All-Star game at Target Field in July. ... Felix Doubront (1-3, 5.09 ERA) originally was scheduled to start Tuesday for Boston, but was given an extra day of rest and will start Wednesday against Kevin Correia (1-4, 6.34). ' ' '