Here is the latest Washington, Oregon and Alaska sports news from The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 14 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-94 in a showdown of Western Conference heavyweights last night. Damian Lillard added 21 points and 11 assists and hit a pair of clinching free throws with 2.1 seconds left. Portland still trails Oklahoma City by a half-game in the Northwest Division standings.
RENTON, Wash. (AP) – Defensive end Red Bryant is an anomaly in the Seattle Seahawks locker room. Bryant is one of only four players that were around before Pete Carroll arrived in 2010, when the Seahawks were at the bottom of the NFC West coming off two of the worst seasons the franchise had seen. Bryant said yesterday he’s come full circle from his rookie season in 2008 to being part of the favorite to reach the Super Bowl.
UNDATED (AP) – Over the course of Mark Helfrich’s first year as head coach at Oregon he dealt with a troubled tight end, a snowball fight, and an injury to his star quarterback that was much worse than anyone thought. But it all ended with an authoritative win. The No. 10 Ducks finished the season 11-2 and capped it all off with a 30-7 victory over Texas in the Alamo Bowl. Helfrich matched USC’s John Robinson and Stanford’s David Shaw for most wins as a first-year head coach in the Pac-12 Conference.
SEATTLE (AP) – The Seahawks say they sold out of playoff tickets in less than 30 minutes. The team sold a limited number of tickets yesterday morning, after giving season ticket holders first dibs on the seats they have occupied all season. The game on Jan. 11 at 1:35 p.m. in Seattle is against a yet unknown opponent.
