— two by Redick and another from Mullens — for their first lea

Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Clint Dempsey made a triumphant return to Seattle on Sunday as he scored in the 71st minute to help the Sounders to a 2-0 win over the Portland Timbers at CenturyLink Field. Dempsey spent the past month in Brazil with the United States national team at the World Cup, but in his first game back, it was his second-half goal that separated the Cascadia Cup rivals before Marco Pappa added an insurance tally four minutes from time for the hosts. Seattle has now won four of its last five games to move 10 points clear at the top of the Western Conference. The match was an extremely cautious affair in the opening 45 minutes as the two sides combined to put just one shot on target. But things came to life after the break as Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts needed to be alert to keep out a chance from Gonzalo Pineda in the opening minute of the half. Dempsey nearly turned home a header from Zach Scott at close range in the 59th, but he made no mistake with his next chance. Ricketts produced a fine double save to first deny Dempsey and then Obafemi Martins in front of goal. However, Portland was unable to clear the ball and Pineda drove a shot toward the net that Dempsey was able to redirect home. Lamar Neagle nearly added another goal for the Sounders when he struck the post in the 82nd minute, while the Timbers came within inches of an equalizer in the 85th as Gaston Fernandez unleashed a long-range shot that clipped the outside of the upright with Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei easily beaten. One minute later, Seattle put the game away as Neagle led a counter-attack that saw him square the ball to Pappa inside the area for a left-footed finish. Paulo Dybala Jersey . While plenty of statistics illustrate Torontos turnaround in the second year of manager Ryan Nelsens tenure, stopping goals is not one of them. Rodrigo Bentancur Juventus Jersey .com) - Delon Wright made all 12 of his free throws and finished with 21 points and six assists as No. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Giorgio-Chiellini-Jersey/ . Jannero Pargo scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to help the Charlotte Bobcats erase a 21-point deficit and rally for an 83-76 preseason victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. Carlo Pinsoglio Jersey . Now the Minnesota Vikings have set their sights on soccer. Alex Sandro Juventus Jersey .Manager Brendan Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo on Friday that Sturridge pulled his calf muscle in training as he prepared to return from a five-week layoff due to a thigh strain.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J.J. Redick added 26 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied to beat the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 110-103 Saturday night, improving to 5-0 at home. DeAndre Jordan had 16 rebounds, Chris Paul added 12 points and 13 assists, and Jamal Crawford had seven of his 13 points in the fourth for the Clippers, who kept the Nets winless against them in Los Angeles since Nov. 15, 2010. The Nets played without injured starters Kevin Garnett, Brook Lopez, Paul Pierce and Deron Williams, leaving Joe Johnson as the only regular in the lineup. Still, the Clippers had to hold off an inspired bunch of subs who were coming off an overtime win at Phoenix a night earlier. Andray Blatche and Mason Plumlee scored 19 points each, and Alan Anderson had 15 for the Nets, who fell to 1-5 on the road under rookie coach Jason Kidd. The anticipated reunion of new Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers and his former Boston stars Garnett and Pierce was scuttled. Neither of the Nets players was at the game. The trio teamed to lead the Celtics to the 2008 NBA championship. Byron Mullens and Crawford hit 3-pointers early in the fourth, when the Clippers led by six. The Nets got within three points three times before Johnsons jump hook cut their deficit to 93-92 with 4:12 left. Redick and Paul sandwiched 3-pointers around a free throw by Griffin to stay ahead, 100-94. Johnsons running bank shot pulled the Nets to 104-101 with 36 seconds to go, but Jordan duunked and the Clippers finished the game off at the line.dddddddddddd Brooklyn opened the third with 10 straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Anderson, to go up 65-54. The Clippers staged a furious rally, outscoring the Nets 20-2 in a run that had three 3-pointers — two by Redick and another from Mullens — for their first lead, 74-67, since the end of the opening quarter. Redick scored 10 points and Mullens and Griffin added five each. Griffin blocked Plumlee at Brooklyns end and scored at the other end, getting fouled and hitting the free throw. Paul tossed up an alley-oop that Griffin threw down to ignite the sellout crowd. But the Nets closed with a 9-2 spurt to trail 76-75 going into the fourth. The Nets led 55-54 at halftime after blowing nearly all of a 10-point lead while being outscored 10-1 over the final 2:12. Paul scored five straight points and his steal led to a fast-break layup by Griffin, who got fouled and made the free throw. NOTES: Garnett and Lopez have ankle injuries; Pierce has a groin injury; and Williams sprained his left ankle in Friday nights overtime win at Phoenix. Reserve F Andrei Kirilenko was out with back spasms. ... In the Nets six losses, theyve been outscored in the paint. The Clippers had a 44-38 edge. ... Paul has had at least 10 points and 10 assists in 10 straight games to start the season. ... Nets F Reggie Evans had 11 rebounds against his old team. ... Former Clipper Shaun Livingston had 11 points. ' ' '