Dein erstes Forum » ond baseman Neil Walker missed a second

LOS ANGELES -- Blake Griffin has become the first player in the history of the Los Angeles Clippers franchise with three consecutive games of 30 or more points. And hes made it look easy, even without Chris Pauls help. Griffin scored 19 of his 36 points in the first quarter and Jamal Crawford added 21, leading the Clippers to a 118-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors in a matchup of division leaders Friday night. "I expected greatness, but Blakes done some things we didnt know he could do," coach Doc Rivers said. "Clearly, were taking advantage of him in the open court with the ball. And hell be even better when Chris comes back." DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the defending Pacific Division champions, who are 12-6 since Paul separated his right shoulder on Jan. 3. "When it first happened, we didnt know how long it would be at that time," Crawford said. "Me and Blake understood what it meant, and that more was expected of us. But its been a total team effort, and thats a credit to the coaching staff. They always keep us prepared. You saw how things went for Doc in the past with Boston when he lost Rondo and had K.G. in and out of the lineup. But he never made excuses, and he wasnt going to allow himself to make excuses this time no matter who was out." Griffin, who had 36 points at Denver and 43 against Miami in the Clippers previous two games, capped his dominant opening quarter on a 20-footer with 2.4 seconds on the clock to give the Clippers a 29-22 lead. Crawford, who had 37 points in the previous meeting between the teams, burned the Raptors for 14 points in the second quarter while starting again for the injured J.J. Redick. "Their bigs created some problems. And when youve got a player like Jamal Crawford, it can definitely get tough," Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan said. "Thats why you cant give them any leeway. Youve got to fight with them to the end." Jordan attempted 22 free throws and converted a career-high 10, after entering the game averaging 43.4 per cent from the foul line. "I think they started fouling him when they were down 18. And when they stopped it, they were down 17," Rivers said. "Its like when they intentionally walk people in baseball -- and thats no fun to watch. I would say it changed the rhythm of the game, because we had a great pace and we never got back to that. But as far as the score, it really didnt change anything." The Clippers, coming off a 116-112 loss to the NBA champion Miami Heat on Wednesday, are 4-6 against the other five first-place clubs. They havent dropped back-to-back home games in the regular season since Nov. 3-5, 2012, against Golden State and Cleveland. DeRozan had 36 points and eight assists for the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors, who concluded their 2-3 road trip with their fourth straight loss to the Clippers at Staples Center. They lead the Brooklyn Nets by three games in the standings. Terrence Ross, who tied Vince Carters single-season franchise record with 51 points in the Raptors 126-118 loss to the Clippers on Jan. 25 at Toronto, picked up two fouls in the first quarter and finished with nine points in 28 minutes on 3-for-10 shooting. Amir Johnson hit Griffin in the head with his left arm as the four-time All-Star drove the lane on an attempted slam dunk with 9:50 left in the third quarter. The call was a flagrant 1 foul after referees James Capers, Mark Lindsay and Matt Boland viewed the replay at the scorers table, and Griffin converted both free throws for a 75-56 lead. Less than 3 minutes later, Jordan blocked a short jumper by Kyle Lowry, leading to a 3-pointer by Matt Barnes that widened the gap to 82-60, the Clippers biggest lead of the game. Griffin got his fifth foul and took a seat with 5:16 left in the third, but by then the Clippers had built an 84-66 cushion. Toronto ended the quarter with a 10-1 spurt, slicing its deficit to 92-83, but they got no closer. Willie Green helped seal the victory with a pair of 3-pointers 1:24 apart. The Clippers were 9 for 24 from behind the arc, improving to 22-0 when making at least nine. NOTES: Paul was cleared on Thursday to play in Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, with the 18-32 Lakers serving as the opening act against Chicago in the Staples Center doubleheader. ... DeRozan is the first USC player to be selected to play in an All-Star Game since Gus Williams in 1983, when the Lakers hosted the event at the Forum. ... Ross will be trying to defend his All-Star slam-dunk title on Feb. 15 at New Orleans. Discount NBA Jerseys . Louis and Ryan Kesler have demanded to be traded. NBA Jerseys Outlet . The game had many controversial incidents that, upon closer inspection, were not as controversial as many believed. The Formations Toronto FC lined up in its usual 4-4-2 formation, with Nick Hagglund slotting in at right fullback and Bradley Orr at centreback in place of the injured Mark Bloom and Steven Caldwell, respectively. https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/ .Y. -- A month ago, Syracuse was unbeaten, ranked No. NBA Jerseys Store . -- The Atlanta Braves are facing the possibility of losing another pitcher for the season after general manager Frank Wren said Saturday that Cory Gearrin has a serious injury to his right elbow. Nike NBA Jerseys China .Mallais and his team out of Saint John defeated James Grattan 5-4 in Fredericton.The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier from Feb. PHOENIX -- Nick Ahmed provided the big hit of the day for the Arizona Diamondbacks -- with his left forearm. Ahmed was struck by a potential double play relay as he slid into second base in the 10th inning, and the Diamondbacks wound up beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 Sunday. With runners at the corners and one out, Andy Marte hit a grounder to shortstop Jordy Mercer, who flipped to second baseman Jayson Nix for a forceout. Ahmed came in with his arms raised up, and was hit by Nixs throw. The ball rolled away, allowing Tuffy Gosewich to score the winning run. "Thats the way were taught to slide and play the game. Go in hard and late and it wasnt a dirty play in my mind at all," Ahmed said. Manager Clint Hurdle and the Pirates lingered on the field to argue with the umpires, to no avail. There was no video review of the final play, and crew chief Ron Kulpa said the call couldnt be challenged. After the game, the umpires looked at a replay for their own sake. Second base umpire Lance Barrett stood by his no-call on interference and Kulpa backed him. "The guy has to do something obviously, willfully, intentionally to break up that double play. Guys slide into second base all the time with their hands up," Kulpa said. "When Lance told him what he had, we talked about it, but Clint wasnt very irate. Its a big play. We looked at the tape, and Lance got it right," he said. Hurdle felt otherwise. "I felt there was an extra effort in getting his hands up, in the way," he said. Ahmed had a bandage over his arm after the game. "I was anticipating if the ball was on the ground trying to go in hard and breaking up two," Ahmed said. "I went in hard and slid late, and it looked like Nix kind of dropped down to try to make the throw and it just hit me in the arm." Gosewich doubled with one out in the 10th and Ahmed walked. A wild pitch by Mark Melancon (1-3) moved Gosewich to third. Diamondbacks reliever Evan Marshall (4-2) escaped a one-out, second-and-third jam in the ttop of the 10th by striking out pinch-hitter Gaby Sanchez and Travis Snider.dddddddddddd Arizona starter Trevor Cahill was in line for just his second win this season, but reliever Brad Ziegler struggled for the second straight day. The Pirates tied it in the eighth on Josh Harrisons single, Gregory Polancos double and Andrew McCutchens sacrifice fly. McCutchen left the game moments later with left side discomfort. AHOY! The Pirates signed Nix before Sundays game. He was released by Tampa Bay on Friday and also played for Philadelphia earlier this season. Nix entered the game in the eighth and soon was involved in the key play. The Pirates optioned infielder Brent Morel, who went 2 for 2 with three RBIs in Saturday nights 8-3 win over Arizona, to Triple-A Indianapolis. He was 3 for 16 in nine games with the Pirates. TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: Second baseman Neil Walker missed a second straight game with lower back tightness. Hell get one more day of rest with the Pirates getting Monday off and is expected to be ready to play Tuesday against Miami. ... Outfielder Starling Marte went 1 for 4 in a rehab game with Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday. Hes coming back from a concussion. Diamondbacks: Outfielder Cody Ross went swimming in a pool on Saturday, but is still a ways off, manager Kirk Gibson said. Ross has been on the disabled list since July 22 with a left calf injury. ... Outfielder A.J. Pollock (hand) doubled in two at-bats in a rookie league game Saturday and could soon be sent to Triple-A Reno to continue his rehab. ON DECK Pirates: After an off-day Monday, right-hander Charlie Morton gets the call against the Marlins in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Morton has worked at least seven innings in eight starts this season. Hes 5-3 all-time against the Marlins. Diamondbacks: Left-hander Wade Miley (7-7) starts the opener of a three-game home series against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. Hes 4-1 in his last six starts and the teams is 4-0 in his last four home starts. ' ' '