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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Blake Griffins last visit to his hometown resulted in one of the most forgettable games of a young career thats already been filled with highlights. Chris Paul sent him out as a winner this time. Paul scored 31 points, including the game-winning shot on a layup with 8.8 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-98 on Wednesday night to stay in position for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. "For me to come back and be able to play in front of family and friends is always fun," said Griffin, who was born and raised in Oklahoma City and played college ball at Oklahoma. "But most importantly were looking to get wins and this is a tough place to play and Im proud of the way my teammates played and we dug out a win." The Clippers needed the win to hang on to fourth place in the Western Conference standings. Fifth-place Memphis, which beat L.A. on Monday night, remains a half-game behind the Clippers after beating Phoenix 104-93 Wednesday night. Griffin had lost his first three NBA games in his hometown, getting a career-low seven points in a 114-91 blowout loss last month. In that game, the Thunders Kendrick Perkins set the tone by hitting Griffin in the face on a first-quarter foul that also earned him a technical. On Wednesday night, Griffin had 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and provided some highlight material, most notably a right-handed slam over Ibaka midway through the third quarter. He flirted with his second career triple-double before failing to register an assist in the fourth quarter. But thats when Paul, playing on the court where he once starred with the relocated New Orleans Hornets, was at his best. Pauls right-handed runner during a 15-4 run tied it at 80 before he came out for a brief rest, and Randy Foyes 3-pointer from the right side with 8:35 remaining put L.A. ahead 85-84. It was the first lead for the Clippers since it was 6-5 in the opening 4 minutes. Paul also had a tiebreaking 3-pointer and a floater along the lane to give L.A. a five-point lead and then the 6-foot point guard restored that edge by tipping in his own miss a few trips later. After Durants 3-pointer tied it at 98 with 32 seconds left, Paul drained the shot clock before coming up with the decisive basket -- the ball rattling around the rim before falling through. He got past Thunder defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha and squeezed the ball onto the rim past the leagues leading shot blocker, Serge Ibaka, to put L.A. ahead. "Thats the reason hes the best down the stretch. He takes over games," Griffin said. "For that to be our guy, and he has the ball in his hands a lot, it just works out perfectly." Paul had 24 points in the second half, including 11 in the final quarter. "We just got lazy in the second half," said Thunder guard James Harden, who had 17 points off the bench. "We didnt come out with that aggression like we did in the first half to really control him, and he took advantage of it." Kevin Durant missed a 3-pointer that could have won it, hitting the back rim on a shot over Clippers centre DeAndre Jordan from the left wing. "He was playing off me a little and it got clogged up," Durant said. "I didnt want to risk a turnover, so I shot it." Durant led Oklahoma City with 22 points and Russell Westbrook scored 20. The West-leading Thunder (42-16) have lost four of their last six games and are one game ahead of second-place San Antonio. The Spurs (40-16) have the same number of losses and would win the tiebreaker against Oklahoma City for the No. 1 seed. The Thunder also fell two games behind idle Chicago (44-14) for the best record in the NBA. "Youre going to have to win games in the playoffs, no matter who you play. Were not worried about that," Harden said. "We just want to close these remaining games out and then go from there." Durant was 7-for-21 and Westbrook 3-for-14 as both Oklahoma City All-Stars struggled from the field. The rest of the Thunder roster was 21-for-41, for 51 per cent. "You know, we missed some good shots. I cant complain," coach Scott Brooks said. "Theres going to be nights you miss your shots. Kevins not going to miss that many shots. Russells not going to miss that many shots." Los Angeles won for the ninth time in its last 11 games -- all without top reserve Mo Williams, who is out with a sprained left big toe. That run followed a stretch when the Clippers lost 12 of 19. "Im proud of the way weve bounced back as a team through a lot of adversity and a lot of negative talk," Griffin said. "Everybodys just kind of batted it to the side and won ballgames." Notes: A portion of the profits from sales of the sneakers Durant debuted during the game will support the N7 Fund, which awards grants to Native American and Aboriginal grassroots sport and fitness programs for youth. Paul wore dark green sneakers as part of the NBAs Green Week. ... Country singer Toby Keith attended the game and sat next to former Oklahoma basketball player Kevin Bookout. ... The teams play again Monday night at Staples Center. cheap nfl jerseys china wholesale . Seattle Seahawks superstar Richard Sherman, widely considered to be the leagues top cornerback, is carrying his war of words with Michael Crabtree into the off-season. cheap nfl jerseys Free Shipping . Nyquist had two goals and Jimmy Howard made 31 saves to help the Red Wings hold on to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Tuesday night. http://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.com/ .J. Brennan couldnt have asked for a better debut with the Toronto Marlies. cheap nfl jerseys For Sale . -- Colorado Avalanche forward P. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Flames team that has new management and will be looking to build on the strong finish and hope not to fall back to where they started the 2013-2014 season.GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany -- Schalke has made an offer to former Real Madrid captain Raul Gonzalez to extend his stay with the Bundesliga club. Schalke general manager Horst Heldt said Thursday that he made an offer to extend Rauls contract, which expires at the end of the season, in an email to the Spaniards representative, Gines Carvajal. "As planned, weve come a step further in February," Heldt said. The offer was made via email because there was no time to arrange a meeting between the parties due to their busy schedules, and Heldt doesnt expect a response before the end of March. "Rauls adviser has to consider the offer in peace and quiet and speak to the pplayer about it.dddddddddddd Its agreed that well probably sit down together around the end of March to discuss it," he said. The 34-year-old Raul has scored 25 goals in 56 league appearances for Schalke since his 2010 move from Real Madrid. He has scored 33 goals in all competitions for the German side, including 14 this season. The former Spain captain won the German Cup in his first season with Schalke last year. "Of course hes a very important player for us," Heldt said. "Hes already scored 11 goals in the Bundesliga this season and he always gives his all. Were proud to have such an unparalleled footballer playing for Schalke." Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' |
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