LOS ANGELES -- The Clippers and Trail Blazers went back and forth for 48 minutes. wholesale jerseys . When it was over, Los Angeles escaped with perhaps its most satisfying victory of the season -- and Portland was saddled with its second heartbreaking loss in 48 hours. Blake Griffin scored 36 points, Chris Paul had 20 points and 12 assists, and the Clippers beat the Trail Blazers 122-117 on Wednesday night in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break. The Clippers, who set a franchise record for largest victory Sunday in their 45-point thrashing of Philadelphia, converted 16 Portland turnovers into 20 points during a nip-and-tuck affair that included 40 lead changes. "We were up one, down one, up one," Paul said. "I told them in the timeout: Fellas, we need to get a score and a stop. I told B.G. if we get a score and a stop, it changes the whole game. It was frustrating because it was me making mistakes on defence, and they were getting shots. But all in all, it was a good win for us." The Clippers won for the 14th time in 19 games since Jan. 4, when the Spurs handed them their worst loss of the season, 116-92 in San Antonio. Paul made 10 of 15 shots in his second game back after missing 18 with a separated right shoulder. "Its definitely not (100 per cent)," he said. "But as long as Im not hindering my team and my teammates, I feel I can be effective out there." Jamal Crawford added 25 points for the defending Pacific Division champions, who go into All-Star weekend 37-18 -- their second-best winning percentage at the break in franchise history. They were 39-17 last season, when they finished 56-26 and won their first division title. Los Angeles and Portland are each 5 1/2 games behind Oklahoma City for the best record in the Western Conference. "Im in a great place, as far as our team going into the break," Paul said. "Its one of the best feelings Ive had about a team since Ive been in the league, just strictly because of defence. The biggest thing with us is that everyone has bought into the defensive end. We understand that we can score every night, but its going to be our defence that carries us." LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points and Damian Lillard had 21 for the Blazers, who are 5-8 since a five-game winning streak last month. The loss was their fifth straight to the Clippers at Staples Center. Clippers centre DeAndre Jordan had a miserable time trying to guard Aldridge in the first quarter, as the 6-foot-11 power forward made six of seven shots -- one night after going 5 for 22 from the field and scoring 12 points in Portlands 98-95 home loss to Oklahoma City. "Its tough, especially going into the break," Lillard said. "You want to go into it with some momentum and on a good note. We played two good games, but we just werent able to pull either game out." All of Aldridges first six baskets against the Clippers came from at least 17 feet away, including a 3-pointer that gave the Blazers a 30-25 lead with 1:42 left in the period. "Its the NBA. Youre not going to completely stop somebody from scoring," Jordan said. "I think they lead the league in scoring, but we did our best job tonight and we got stops when it counted." Los Angeles then went on a 12-0 run to go ahead 37-30 with 10:50 left in the second quarter, as backup point guard Darren Collison capped the rally with a layup and two free throws. Less than 7 1/2 minutes later, Griffin outleaped 7-1 centre Meyers Leonard on a lob above the basket by Paul and finished the alley-oop for a 53-52 edge with 3:28 left in the half. "Blakes dominance is something that we need. Hes been our MVP all season long," Paul said. "I keep telling him: I dont want to stop that. I dont want to hinder that. I just want to be a part of it." NOTES: Jordan had six rebounds in 37 minutes, ending his double-digit streak at 31 games. The franchise record is 42 by Swen Nater in 1977-78. ... Portland came in averaging an NBA-best 107.7 points, and the Clippers were second with 106.7 per game. ... The Blazers are the only team in the league to have the same starting lineup in every game -- Aldridge, Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez. They all scored in double figures. ... Paul, who will be playing in his seventh All-Star game, scored his 11,000th career point on a short running jumper with 5:52 remaining. His 113 double-doubles since the start of the 2010-11 season are the most by any point guard during that stretch. ... Seven of Portlands next eight games are at home, where the Blazers are 19-6. cheap nfl jerseys . Boston is making its first appearance in the ALCS since 2008. For Detroit, its a third straight trip to the ALCS and its fourth in eight years. wholesale nfl jerseys . The NFL has said former Saints defensive co-ordinator Gregg Williams ran an improper pay-for-performance pool, which offered bonuses for big plays as well as big hits that forced opposing players from games or left them needing help to leave the field.UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Rangers last two wins have been satisfyingly similar. Sandwiched around their disappointing home-opening loss to Montreal, the Rangers secured a pair of road victories with third-period rallies on late goals by Benoit Pouliot and solid goaltending by rookie Cam Talbot. Pouliot netted the winner moments after defenceman Ryan McDonagh tied it, and the Rangers edged the New York Islanders 3-2 on Tuesday night at raucous Nassau Coliseum that featured fans of both teams dueling chants. "It feels good for everyone," said Pouliot, who also scored the winner Saturday at Detroit when the Rangers finished a nine-game trip. "After last nights loss we came in here ready to play." The Rangers brought a 3-6 mark back to Madison Square Garden on Monday, and lost 2-0. They managed only 15 goals in their first 10 games, so once they fell behind the Islanders 2-1 through two periods, a comeback wasnt the most likely scenario. Yet, it happened again. McDonagh got the Rangers even at 4:59 with their second power-play goal of the night, and Pouliot put them ahead for good off a pass from Carl Hagelin with 6:14 left. Talbot, subbing for No. 1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist, made 22 saves for his second win. He played in place of Lundqvist for the third time in four games, this time to give him a break from back-to-back games. "I am not really trying to surprise anyone," the 26-year-old Talbot said. "I am just trying to give the guys a chance to win when I go out there. "I know the team has got a lot of confidence in Hank back there, and Im just trying to give them confidence in me." McDonaghs goal was set up by a penalty for too many men on the ice that had Islanders coach Jack Capuano screaming at the officials. Cal Clutterbuck and Peter Regin had rallied the Islanders (4-5-3) in the second period after the Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the first. Evgeni Nabokov made 21 saves. "Our defence has to play better," Capuano said. "We played decent, but were making the same mistakes." The Rangers shut down John Tavares, Frans Nielsen and newcomer Thomas Vanek, who made his Islanders debut two days after he was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres. "We have a lot to get better at, and a good couple of days coming up to work on that," Tavares said. "We kept trying to find ways in the third to get opportunities." Chris Kreider scored in the fiirst period for the Rangers, who rebounded after Mondays loss. cheap jerseys. The Rangers (4-7) have played all but one game on the road. The Islanders nudged ahead in a ragged second period in which both teams had defensive lapses and turnovers that created numerous scoring chances. The Islanders made the most of a miscue by forward Brad Richards, who was playing at the left point. Richards made a lunge to keep the puck in, but missed it. That allowed Clutterbuck to race the other way. With Richards chasing, Clutterbuck snapped off a textbook wrist shot that nestled into the top right corner to make it 1-1 at 3:40. It was the first goal and second point for Clutterbuck. The Islanders went ahead with 40.5 seconds left in the middle period, with help from the Rangers. A shot from the left circle was deflected in the air by Talbot with his glove. The puck hit defenceman Dan Girardi, who was protecting the crease behind Talbot and fell into the net. "It was just a fluke play," Talbot said. "It went over me and hit him. You cant really think about that because you cant really help it. You just kind of have to move on, and thats what we did." The Rangers had only four shots in the first period but 15 in the second. One drive struck Nabokov in the mask and appeared to stun him, but the puck stayed out. Kreider gave the Rangers a 1-0 edge when he scored his first NHL goal of the season. He showed his relief once the puck glided into the net during a brief power play. The 22-year-old forward was despondent Monday when he was robbed of a goal by Montreals Peter Budaj. This time he got to a rebound of Richards drive and scored with 7:30 left in the first. Kreider, who had two goals and two assists in six games with Hartford of the AHL before being recalled Oct. 20, recorded one assist in three previous games since his return. "The fashion we did it, coming back, it is always exciting," Kreider said. "It kind of gets your heart going a little more than youd like. "The guys showed a lot of resiliency. It was a great character win." NOTES: Tavares has a 10-game point streak snapped, the longest in the NHL this season. Nielsen had scored a goal in four straight games. ... The Rangers activated Hagelin from the injured list, and he made his season debut following shoulder surgery. ... Clutterbuck has 63 goals and 337 penalty minutes in 355 NHL games. ... This was the only meeting between the teams at Nassau Coliseum. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
