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08	November 2019

ach Mike Yeo said if his team wants a different re

LOS ANGELES -- The Clippers expected theyd be better once Chris Paul returned to the lineup. USA Soccer Gear . They just probably couldnt have imagined how much. Blake Griffin had 26 points, 11 rebounds and six assists Sunday night as Los Angeles stormed out to a 31-point lead in the first quarter with its All-Star point guard back on the court and pummeled the Philadelphia 76ers 123-78. "It felt great just to play. You never know what its going to be like until you actually get out there and compete," Paul said. "A lot of things go through your mind out there, especially when you come back because you want to make sure youre not too tired and not trying too hard. But at the same time, weve been playing extremely well and I didnt want to break up our rhythm." Jamal Crawford scored 21 for the defending Pacific Division champions, who were 12-6 while Paul was sidelined with a right shoulder he separated Jan. 3 at Dallas. The seven-time All-Star point guard showed no signs of rust, getting seven points and eight assists in 23 minutes. "He set the tone," Crawford said. "The energy from when he was introduced, to the level of play that he brings, it makes everybody better." DeAndre Jordan had 20 rebounds and 10 points, helping Los Angeles increase its division lead over idle Phoenix to four games. The 45-point margin of victory was the largest for the Clippers franchise. The previous record was 39, set in a 121-82 win over Chicago on Nov. 24 at Staples Center. "Thats an intense, defensive-oriented athletic type of team. We ran into a buzz saw and we got jumped early," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "What an incredible opportunity for a young point guard like Michael Carter-Williams to see Chris Paul play and to play against him." Carter-Williams, who leads all rookies in scoring, rebounding and assists per game, finished with 14 points, five assists and seven boards in 34 1/2 minutes. Tony Wroten scored 21 points off the bench for the 76ers, losers of six straight and 13 of 16. Center Spencer Hawes missed all eight shots in 23 scoreless minutes and had just two rebounds. Pauls return provided an instant spark, as the Clippers opened the game with a 13-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by Crawford off Philadelphia turnovers. They widened the gap to 30-5 while the 76ers missed 17 of their first 19 shots. Griffin limped to the dressing room with a bruised left shin after Wroten fell into him on a foul by Jordan with less 3 minutes left in the opening period. But the four-time All-Star returned to the bench before the teams highest-scoring quarter of the season ended, and Willie Green put an exclamation point on it with a 3 from the left corner to give Los Angeles a 46-15 cushion. Griffin and teammate Antawn Jamison shared a laugh on the bench as Wroten went to the foul line, trying to cut into a 54-17 deficit about 3 minutes into the second quarter. By then, it hardly seemed to matter to the sellout crowd that Clippers starting forward J.J. Redick missed his third straight game with a sore right hip. It was a laugher the whole way. "Our defence really set the tone," Crawford said. "When were covering for each other like that and playing together, it makes it tough on other teams and kind of breaks their rhythm." Griffin showed no hint of any ankle issues after his mishap -- particularly during a Showtime-like sequence in the second quarter. Paul went in alone on a fast break with Griffin trailing the play, then bounced the ball off the glass and Griffin sent the crowd into a frenzy with the first of back-to-back windmill dunks 27 seconds apart. That made it 60-21 with 4:46 left in the first half. "I think our guys have tried that in a one-point game. Thats the problem," coach Doc Rivers said. "But thats who they are, and I dont want to take the joy away -- as long as theres no turnovers with it." Philadelphia never challenged after the Clippers built a 69-30 halftime lead. Crawfords 15-footer gave them their biggest margin, 89-33, with 6:01 left in the third quarter. It was 100-51 going into the fourth. Before Sunday, the Clippers had never beaten Philadelphia by more than 29 points since the franchises first played in 1970-71. NOTES: The Clippers shot 56.2 per cent and the Sixers 27.0 -- going 3 for 28 from 3-point range. ... The Clippers are 10-1 against teams that are currently in last place in their respective divisions. The only blemish was a 98-80 loss at Orlando on Nov. 6. USA Soccer Jerseys 2020 . The 20-year-old overager has appeared in 35 games for the Ontario Hockey Leagues Erie Otters this season, scoring 41 goals and adding 27 assists with a plus-28 rating. Custom USA Soccer Jerseys . -- The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Brandon Lyon that includes an invitation to their big league camp for spring training. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Colorado overcame the loss of one of its most physical players after he was ejected late in the first period on Friday. Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and two assists, Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 27 saves to set a franchise record with his sixth straight win to start a season, and the Colorado beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 on Friday. Jan Hejda and Nathan MacKinnon also scored for the Avs, who won for the fourth time in their past five games. "When you play well against the division, those are the points that are really going to matter in the end," Landeskog said. "Minnesotas been playing well lately, so for us to come in here and have the type of road game we did today, from start to finish, it builds our confidence for sure." Dany Heatley scored his fourth goal in six games for Minnesota and Zach Parise returned ahead of schedule from a foot injury. Parise -- Minnesotas leading scorer -- was supposed to be out 2 to 3 weeks after blocking a shot with his left foot on Monday, but skated during warmups and felt good enough to play. Despite Parises comeback, the Wild lost their third straight. After the game, Parise said his foot felt fine, but he wasnt happy with his teams play. "Played a soft hockey game. We turn the puck over," he said. "And once we started doing it right in the third period, we started getting some chances. "But we turn it over, we turn away from everybody, we make it pretty easy for them, and that slows us down. All of a sudden, we cant get any speed generated because we keep backchecking." Colorado scored on its first shot of the game when Hejdas shot from just inside the blue line sailed through traffic and past goalie Josh Harding at 3:45. Nobody else scored in the first, but Avs winger Cody McLeod was ejected after riding Jonas Brodin into the boards from behind and drawing a game misconduct. The Wild managed only one shot on the ensuing five-minute power play and fell behind 2-0 when MacKinnon tipped Landeskogs shot past Harding at 4:34 of the second. "We didnt give them much, and it was greaat to kill that one because obviously it couldve gone in their favour at some moment if they would score," Avs coach Patrick Roy said. Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys. Clinging to a one-goal lead, Colorado was outshot 16-5 in the final period, but held on thanks to a couple of key saves from Giguere. The goalie known as "Jiggy" turned away a prime scoring attempt from Keith Ballard from right in front of the net with 3 minutes left in the game. "We were expecting a push from them, and I thought they did a good job putting pucks to the net, but overall we didnt make too many big mistakes that would cost us a goal or the game," Giguere said. "Overall we should be pretty happy with a big road game." Landeskog scored into an empty net with 20 seconds to play. Minnesota and Colorado have developed a rivalry after meeting twice in the first round of the playoffs and playing each other for 12 seasons in the now-defunct Northwest Division. Fridays game was the first of five meetings this season between the two teams in the new Central Division. These two teams meet again on Saturday night in Colorado. Wild coach Mike Yeo said if his team wants a different result, it needs to get back to what it was doing earlier in the season. "It seems to take us a 2-0 deficit right now to find the urgency to be effective in the game," he said. "We seem to think that were pretty good and we dont need to do some of the things that brought us success, some of the things that we need to do to be successful. Hopefully were taking a lesson, were taking notes." NOTES: Former University of Minnesota star Erik Haula had an assist in his NHL debut for the Wild after being recalled from AHL Iowa. ... Colorados Paul Stastny missed his second consecutive game with back spasms. ... Wild centre Zenon Konopka left in the first period and didnt return after taking a puck to the left eye. Yeo said after the game that Konopka will not play Saturday. ... Minnesota designated forward Mike Rupp for non-roster status for personal reasons. ... Hejdas goal was his first since Oct. 27. ' ' '