Inland Waterways » Angeles Clippers pulled away in the third quarter

LOS ANGELES -- Jamal Crawford scored 27 points off the bench, Blake Griffin had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away in the third quarter to beat the Utah Jazz 102-87 Saturday night. The Clippers, looking to win their second straight division title, are 19-7 since Dec. 14 and 11-4 since All-Star point guard Chris Paul separated his right shoulder. They lead second-place Phoenix by 3 1/2 games in the Pacific Division following the Suns victory over Charlotte. DeAndre Jordan had 14 rebounds and 10 points during a foul-plagued 35 minutes. Enes Kanter led Utah with 23 points and 14 boards, while teammates Derrick Favors and Jeremy Evans sat out with injuries. Favors has inflammation in his right hip, and Evans has a bruised tailbone and right elbow. The Jazz lost the second game of a back-to-back set for the 10th time in 13 tries this season, one night after holding an emotional halftime tribute to Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan in Salt Lake City, complete with a banner depicting his win total in 23 years with the club and appearances by Karl Malone and John Stockton. The Clippers turned a three-point deficit into a 73-61 lead with an 18-3 run highlighted by Griffins reverse alley-oop dunk off a lob from Crawford with 2:43 left in the third quarter. The Jazz got as close as 88-79 on a pair of free throws by Gordon Hayward with 6:10 to play. Despite outshooting Utah 51.5 per cent to 41 per cent in the first half, the Clippers had to settle for a 42-all tie at the break after the lead changed hands nine times. Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers had to summon Ryan Hollins and Crawford off the bench earlier than he expected after Jordan picked up his second foul with 8:11 left in the first quarter and shooting guard J.J. Redick got his second one just 64 seconds later. But the Clippers demonstrated again why they possess one of the deepest teams in the NBA as they shot 51.4 per cent from the field and held the Jazz to 35.8 per cent. Alec Burks, the first player off the Jazz bench, missed seven of eight shots and finished with four points. Rudy Gobert, the second player off the bench, fouled out with 8:04 remaining and finished with five points in 18 minutes. The Clippers won their eighth straight meeting with Utah, making it their longest winning streak against the Jazz since the franchises began competing against each other in 1974-75. NOTES: Jordan entered Saturday leading the NBA in rebounding average (14.0) and field goal percentage (64.9). Only one player in the previous 40 seasons has finished first in both categories: Dwight Howard in 2009-10 with Orlando (13.2 rebounds, 61.2 per cent shooting). The only player prior to that to have accomplished the feat was Wilt Chamberlain, who did it eight times between 1960-61 and 1972-73. ... The Clippers are 14-0 when shooting at least 50 per cent, and 41-3 since the start of last season. ... The Clippers are 19-0 at home when leading after three quarters and 32-3 overall in those situations. ... Griffin scored a season-high 40 points against the Jazz on Dec. 28 in a 98-90 Clippers victory at Staples Center, including 14 free throws on 17 attempts. ... Jordan, trying to join Michael Cage (1987-88) as the only Clippers to win a rebounding title, recorded his 3,000th rebound in the NBA during the regular season after a missed layup by Trey Burke in the third quarter. ... Burks averaged 18.4 points over his previous eight games -- the first four as a starter while Hayward was sidelined with a hip flexor. Rod Carew Jersey . On Tuesday, the star questioned whether that was still the case. Speaking to reporters at a charity event, Johnson said: "I just kind of wonder sometimes: Is this still the place for me?" Johnsons comments came after he was asked why he recently skipped a voluntary minicamp. Marcos Diplan Twins Jersey .Then came December.Three straight losses, including a crushing 27-24 defeat to Washington (4-11) on Saturday, has the Eagles (9-6) on the brink of playoff elimination. https://www.cheaptwins.com/1702t-max-kepler-jersey-twins.html . -- Canadian freestyle skier Roz Groenewoud isnt letting surgery to both of her knees deter her expectations for the Sochi Olympics. Tom Brunansky Jersey . A criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court said his girlfriend told police they got into the argument early Thursday at his suburban Minneapolis home. LaMonte Wade Jr. Twins Jersey . The top-ranked Spaniard won his fourth Madrid Open on Sunday after Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw with a hip injury when trailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the final. And Nadal, who is coming off to uncharacteristic quarterfinal losses on clay, said his mental strength is still lacking just two weeks ahead of the French Open.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Robbie Grossman and the Houston Astros finally got to Yu Darvish -- and moved out of last place in the AL West. Grossman snapped an 0-for-28 slide with a career-high four hits as the Astros completed a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with an 8-4 victory over the All-Star pitcher who dominated them so many times in the past. "The way we came into here, after losing seven in a row, for our guys to respond the way they responded in this three-game series, Im extremely proud of them," manager Bo Porter said. Grossman and rookie George Springer homered for the Astros, who moved into fourth place by a percentage point over slumping Texas. It is the first time in their two seasons since switching leagues that the Astros have not been in fifth place in the five-team AL West after mid-April. "When you look at where were at today, obviously we feel like we have improved as a ballclub," Porter said. "At the same time, when we get to the end of the year, well see where were at. It definitely feels good to be playing good baseball right now." Springer also made an incredible running catch in the third inning. The centre fielder leaped on the warning track, reached over his head and held onto the ball when he slammed into the wall. Houston had 28 runs and 42 hits in the series against its in-state rival that won 17 of 19 against the Astros last season. The Rangers lost for the 10th time in 11 games and have dropped 18 of 21 overall. At 38-53, their .418 winning percentage is the worst in the majors -- just behind Arizona and Houston, both 39-54 for a .419 mark. "Its been really tough. Its been frustrating," outfielder Alex Rios said. "This is a season that I believe that were all going to remember in a bad way." Dallas Keuchel (9-5), one of five candidates in Internet balloting for the final spot on the AL All-Star team, allowed four runs and eight hits over 6 2-3 innings. While it wasnt his best performance, he was happy to beat the Rangers. "Just bbecause theyve beaten us up the last couple years," Keuchel said.dddddddddddd "Theyve been the big brother, of sort." Darvish (8-5), who had thrown 20 consecutive scoreless innings while winning his last three home starts, gave up a season-high 10 hits and six runs. He struck out eight and needed 109 pitches to get through six innings. Against Houston at home in April, Darvish allowed one hit over eight scoreless innings. The Japanese ace also had two near no-hitters on the road against the Astros last season, one in which he retired the first 26 batters. Carlos Corporan had a two-run double in the sixth to break a 4-all tie. An inning later, Springer hit his 19th homer, a two-run shot off reliever Jason Frasor. Grossmans solo homer, about 329 feet into the right-field corner, made it 4-all with two outs in the fifth. He also had a double in the first inning and an RBI single in the third. Before getting recalled this week by the Astros, Grossman had an 18-game hitting streak at Triple-A Oklahoma City. But he was hitless in a span of 28 at-bats in the majors after going 0 for 4 on Tuesday night to start his third stint with Houston this season. Adrian Beltre extended his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI single in the Texas first. The All-Star third baseman is batting .494 (38 for 77) in his last 20 home games, and is second in the AL at .336 overall. Houston took a 2-1 lead in the second when Corporan hit a two-out double before Enrique Hernandez tripled and scored on a wild pitch. "The team is in a skid, but Im telling you, theyre playing," Texas manager Ron Washington said. " Were not pitching very well. ... We just dont have a sustainable offence to support whats going on right now." NOTES: Springer also made a running catch in the right-centre gap to end the third. ... Beltre was called out on strike three in the third when he stepped out of the box but wasnt granted time. When he came to bat in the sixth, Beltre had an animated conversation with plate umpire Bill Miller. ' ' '