Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork. Womens Bobby Hebert Jersey .com) - It wasnt pretty, but Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers grinded out a 93-90 win over the short- handed Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. Paul missed a pair of free throws that could have made it a three-point game with 13.8 seconds remaining, but he went to the ground to secure the rebound on Sebastian Telfairs miss at the other end and Griffin sank two from the stripe. It was 91-88 with 5.8 seconds left when LA fouled Nick Collison intentionally to prevent the Thunder from getting off a look from 3-point range. He hit two as well, then J.J. Redick restored the three-point margin with his pair with 2.8 seconds to play. Without any timeouts, Thunder center Steven Adams inbounded to Serge Ibaka near mid-court. Ibaka took two dribbles and lined up a deep triple, which missed short as the final buzzer sounded. Opening nights are tough. We won but we didnt play well, said Clippers head coach Doc Rivers. I didnt like our tempo. We have to play at a better pace. Griffin showed off an improved jumper on his way to 23 points and Paul tallied 22 with seven assists to edge out a Thunder unit that hardly resembled the team that took the Spurs to six games in the Western Conference finals after knocking the Clippers out of the playoffs a season ago. Reigning league MVP Kevin Durant had foot surgery and will miss the early portion of the season. The Thunder also traveled to Los Angles without guards Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb and Anthony Morrow and rookie big man Mitch McGary. Russell Westbrook joined the walking wounded after leaving in the second quarter with a small fracture in his right hand. Its unfortunate, the way it is right now but its the way it is, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. We have to figure out how to continue to improve. Instead of Durant and Westbrook, who averaged a combined 53.8 points per game last season, it was third-year forward Perry Jones totaling a career-high 32 points to keep things competitive. Ibaka added 17 points and Telfair scored 11 with seven helpers off the bench. The Thunder started 4-for-4 from the field, with four different players hitting shots to stake the visitors an early 8-0 lead. Griffin settled down the Clippers with a pair of free throws, but Ibaka scored eight straight Thunder points to keep them in front. Paul split a pair at the line later in the period to make it 22-20. Again the Thunder responded, this time with four straight Jones free throws. OKC led 28-22 after one. Jamal Crawford heated up early the second, scoring nine of LAs first 14 points in the period. His triple at 7:46 gave the Clippers their first lead. Jones scored five straight late in the period to put the Thunder back in front, but LA scored eight of the final 10 points in the half to take a 46-41 lead into halftime. Oklahoma City locked down defensively in the second half to stay in the game and give itself a chance late. Game Notes This was the first regular season game for new Clippers owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who purchased the team for a record $2 billion this offseason ... Crawford scored 16 points off the bench ... OKC won the rebounding margin, 47-33, but more than doubled LAs turnovers, 27-12. Womens Morten Andersen Jersey . McDonagh put the puck past backup goalie Thomas Greiss, who relieved injured starter Mike Smith in the third period and then gave up the tying and winning goals. Girardi got the Rangers even with 3:26 left in regulation when he tipped in a drive by his defence partner McDonagh. Cameron Jordan Jersey .ca. Hi Kerry, So Shawn Thornton gets a slap on the wrist for the water squirting incident - a childish, unsportsmanlike and potentially dangerous act, but players can get two minutes for spraying the goalie with snow when sometimes inadvertently just trying to stop quickly? In your opinion, should the NHL ever consider taking a more serious look at such actions and add them as an infraction in the rule book? Mike Cimba Mike: The Player Safety Committee should be commended for their swift action to impose the maximum permitted fine under the CBA ($2,820.On a team widely considered to be the most talented squad USA Basketball has put on the court since the original Dream Team won gold in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Kobe Bryant knows that carrying the team on his shoulders - like he does with the Lakers on a game-to-game basis - wont be necessary this summer in London. But Bryant, who will be the oldest player on USA Basketballs 2012 entry (he turns 34 in August), expects to hold the most vital role on the team – making the right plays in the most crucial moments. "I dont have to do much man. Im just the closer," Bryant told a mob of reporters after a recent Lakers stop in Toronto. "They just bring me in in the last two minutes or something like that, if they need me. I dont have to do much." Though the roster has yet to be finalized, Bryant will be surrounded by the best collection of basketball talent of any London-bound team. He will be flanked by a pair of forwards currently acknowledged as the best players in basketball: Kevin Durant, the reigning back-to-back scoring champion, and LeBron James, who is seeking his third MVP trophy in four years. In the backcourt, Dwyane Wade is a past Finals MVP, Derrick Rose is the reigning MVP of the league, and Chris Paul currently holds the title of best point guard in basketball. The bigs dont take a backseat, either. Kevin Love is widely recognized as the best power forward in the NBA, followed closely by Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge. And in the middle, theres not a more dominant centre in the league right now than Dwight Howard. Bryant is comfortable knowing that while he may not be the shiniest of the stars on this roster, he might just be the most important as he assumes the role as the teams closer. "Thats what I do," Bryant said. "I dont have to do anything (else). LeBron, D-Wade, Durant and all those guys, they can do all the heavy lifting." Even surrounded by all these all-stars, there probably wont be much argument when it comes time to decide who should have the ball in crunch time. Bryants resume reads of NBA royalty. Hes easily the most decorated star on the team and will likely go down as the best playyer of his generation. Womens Keenan Lewis Jersey. Hes won five championships in 15 seasons and has a pair of Finals MVPs, a league MVP and, just this season, he moved into fifth place on the NBAs all-time scoring list. Hes currently on pace to become the oldest scoring leader in the NBA since Michael Jordan did it in his final season with the Bulls in 1998. Since the 2005-06 season, Bryant has been a unanimous All-NBA and All-Defensive first team selection. And all those accolades have yet to touch on the key feature of his game: there is no other player in the NBA more polished and built to perform in game-winning situations. If there is a shot that needs to be made, Bryant is your man. His top dog status in USA Basketballs hierarchy, though, was probably cemented in Beijing. Prior to the team beginning its exhibition schedule leading up to the Beijing Olympic Games, Bryant asked head coach Mike Krzyzewski if he could assume the defensive stopper role on the team. In doing so, he left the heavy lifting he talked about to the others - namely James, Wade, Carmelo Anthony and the budding point guard duo of Paul and Deron Williams. The formula worked. USA cruised through the tournament, toppling teams to the tune of about a 30-point win margin leading up to the gold medal final against Spain. Things werent so smooth in the final though, as the Spaniards stayed tight with the Americans throughout the game. By the fourth quarter, with pressure mounting and a gold medal on the line, Bryant assumed the closer role from his younger teammates. Wade may have had a game-high 27 points to lead the team in scoring, but it was Bryant who poured in 13 of his 20 points in the final frame, guiding USA to their first gold medal since Sydney in 2000. Now, as they look for a repeat, theres even more anticipation leading up to London 2012. "This is a big Olympics for us. We have a chance to cement ourselves again as being a powerhouse of the game," Bryant said. "We won the last Olympics, we won the worlds, and now we want to win the Olympics in London, and I think that will put us back where we belong." Expect Bryant to play a major role in accomplishing that feat – especially if theres a game on the line. cheap jerseyswholesale jerseys ' ' '
