HOUSTON -- The Los Angeles Clippers used a strong defensive effort and a spark from reserve Jamal Crawford at the just the right time to salvage a win on their three-game road trip.
[b]Tyson Chandler Jersey[/b] . Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick scored 22 points, and the Clippers had an 18-0 run in the second half to rally for a 107-94 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Crawford had 16 points, Chris Paul added 14 points and 13 assists and DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 18 rebounds for the Clippers. Griffin also had seven rebounds and Redick shot 8 for 15 from the field. Darren Collison added 10 points off the bench. Los Angeles trailed 71-60 with about 5 minutes to go in the third quarter before its big run that lasted into the opening minutes of the fourth. "I kept telling them to hang in there," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "We hung around and got it going and our defence won the game. Houston had, I think five points in the last six minutes (of the third quarter), and 37 points in the whole second half for a good offensive team. I thought Darren Collison was fantastic and Jamal made big shots." Los Angeles shot 14 for 23 on free throws, but just 9 for 24 on 3-pointers. Dwight Howard had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, but was just 5 for 11 on free throws. Chandler Parsons added 23 points and eight rebounds, while Patrick Beverley scored 19 points. James Harden, who was a game-time decision with a bruised left foot, had 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting. Houston finished 17 of 27 from the free throw line. Trailing by 11, the Clippers scored the final 13 points of the third quarter to take a two-point lead on a tip-in by Crawford at the buzzer. "We were on the line trying to get it to 13, and then it just snowballed from there," Houston coach Kevin McHale said about the end of the third quarter. "We missed some shots, and we started doubting it and we stopped taking some shots that we needed to take. Then, we got a lot of turnovers and we just got really passive. We just got nothing going from that point on." Los Angeles kept the run going to start the fourth, with Crawford capping it with a three-point play with 10:21 remaining in the game to increase the lead to 78-71. Crawford had seven points and Jared Dudley added five points in the spurt that lasted nearly seven minutes. "Chris got it started being a spark plug for us," Crawford said about what changed in the third. "I think it was kind of slow to start the game, and we just followed the lead and coach kept challenging us to get defensive stops because that breaks a teams spirits. Our offence was coming from our defence." Paul pointed to the Clippers defensive intensity as a reason for the run. "We knew that this was a team that made some runs, but at the same time, they will let you back into the game," Paul said. "Once we started the third quarter, we came out and played with a lot more purpose, more passion. That tip in by Jamal at the end of the third quarter was huge for us." Houston pulled to 84-80 on Hardens three-point play with 7:21 remaining, but that would be as close as they would get. Los Angeles had a 9-3 run over the next three minutes to increase the advantage to 92-83 on Griffins free throw with 4:15 to go. Houston tried a Hack a Jordan tactic with 3 minutes remaining, and despite Jordan missing both free throws, Los Angeles countered by fouling Howard and taking Jordan out of the game. Howard made a free throw to get the Rockets to 97-90, but Redick hit two free throws and Collison made a 3-pointer with 1:39 remaining to stretch the lead to 102-90. Los Angeles outscored the Rockets 27-16 in the third quarter and 61-39 in the second half. "We just stopped playing the way we had played to get the lead, and when you are playing against a team like the Clippers, theyve been together a couple of years and play well together," Howard said. "We had to continue to do things that got us the lead, and we didnt do that tonight and they capitalized on it. They got a good road win." The Clippers opened up an 18-8 lead midway through the first quarter as Redick scored eight of Los Angeles first 10 points. Houston finished the quarter on an 11-0 run over the final 3:40 of the period. Howard had 10 points in the first, including the first four of the run. Houston kept it up in the second quarter, extending the lead to 10 at 39-29 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Beverley with 7:26 left in the period. The Rockets led 55-46 at halftime. NOTES: Los Angeles F Matt Barnes missed his third straight game with a right thigh contusion. ... Beverley had a career-high four steals. ... The Sandau Trio Russian Bar, who were on "Americas Got Talent" performed at halftime.
[b]Josh Reaves Jersey[/b] . Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley told local media in comments published Wednesday that John Tomic would not be allowed into Melbourne Park in any official capacity or as a spectator.
[b]Adrian Dantley Jersey[/b] . Lawries batting helmet hit an umpire during his ninth-inning outburst in the Jays 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The 22-year-old threw his helmet to the ground and it bounced up and hit home plate umpire Bill Miller on the right hip after Lawrie was called out on strikes for the second out. BRASILIA, Brazil -- Switzerland grabbed a winner with virtually the final kick to earn a 2-1 victory over Ecuador in the World Cup on Sunday, extending a run of come-from-behind wins that are becoming a theme of the tournament. With just seconds left in the third and final minute of stoppage time, substitute Haris Seferovic finished off a length-of-the-field move by slamming home a close-range shot. After wild Swiss celebrations, Ecuadors shell-shocked players barely had time to restart before the final whistle was blown. It was the fifth time in the first nine matches in Brazil that a team had come from a goal down to win -- but this was the most dramatic of all the comebacks. "It was a dream to be able to win this match in the very last minute like this," Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said through a translator. "It was emotional -- it will be important for the morale of the team." Sluggish in the first half-hour, Switzerland -- highly fancied after rising to No. 6 in the FIFA rankings -- conceded a sloppy goal to go behind when Enner Valencia rose unmarked in the 22nd minute and headed in a free kick from six yards (meters). Ecuadors defending for the 48th-minute equalizer was just as abject, however, with Admir Mehmedi finding space from even closer in to nod in a corner. With Mehmedi and Seferovic both second-half substitutes, it was no wonder that the wily Hitzfeld -- a veteran coach with two Champions League titles on his resume -- had a huge grin on his face at the final whistle. Not so his counterpart. "We were naive and that cost us the game," Ecuador coach Reinaldo Rieda said. "(The loss) is more our fault. We were notbeaten by our opponent." After being among the bores of the last two World Cups, it was expected to be all change for Switzerland with Hitzfeld putting his faith in a young, dynamic class of 2014 that had come up together through the national youth ranks. But nerves ensured they started the World Cup poorly, misplacing simple passes and overhitting crossses in a drab first half.
[b]Josh Howard Jersey[/b]. The second half wasnt much better either -- but Seferovic rescued them, having only come on in the 75th minute for the ineffective Josip Drmic. The Real Sociedad forward scored a 90th-minute winner against Cyprus in June in Switzerlands unbeaten run through qualifying but he has lost his place to the emerging Drmic. "Haris is a striker through and through," Hitzfeld said. "What he lacked was practice in terms of playing time at Real Sociedad. In the tournament build-up, he performed excellently but he still needs time to develop." Seferovic scored the crucial goal, but teammate Valon Behrami deserves just as much credit. It was the central midfielder who produced a perfectly timed tackle in his own box and then embarked on a lung-bursting run up the field in the lead-up to the winning goal. At one stage, he was hacked down near the centre circle but he got up and carried on his run, with the referee playing an excellent advantage. The ball was fed to the left, where left back Ricardo Rodriguez -- who set up Mehmedi for the equalizer -- slid a low cross for Seferovic to crash a finish high in to the net. Cue Switzerlands entire bench spilling into the pitch to celebrate with Seferovic, with some players choosing to mob Behrami. "It was a great feeling," Behrami said. "Those 30 seconds were amazing for us." FIFA President Sepp Blatter was present -- and was booed by sections of the crowd -- for what was probably the poorest game at this World Cup in terms of quality. Thousands of fans missed the first part of the match because of long queues to pass through security. It meant there were still plenty of empty seats when Valencia stole a yard on Johan Djourou and guided a simple header into the net from Walter Ayovis free kick, with Switzerland goalkeeper Diego Benaglio left completely stranded. It was one of the few clear-cut chances created by Ecuador, which is now on the back foot in a Group E also containing France and Honduras. ' ' '
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