Offtopic » team. On Thursday the on-court adjuustment begins.ddd

SALT LAKE CITY -- After spraining his ankle, Chris Paul might have lost some quickness. He compensated with determination. Paul shook off the injury and the teams early sluggishness to score 18 points and extend the Los Angeles Clippers winning streak to 10 with a 96-87 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night. "I knew I had just had to find a way," Paul said. "We already said at halftime, its not going to be pretty every night, but stay the course and find a way to win." Before Paul got hurt, it certainly wasnt pretty and the Clippers struggled. Blake Griffin had 20 points, even though he never got into a comfortable flow. "Its never an easy game coming into a place like this," he said. "You cant relax and walk into a building and think youll just win because of who you are or what you done, or a streak youre on." Los Angeles had its lowest points total during the streak, but the Clippers won this time with defence, forcing 20 turnovers by the Jazz that led to 31 points. "Thats what we kept saying in the huddle, Lets play our defence!" Paul said. "Early in the game, it was like they were just in a rocking chair. They were swinging it and getting everything they wanted." The Jazz led 70-60 in the third quarter, but the Clippers capitalized on a rash of Utah miscues and poor shot selection to go on a 20-2 run. "We locked in. The intensity and the effort was finally there," Griffin said. In the midst of the surge, Paul landed awkwardly after scoring and sprained his left ankle. "It was the freakiest thing ever. I layed it up and no one was around me but when I landed, my left foot was on the stanchion," said Paul, who returned after quickly getting the ankle taped between the third and fourth quarters. The point guard limped up and down the court, but still quarterbacked the Clippers come-from-behind-third quarter burst. He had seven points and three assists in the six-minute run that ended with Will Greens 3-pointer with 10:37 to play that made it 80-72. Griffins inside basket extended the lead to 85-74 before the Jazz made one final surge. Hayward made a 3-pointer that closed the gap to 90-85 with 3:25 remaining, but the Jazz couldnt score again until 24 seconds remained and the game was decided. Trey Burke had 18 points -- his third straight with at least that many -- and Derrick Favours also scored 18, but the Jazz made only seven of 19 fourth-period shots and have dropped eight of nine contests. The Clippers scored an average of 115 points a game in their previous nine, but were sluggish early against Utah. The Jazz led by as many as 13 in the first half as they played with more energy than theyve shown in the past several games. One thrilling sequence exemplified Utahs determination near the end of the half. Jeremy Evans and Gordon Hayward blocked back-to-back fast-break layups by the Clippers and brought the crowd to its feet. "Our biggest area of growth will be maintaining that type of intensity throughout the game and playing that way for 48 minutes," Burke said. The Clippers missed the shooting and playmaking of Jamal Crawford (calf), but turned to their stars, Paul and Griffin, to bring them back and claim their ninth straight against the Jazz. "Chris started being more aggressive," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said. "I think sometimes he wants to be the point guard, but tonight we needed his scoring." Griffin ranks fourth in the league with more than 28 points per game since Feb. 3 and has now scored at least 20 points in 25 consecutive games, the second-longest current streak in the NBA. But it was defence that turned the tide. "It was definitely a defensive thing," Griffin said. Matt Barnes contributed 15 points and Darren Collison had 14 as the Clippers set a season-high for fast-break points with 31. "Were tough to guard in transition. Blake makes some great decisions," Paul said. Starting in place of injured Marvin Williams (back), Enes Kanter had 11 points and 15 rebounds, but shot just 5 for 17 for the Jazz. "In the second half, they were just aggressive and we couldnt match them," Kanter said. NOTES: In honour of the upcoming St. Patricks Day holiday, the Jazz wore their road green uniforms. The Clippers played in their regular red away attire. ... Collisons layup at the first-half buzzer was disallowed after video review. ... The Jazz fell to 0-12 when Williams is out with injury, while the Clippers are 6-0 without Crawford. ... Paul had seven assists to move into 30th place all-time, passing Mookie Blaylock. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Players suspended during the season for a performance-enhancing drug violation will not be eligible for that years post-season. In addition, discipline will increase from 50 games to 80 for a first testing violation and from 100 games to a season-long 162 for a second. A third violation remains a lifetime ban. Cheap Canucks Jerseys Authentic . The 23-year-old Neustaedter will move at the end of the season when his contract with Moenchengladbach expires. He signed a four-year deal with Schalke. http://www.cheapcanucksjerseys.com/ . It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Cheap Adidas Canucks Jerseys . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. Wholesale Canucks Jerseys .Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seems to be leaning the fiscally responsible way.Let me put it like this: Its going to be a challenge, Jones said of re-signing both of Dallas biggest potential free agents.TORONTO - For three incoming Raptors the last 72-hour period has felt like an eternity. "Im pretty beat right now," admitted John Salmons, one of four players coming to the Raptors from Sacramento in the deal, finalized Monday, that shipped Rudy Gay out of town. "Im tired right now. When we were up there watching film, I was nodding off in the film, especially with the three-hour difference, losing three hours." "If I had to play today, man, Id look so bad," Chuck Hayes joked. "Theyd probably ship me back." Salmons, Hayes and teammate Patrick Patterson arrived in Toronto Tuesday evening. After passing their physicals Wednesday morning, the trio met with Raptors coach Dwane Casey, sat through a brief film session and were introduced to the local media in the teams practice facility at the Air Canada Centre. The fourth newcomer, guard Greivis Vasquez, is a full day behind the others. Vasquez had to stop over in New York to get his visa before landing at Pearson Wednesday evening. Fresh off a weekend back-to-back, the Kings - back in Sacramento at the time - were given Sunday off. Each player found out they had been traded to Toronto as reports of the deal began to surface at around 4:00pm local time, each in a different way. "I was sitting on my couch watching TV," Salmons recounted. "I wasnt doing too much. I started getting these texts, people telling me what happened." "I got a phone call from my agent while I was watching football, and checking my fantasy football," said Hayes, he like Salmons was caught off guard. Patterson wasnt going to let the life-changing news spoil his Sunday out. "I had my family in town for a couple of days, spending quality time with my mother and decided to take her to the movies," he narrated. "We were going to see The Hunger Games, so literally as Im going into the movie, my phone was blowing up left and right friends, people on the team, my agent is calling me." Finally he answered the phone, receiving the news from his agent. The third-year forward was being traded for the second time in two seasons. "Im like, Yo, Ill call you back in about 2.5 hours, Im taking my mom into a movie, so I literally found out like five minutes before the movie." What would you have done? Call your friends and family? Gone home to pack? No way. Patterson withheld the news from his mom until the film let out so they could both enjoy the show, start to finish. "It didnt ruin the movie," he said. "It was a good movie. I couldnt let it ruin the movie." Midseason trades, even early-season ones are not easy on anyone. Both teams have to integrate new players. The players have to move their lives, in some cases their families, in this case getting accustomed to a new country, a new time zone and a new climate. "My son doesnt have [a passport], so I was busy working on him, getting his paperwork together," Hayes said. "Its a business," Patterson pointed out, not the first to do so this week, its become something of a slogan around the ACC. "Thankfully, this isnt my first [trade]." Patterson, 24, is the youngest of the quartet, while Salmons - who turns 34 Thursday - and Hayes (two days older than Steve Novak) instantly become the eldest on their new team. On Thursday the on-court adjuustment begins.dddddddddddd All four players, Vasquez included, will join their new teammates in a full practice and their experience in the league should help Coach Casey. "They understand," Casey said. "Theyve been around the block a few times so thatll help to mix them in with our guys. The hard part is getting the chemistry, the timing, guys understanding where guys like the ball, those types of things so that will take some time but the veteran play will help." Of the four, only Hayes has a fully guaranteed contract for next season, meaning the other three - namely Vasquez and Patterson - will be auditioning for their futures in Toronto or elsewhere in the NBA. Vasquez figures to get consistent playing time right off the bat, backing up Kyle Lowry at the point and occasionally joining him in the backcourt. Salmons will be used off the bench, giving Casey another option at a suddenly weak small forward position for the Raptors. Patterson and Hayes should both get a shot in Caseys frontcourt rotation, the latter seems to have already endeared himself to his new coach with his positive approach and high basketball IQ. What could have been For Salmons, theres some irony in being traded to Toronto after declining to become a Raptor seven years ago. In 2006, then a 26-year-old coming off a career year in Philadelphia, Salmons had agreed to a sign-and-trade deal that would have sent him to Toronto before eventually backing out and signing in Sacramento instead. "Upon reviewing the basketball situation in Toronto, John decided its not the best fit for him," Salmons agent, Joel Bell had commented. Salmons had a strange explanation at the time. "Originally, I felt like I had to make a decision but I didnt really feel [Toronto] was where God was leading me." The swingman elaborated on Wednesday when asked about nixing that deal. "It was a difficult decision for me," he told TSN.ca. "I had a couple options on the table. I just felt like it was a thing where I relied on my faith. I felt it wasnt the place for me to be at the time. I hope the fans dont hold it against me. I felt like it was something I had to do because of my faith." Salmons clarified, when asked, that hes happy to be in Toronto now. "Its a great opportunity, its a great situation," he insisted. Patterson very nearly became a Raptor as well, after an impressive pre-draft workout put him on then-general manager Bryan Colangelos radar in the summer of 2010. Instead, the Raptors selected Ed Davis with the 13th overall pick and Patterson fell to the Rockets at 14. "I remember that like it was yesterday," he said. "I had a good time, had a good feel, my agent was telling me that they were giving me praise and they were interested in me. When they called Ed Davis instead of me, I was like, "Okay, maybe they didnt really want me as much," but I definitely remember the work out. It was a good time." Injury update Originally scheduled as an off day, the Raptors watched tape and held individual workouts on Wednesday. Tyler Hansbrough is still resting his sprained left shoulder after sitting out the last two games. Landry Fields was hit in the neck during Tuesdays loss to the Spurs and was taken to the hospital after the game to get checked out. He was still sore the next day. 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