Schwarzesbrett » eager to retool the Ducks, who finished atop

LOS ANGELES -- The Clippers and Trail Blazers went back and forth for 48 minutes. When it was over, Los Angeles escaped with perhaps its most satisfying victory of the season -- and Portland was saddled with its second heartbreaking loss in 48 hours. Blake Griffin scored 36 points, Chris Paul had 20 points and 12 assists, and the Clippers beat the Trail Blazers 122-117 on Wednesday night in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break. The Clippers, who set a franchise record for largest victory Sunday in their 45-point thrashing of Philadelphia, converted 16 Portland turnovers into 20 points during a nip-and-tuck affair that included 40 lead changes. "We were up one, down one, up one," Paul said. "I told them in the timeout: Fellas, we need to get a score and a stop. I told B.G. if we get a score and a stop, it changes the whole game. It was frustrating because it was me making mistakes on defence, and they were getting shots. But all in all, it was a good win for us." The Clippers won for the 14th time in 19 games since Jan. 4, when the Spurs handed them their worst loss of the season, 116-92 in San Antonio. Paul made 10 of 15 shots in his second game back after missing 18 with a separated right shoulder. "Its definitely not (100 per cent)," he said. "But as long as Im not hindering my team and my teammates, I feel I can be effective out there." Jamal Crawford added 25 points for the defending Pacific Division champions, who go into All-Star weekend 37-18 -- their second-best winning percentage at the break in franchise history. They were 39-17 last season, when they finished 56-26 and won their first division title. Los Angeles and Portland are each 5 1/2 games behind Oklahoma City for the best record in the Western Conference. "Im in a great place, as far as our team going into the break," Paul said. "Its one of the best feelings Ive had about a team since Ive been in the league, just strictly because of defence. The biggest thing with us is that everyone has bought into the defensive end. We understand that we can score every night, but its going to be our defence that carries us." LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points and Damian Lillard had 21 for the Blazers, who are 5-8 since a five-game winning streak last month. The loss was their fifth straight to the Clippers at Staples Center. Clippers centre DeAndre Jordan had a miserable time trying to guard Aldridge in the first quarter, as the 6-foot-11 power forward made six of seven shots -- one night after going 5 for 22 from the field and scoring 12 points in Portlands 98-95 home loss to Oklahoma City. "Its tough, especially going into the break," Lillard said. "You want to go into it with some momentum and on a good note. We played two good games, but we just werent able to pull either game out." All of Aldridges first six baskets against the Clippers came from at least 17 feet away, including a 3-pointer that gave the Blazers a 30-25 lead with 1:42 left in the period. "Its the NBA. Youre not going to completely stop somebody from scoring," Jordan said. "I think they lead the league in scoring, but we did our best job tonight and we got stops when it counted." Los Angeles then went on a 12-0 run to go ahead 37-30 with 10:50 left in the second quarter, as backup point guard Darren Collison capped the rally with a layup and two free throws. Less than 7 1/2 minutes later, Griffin outleaped 7-1 centre Meyers Leonard on a lob above the basket by Paul and finished the alley-oop for a 53-52 edge with 3:28 left in the half. "Blakes dominance is something that we need. Hes been our MVP all season long," Paul said. "I keep telling him: I dont want to stop that. I dont want to hinder that. I just want to be a part of it." NOTES: Jordan had six rebounds in 37 minutes, ending his double-digit streak at 31 games. The franchise record is 42 by Swen Nater in 1977-78. ... Portland came in averaging an NBA-best 107.7 points, and the Clippers were second with 106.7 per game. ... The Blazers are the only team in the league to have the same starting lineup in every game -- Aldridge, Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez. They all scored in double figures. ... Paul, who will be playing in his seventh All-Star game, scored his 11,000th career point on a short running jumper with 5:52 remaining. His 113 double-doubles since the start of the 2010-11 season are the most by any point guard during that stretch. ... Seven of Portlands next eight games are at home, where the Blazers are 19-6. Wholesale Nationals Jerseys . Canada will host Japan in a World Group first-round match in 2015. It will be a rematch of their first-round clash last year when Japan defeated Canada 4-1 to reach the World Group quarter-finals for the first time in its history. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . The third-ranked Buckeyes were down eight points to Notre Dame with less than 2 minutes to play and their offence was nowhere to be found. http://www.cheapnationalsjerseys.com/ . -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres. Cheap Nationals Jerseys Authentic . It will be their 15th head-to-head meeting and fourth in the post-season (Sunday at 2pm et/11am pt on CTV) and for his part, Brady isnt downplaying just how big the game is for him. "Im excited - Its everything you could ask for as an athlete," the New England Patriots quarterback told WEEI Radio in Boston on Monday. Cheap Nationals Jerseys . The 31-year-old, a two-time CFL lineman of the year, was among the most coveted free agents on the market. The Windsor, Ont., native will be especially important to a team that has lost veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo to retirement and is expected to go with the less experienced Troy Smith and Tanner Marsh this season.LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Russ Smith had 24 points, moving into ninth place on Louisvilles career scoring list, and the seventh-ranked Cardinals throttled Temple 88-66 on Thursday night. Montrezl Harrell added 21 points and freshman Terry Rozier scored a career-high 19 as Louisville capped a perfect February with its seventh straight victory. The trio combined to shoot 25 of 34 from the field and nearly outscored Temple all by themselves. FFive days after drawing within a half-game of first-place Cincinnati with a road win over the Bearcats, the Cardinals (24-4, 13-2 American Athletic Conference) followed up by completing a season sweep of the outmanned Owls (7-20, 2-13).dddddddddddd Will Cummings scored 18 points and Quenton DeCosey added 17 for the Owls. Temple has lost 15 of 17 since New Years Day, including an eight-game losing streak to start 2014. ' ' '