Mitglieder Steckbriefe » a-led peloton was happy to control th

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Clippers will try for a second consecutive win to open a nine-game homestand on Saturday afternoon, but theyll face a stiff challenge from the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors. Los Angeles still has the Utah Jazz, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat on this residency. The Clips began this stay with a 100-86 Christmas night win over their bitter rivals, the NBAs best team, the Golden State Warriors. Jamal Crawford scored half of his 24 points in the final quarter, and the Clippers overcame a sluggish start. The Clippers went 4-of-24 from the field in the opening quarter and shot 27.7 percent over the first 24 minutes, but went ahead for good with nearly 4 1/2 minutes left in the third and dominated the fourth. Chris Paul provided 22 points and Blake Griffin chipped in 18 with 15 rebounds and six assists for the Clippers, who began a franchise-record homestand by snapping a two-game skid. Theyve won eight in a row at home. Jamal came in and picked up our slack, Griffin said. After shooting 27 percent in the first half we were down by only one. We kept the faith. It was a great win. DeAndre Jordan scored 14 points to go with 12 rebounds in the win, as the Clippers got revenge for a 121-104 loss in Oakland on Nov. 5. Its nice to beat them because theyre good, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. Were better mentally than when we played them last time. The Raptors started a six-game sojourn with a loss in Chicago. Theyll visit the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Warriors and Phoenix Suns on this odyssey. On Monday, the Toronto defense didnt show up in a 129-120 loss at the United Center. Kyle Lowry tallied 34 points and six boards, while Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points and nine rebounds for Toronto, which had its six-game winning streak snapped. Terrence Ross finished with 17 points, followed by 16 from James Johnson and 12 apiece from Lou Williams and Patrick Patterson. I thought our defensive attention to detail wasnt there, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. The Bulls, who trailed by as many as 12 in the second half, pulled away in the fourth by outscoring the Raptors 49-37. The game was tied 95-95 just prior to the midway point of the frame before Chicago went on an 18-8 run over the next 4:48. The Raptors committed only eight turnovers, but allowed the Bulls to shoot 54.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from long range. Chicago shot a whopping 43-for-47 from the free-throw line. The Clippers have won two in a row and five out of six against the Raptors. LA has taken four straight as the host in this series. Vapormax Cheap Sale . -- Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno was admitted to the hospital Friday for observation due to minor complications from cancer treatments, his family said. Nike Vapormax Shoes Cheap . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. http://www.wholesalevapormaxcanada.com/. -- The top-seeded Alberta Pandas set up of an all-Canada West final against arch rival UBC at the CIS womens volleyball championship after a 3-0 win over the No. Vapormax Canada Outlet . Im very excited about the playoffs, particularly in the Western Conference with amazing match-ups, as well as the wonderful local story in the Toronto Raptors. It should be a blast. Here are my predictions, but based upon my lousy prognostications during the NCAA Tournament, you might be better off going the other way on some of mine - particularly with the Raptors, who I hope and pray are able to win an incredibly difficult match-up. Cheap Vapormax Canada .com) - Klay Thompson is quickly proving he is worth every penny of his recently signed four-year contract extension.VIGGIANO, Italy -- A powerful final burst from Diego Ulissi helped the Italian cyclist win the fifth stage of the Giro dItalia on Wednesday, while Australian rider Michael Matthews retained the overall leaders pink jersey. Ulissi came from behind with 150 metres to go to cross the line solo, with his arms raised high in celebration at the end of the 203-kilometre (126-mile) leg from Taranto to Viggiano. Australias Cadel Evans was second, with Julian David Arredondo Moreno of Colombia third, both of them in a group which crossed a second behind Ulissi in the first uphill finish of this years Giro. "Starting as the big favourite is always difficult. I showed I was ready," Ulissi said. "So Im enjoying this moment. I wanted this win too against the big names who were up there in the finale of the stage." Weather again played a part, with wet and windy conditions, although there was sunshine on the five-kilometre (three-mile) climb to the finish. Matthews fought hard to stay near the front in the final kilometre and finished sixth. He will wear the pink jersey for a fourth day, a record for an Australian cyclist. The Orica-GreenEdge rider extended his lead to 14 seconds, with Dutchman Pieter Weening moving into second spot. Evans is third. "I think the boys rode really well alll day, they worked hard to keep me out of the wind and of problems," Matthews said.dddddddddddd "I still havent won a stage, which I really wanted, but Im still in the pink jersey and well try again to fight to win tomorrows stage." Former champion Ryder Hesjedal of Victoria is 69th while Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., is 171st. There was an early break of 11 riders and, although their lead rose and fell at several points, the Orica-led peloton was happy to control the gap to an average of four minutes. There were several attempted breaks up front with 30km (18.6 miles) to go, but none stuck and the group was back together on the penultimate climb -- the first ascent up to Viggiano -- just before the slippery roads caused the first big crash of the day. There were several more crashes as the rain made the tight and technical descent even trickier. Gianluca Brambilla attacked bravely on the descent, opening up a 30-second advantage, but Joaquin Rodriguezs Katusha team chased him down and he was caught on the final climb, setting up the scintillating finish. Thursdays stage is another hilly finish, up to Monte Cassino, the site of a major World War II battle. At 247km (153.5 miles), it is the second longest stage of this years race. The Giro ends in Trieste on June 1. ' ' '