MINNEAPOLIS -- Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers burst into Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeaus postgame press conference, hollering Can you come on! Im out here waiting! to his longtime friend and former assistant. Cheap NBA Jerseys .Thats what happens when you win, a chuckling Thibodeau said.Rivers would know.Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds and DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 16 boards to lead the Clippers to their sixth straight victory, 119-105 on Saturday night.Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists and J.J. Redick scored 18 points for the Clippers (9-1), who have the best record in the NBA. Los Angeles shot 52.6 percent and outscored the Timberwolves 21-10 in transition.This is the best team Ive had here, Rivers said. But we got to keep doing it. Weve got to keep getting better and performing. But this is a heck of a basketball team.Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio had seven points, six assists and six rebounds in his return from a five-game absence for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, but shot just 8 of 24.We had to work for our shots, Wiggins said. The clogged the paint up, switching everything, contesting every shot. They made it hard on us.The Clippers are off to their best start in franchise history and have so far exhibited all the qualities of a team that can make a deep playoff run. Once a weakness, the bench has been a strength this season. And they entered the game as by far the best defensive team in the league, allowing a paltry 90.4 points per game.After slugging it out with Oklahoma City on Friday night, Los Angeles put the clamps on the young and athletic Timberwolves, who entered the game with the most explosive first-quarter offense in the league. The Clippers outscored Minnesota 34-21 in the period, holding the Wolves to 39 percent shooting and forcing four turnovers, and they never looked back.There are some good things, but to beat a team thats rolling like that, we have to obviously play a lot better than we did, Thibodeau said.TIP-INSClippers: Defensive stopper Luc Mbah a Moute scored 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. ... Redick hit 2 of 7 3-pointers, extending his streak to 66 straight games with at least one made from long distance, the longest active streak in the league. ... F Wes Johnson did not play because of a sore heel. He was injured on Friday night in Oklahoma City after a blocked shot.Timberwolves: Thibodeau fell to 8-9 in his career against Rivers. ... F Brandon Rush was inactive and has not played in the last three games.HACK-A-JORDANThe Wolves went to the Hack-a-Jordan strategy just over midway through the fourth quarter, with Cole Aldrich fouling him on three straight possessions to get Jordan to the line. As Aldrich headed to the bench 30 seconds later, Jordan gave his former teammate a playful shove off the court.The strategy did not work, either. The big man hit 10 of 16 foul shots in the never-ending fourth quarter.Im confident up there. Ive got a routine, Jordan said. Ive got everything I need and Im just going to go up there and shoot.GRIFFINS MILESTONEGriffin entered the game needing 17 points to join an exclusive club with 9,000 career points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists. Griffin got it on a free throw in the fourth quarter. He became the fastest player to reach that plateau since Larry Bird.Its an honor to be mentioned in that category, but Larry went on to have quite a bit more, Griffin said. Thats the ultimate goal, having a career like that. Its cool to have a start like that, but thats not the end goal, a goal by any means.UP NEXTClippers: Head back home to face Brooklyn on Monday as they continue a stretch of four games in six nights.Timberwolves: Host the Lakers on Sunday in the 31st home back-to-back in franchise history, but first to occur on Saturday and Sunday nights. Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Authentic . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys China . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. http://www.cheaptimberwolvesjerseys.com/ . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. RALEIGH, N.C. -- Dennis Smith Jr. is back to playing like himself. Still, he looked like someone else to the opposing coach.Smith scored a career-high 30 points to help North Carolina State beat Loyola-Chicago 79-77 on Saturday.Torin Dorn added 20 points for the Wolfpack (5-1), who shot 51 percent from the floor.Smith, a freshman point guard, made 13 of 22 shots from the floor and added seven assists. He opened the season a combined 6 of 22 in the first two games.Im much more comfortable, Smith said. Im still finding my way, just like everybody else. Were going to get a lot better.Abdul-Malik Abu broke a 71-71 tie with a tip-in with 3:29 remaining to give N.C. State the lead for good.Smith provided a steal and layup, assisted on a dunk by Abu and made two free throws to keep his team in front.Dennis Smith was phenomenal, Loyola coach Porter Moser said. He was like (Russell) Westbrook the way he was that quick and that athletic. . I mean, hes all that and more than advertised.Terry Henderson scored 19 points for the Wolfpack, who missed the front end of two one-and-ones in the final 7 seconds.Markell Johnson stole the ball from Loyolas Milton Doyle after the first, and Cameron Satterwhites heave from just beyond halfcourt missed after the second.Aundre Jackson scored 20 points to lead Loyola (5-2), which led by as many as 11 points in the first half.Ben Richardson had 16 points for the Ramblers, who made 10 of 17 3-point attempts.Doyle had 12 points and Clayton Custer had 11 for Loyola.BIG PICTURELoyola: With their lack of size inside, the Ramblers are going to have trouble defending around the basket just as they did against the Wolfpack. But their spread offense is legit, and they gave N.C. State fits with itt. Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys. Loyola had clear driving lanes to the basket and open 3-point attempts from all over the court throughout the game.N.C. State: The Wolfpack struggled defensively and got almost no production from their interior players against an undersized opponent. They continue to excel in the open court offensively, but they must improve defensively as conference play approaches. Weve got one guy wearing a blue sock and one guy wearing a green sock, N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. Two guys trying to guard are not on the same page. Weve got to get on the same page.HIGHLIGHT REELSmith showed his outstanding leaping ability early in the second half. Johnson missed a layup in transition, and Smith rebounded and dunked the ball in one motion to give the Wolfpack a 55-52 lead.HE SAID ITI love my team. The thing I can say most is that in that locker room, they were genuinely upset. They were hurting big-time. They came in here not to come close; they came in here to win. Thats a great sign when youre trying to develop culture in a program. -- MoserINJURIESN.C. State swingman Maverick Rowan missed his fifth consecutive game due to a concussion. Gottfried said Rowan will continue to be evaluated each day, but there is no timetable for his return.Wolfpack post player BeeJay Anya left the game late in the first half after being poked in the eye. He was cleared to return in the second half but did not re-enter the game.UP NEXTLoyola hosts Norfolk State on Wednesday night in the first game of a four-game homestand.N.C. State plays at Illinois on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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