Off Topic » with a 17-point victory, but it could be staring in the face

(SportsNetwork.com) - One of the NBAs best rivalries will close the Christmas schedule on Thursday night when the Golden State Warriors visit the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors and Clippers have engaged in several physical altercations in recent years, including one on Christmas night last season. There were no antics when the Warriors beat the Clippers at Oracle Arena on Nov. 5. Golden State walked away with a 17-point victory, but it could be staring in the face of a two-game losing streak for the second time this season. The Warriors laid an egg on Tuesday night in a 115-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. LA didnt even play Kobe Bryant, who took the night off for rest. They kicked our [butt], Warriors head coach Steve Kerr admitted. They were much better than we were tonight. We werent ready to play. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 22 and 18 points, respectively, but both sharpshooters were on the bench long before the final buzzer with the outcome never in question. The Warriors trailed by 15 at the half, then by 22 after three quarters. Only a 16-0 Warriors run in the fourth prevented an uglier outcome. The Clippers have dropped two in a row coming into this holiday tilt. They were swept on a two-game road trip, falling in San Antonio, then to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. LA had a 13-point lead in the second half, but the scorching-hot Hawks rallied for a 107-104 victory. Blake Griffin scored 21 points to lead Los Angeles, but missed an off-balance 3-pointer as time expired after the Clippers bumbled an inbounds pass with 6.4 seconds remaining. DeAndre Jordan had 15 points and 22 rebounds in the loss, the Clippers fifth in their last eight games. Chris Paul had 19 points and seven assists and J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford each scored 18 for LA . They played well. They came back, said Clippers coach Doc Rivers. We had to sub at some point. ... They made more plays. With Spencer Hawes sidelined with a knee injury, the Clippers got almost no production off the bench other than Crawford. Glen Davis, Hedo Turkoglu, Reggie Bullock and Jordan Farmar combined for seven points. The Clippers begin a nine-game homestand against the Warriors and have won seven straight as the host. The Clippers defeated the Warriors in the first round of last seasons playoffs, but the Warriors have taken three of the last four regular-season matchups. Including the postseason, the Clippers have won six of the previous seven as the host. Cheap Steelers Jerseys . 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The 20-year-old Inoue landed a series of combinations and the bout was stopped 2 minutes, 54 seconds into the sixth round. Inoue, the first Japanese boxer to claim a world title in just his sixth professional fight, improved to 6-0 with five knockouts. Louis Lipps Jersey . -- New York Yankees centre fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was sent for an MRI Thursday of his ailing right calf, which was negative.PORTLAND, Ore. - Once Gerald Green gets going, he doesnt think he can be stopped. Green scored 18 of his 32 points in the second half and the Phoenix Suns rallied for a 109-93 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. "Thats what Gerald does," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said of Green, who made 12 of 20 shots from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. "When he gets going, you just kind of let him go. "There are times when you go, Uh, oh, what are we going to see next? He got a little wild, but he feels nobody can ever stop him. Thats the confidence he has." Eric Bledsoe finished with 30 points and Goran Dragic added 19 for the Suns (45-31), who denied the Blazers (49-28) a chance to clinch a Western Conference playoff berth while beating Portland for the third time in four games. Trailing 67-57, the Suns outscored Portland 22-13 over the final 6:48 of the third quarter to pull within 80-77, then scored the first seven points of the fourth to take the lead for good. Robin Lopez and LaMarcus Aldridge each scored 18 points for the Blazers, who had their four-game win streak snapped and dropped two games behind Houston for the Wests No. 4 playoff spot. "Im glad we dont have to play Phoenix anymore," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Obviously, theyre active on the offensive glass and extra possessions hurt us. Usually I like our chances when we hold a team to 40 per cent shooting, but give the Suns credit." The Suns, battling Dallas and Memphis for the Wests final two playoff berths, took the lead for good at 81-80 when Green threw the ball off the backboard and dunked to open the fourth quarter, touching off a 20-5 run that all but put the game out of reach with 5:07 remaining. Markieff Morris scored 12 points for the Suns, who finished with a 59-48 advantage in rebounds, a 24-6 advantage in fast-break points, and a 48-32 edge in points in the paint. "We just had a little more determination, I guess," said Bledsoe, who scored 14 of his 30 pointss in the fourth quarter.dddddddddddd "Everybody knew if wed lost this game, it was going to be tougher going forward." The Suns still face a daunting six-game stretch to close out the regular season, including home games against Oklahoma City and Memphis, and road games against San Antonio and Dallas. "Our destiny is in our own hands, because we still play Dallas and Memphis," Dragic said. "Those two games are going to be really huge for us. Win those games and its going to be really close." The Suns, looking to bounce back from Wednesdays 112-108 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, got a pair of 3-pointers from Green during a 13-2 run that gave them a 26-19 lead with 1:29 to play in the first quarter. They led 51-45 but then came up empty on their final nine possessions of the second quarter, going 0 for 11 from the field with two missed free throws and a turnover as the Blazers outscored them 9-0 in the closing 3:17 of the half to take a 54-51 halftime lead. Aldridge, held to four first-half points, made 5 of 8 shots from the field and two free throws, giving him 12 third-quarter points as the Blazers carried an 80-79 lead into the fourth. The Blazers, coming off Tuesdays 124-112 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers, got 15 points from Damian Lillard and shot 43 per cent (35 of 81) to the Suns 40 per cent (39 of 97). Both teams also made 6 of 21 shots from 3-point range. Notes: The last time the Suns had a player score at least 30 points off the bench was when Dragic had 32 points in a 124-115 loss at Utah on Jan. 25, 2010. . The 16-point loss was the second-worst loss for the Blazers at home this season, ranking behind a 98-81 loss to Memphis on Jan. 28. . The Suns went into Fridays gave averaging an NBA-best 18.6 fast-break points and had scored 20 or more fast-break po