by ldh2013 » Wed Jun 29, 2016 9:00 am
OAKLAND, Calif. . -- Blake Griffin buried bank shots, turnaround jumpers and spinning layups. DeAndre Jordan gobbled up rebounds and opposing shots, often flexing his muscles and letting out a roar. The high-flying finishers who spawned the nickname "Lob City" are doing far more than dunking in the playoffs. The frontcourt tandem has carried the Clippers to a 2-1 lead in their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors, who have found no answer for either with centre Andrew Bogut out with a fractured right rib. "Just two animals out there just beastin right now," Clippers guard Darren Collison said. And both are finally performing in places they havent always flourished -- on defence, in the playoffs and at the most pivotal points of games. Since losing Game 1 in Los Angeles, Griffin has dominated David Lee and every other defender the Warriors have thrown his way. And Jordan -- who tied a franchise playoff record with 22 rebounds and five blocks in the Clippers 98-96 win in Game 3 on Thursday night -- has been the kind of rim protector coach Doc Rivers had long believed he could become. The two big men, both just 25 years old, have caused so much disruption that Warriors coach Mark Jackson said Friday hes considering changing his starting lineup for Game 4 on Sunday. The most likely swap would insert Draymond Green at power forward and push Lee to centre for Jermaine ONeal in a smaller, quicker lineup. "Weve got to figure out a way to present some resistance. I think things are going a little too smoothly for Blake," Jackson said during a light shootaround at Golden States downtown Oakland headquarters. Griffin has scored 32 and 35 points the past two games, respectively. Hes shooting 64 per cent from the floor in the series and has been at his best in the biggest spots. The All-Star power forward made five straight baskets -- three bank shots, a mid-range jumper and a short turnaround -- against Lee to open the third quarter in Game 3, part of a run that put the Clippers ahead by 18 points. "Just continuing to believe," Griffin said, speaking to reporters at the teams downtown San Francisco hotel Friday. "My teammates give me the confidence to go out there and shoot every time Im open." Lee promised hed be better against Griffin in Game 4. He has mostly been tasked with guarding Griffin by himself, though Jackson hinted more double-teams might be on the horizon. "Hes playing at a high level right now," Jackson said. "We forced him to be a jump shooter, and hes making jump shots. On the block, hes aggressive. Hes having an outstanding series capping off an outstanding year." While Griffins star has shined brightest, Jordan has been the insult-to-injury figure. The Warriors tried to lure Jordan away from Los Angeles in the summer of 2011, signing him to a four-year, $43 million offer sheet as a restricted free agent. Instead, the Clippers matched the deal. Now the Warriors -- who waived Jeremy Lin and amnestied Charlie Bell to make room for the offer -- can only watch Jordan make a major difference on defence while Bogut -- acquired in a trade with Milwaukee in March 2012 to be Golden States franchise centre -- sits out with another injury. Three years ago, though, Jordans game was not nearly what it is now. Jordan fell out of favour at times under former coach Vinny Del Negro, who was let go after the Clippers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of last years playoffs. Jordans rising game speaks to the Clippers commitment on defence under Rivers, who challenged the young centre to focus on rebounding and protecting the rim this season. Jordan finished third in voting for the NBAs defensive player of the year award behind winner Joakim Noah of Chicago and runner-up Roy Hibbert of Indiana. "These guys really rely on me a lot defensively, and when Im out there, they have all the confidence in the world in me," Jordan said. "So its definitely a huge step for me in my career, but at the same time, its always something to build on and its more motivation for me. As long as Im my teams defensive MVP, thats all that matters to me." .As he has so often done, the 35-year-old Cahill delivered for his country in its time of need, scoring twice in a 20-minute period after halftime. Australia, the 2011 finalists, will face either defending champion Japan or the United Arab Emirates next week for a spot in the final. . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest. . Harnessing all their big-game experience, the Germans delivered a performance of maturity and efficiency to hold off France 1-0 on Friday and become the first team to reach four straight semifinals in the sports marquee tournament.HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets have won four games in a row. It certainly isnt a coincidence that Dwight Howard has scored at least 20 points in each game of the winning streak. Howard had 34 points and 14 rebounds to help the Rockets beat the Phoenix Suns 122-108 on Wednesday night. "Ive just been being patient and letting my teammates find me in the right spot and not rushing my shots," Howard said. The centre has been spending extra time after practice this season working on post moves with former Rockets assistant coach and general manager Carroll Dawson. "We talk about after I got my man beat, just slow down and make the shot," Howard said. "So Ive just been trying to do that." Howard also had three steals and two blocks, and James Harden added 23 points for Houston. It was the fifth game this season where Howard had at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, which is the most by a Rocket in a season since Yao Ming had six in 2007-08. Houston coach Kevin McHale is encouraged that his guards have started to get a better feel for how to get the ball inside to Howard. "I thought we missed him a couple of times, but we found him better," McHale said. "We just have to keep working on passing the ball to him, being better post feeders." The Suns cut it to four points with about 6 minutes left before Houston went on a 10-3 run to make it 113-102. The Rockets capped that run when Harden knocked down a 3-pointer, Howard blocked Goran Dragics shot, and Chandler Parsons added a layup. Phoenix missed four shots, had a turnover and a shot-clock violation in that span. Dragic had 23 points and eight assists for the Suns, who have dropped two in a row after winning five straight. They lost at home to Chicago on Tuesday night. "We didnt stop anybody," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We didnt stop anybody last night, either. Our defence has not been very good." Chandler Parsons and Terrencee Jones added 19 points each for Houston, which was playing the second of just three home games this month. . Houston scored six straight points early in the fourth quarter to push its lead to 101-92. The Suns responded with a 7-2 spurt, started with a 3 from Leandro Barbosa, to get to 103-99 midway through the period. The Suns trailed by 12 points late in the third quarter before going on a 10-3 run to cut the lead to 95-90 entering the fourth quarter. Dragic had six points in that run and Barbosa scored the rest. The Rockets scored the first six points of the third quarter before Gerald Green outscored Houston 6-1 over the next 2 minutes of the quarter to cut the lead to 73-69. Houston was up by seven a few minutes later when Harden got knocked to the court hard when Channing Frye backed into him. Harden remained on the court wincing in pain while the game continued and Tucker made a shot. Harden finally got up after the bucket and remained in the game. Howard scored four quick points after that as part of a 9-2 run that extended Houstons lead to 92-80 with 3 minutes left in the quarter. The Suns took their first lead of the game, 41-40, about 9 minutes before halftime after outscoring Houston 11-5 in the opening minutes of the second quarter. Marcus Morris scored the last six points of that run before Dragic hit a 3 and Ish Smith added a basket to extend the lead to 46-40. Houston got back on track after that with a 9-2 spurt that put the Rockets back on top 49-48. The Rockets led by one a few minutes later before a 6-0 run, capped by an alley-oop by Howard, pushed the lead to 61-54. Houston led 66-63 at halftime. NOTES: Houston G/F Francisco Garcia missed his ninth straight game with a sore left knee. ... It was the sixth straight game with at least 20 points for Dragic, the longest streak of his career. ... Phoenixs Markieff Morris had 11 points to extend his career-best streak of double-digit games to 12. ' ' '
