PHOENIX - A 17-point third-quarter lead was not enough for the Phoenix Suns, not the way the Los Angeles Clippers are playing th

PHOENIX - A 17-point third-quarter lead was not enough for the Phoenix Suns, not the way the Los Angeles Clippers are playing these days. Blake Coleman Jersey . Darren Collison and Blake Griffin scored 23 points apiece and the Clippers beat the Suns 112-108 Wednesday night, their fourth win in a row and 17th in the last 19 games. Chris Paul added 20 points, including a 32-foot 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired to put the Clippers up for good 108-106 with 1:48 to play. Los Angeles, winning the last four on a five-game trip, clinched the Pacific Division title with the win. "Its nice but it doesnt really mean much," Paul said. "We won the division title last year and lost in the first round. Last year we would have gone into the game knowing we had a chance to win the division. Now we dont care, its all about the bigger picture." Eight Suns reached double figures, led by Marcus Morris with 16 points. Phoenix would have been alone in the No. 7 spot in the West with a victory, just a half-game behind Golden State. Instead, the Suns fell into a three-way tie with Memphis and Dallas for the last two playoff spots in the West. Phoenix would lose the tiebreaker the way things stood Wednesday night. The defeat followed a blowout loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday. "We had this game almost in our pockets," Goran Dragic said. "But now is not the time to think like that, because we still have to have our confidence up to play those last seven games. " The Suns used a 22-5 run to lead 91-74 with 1:49 left in the third period and were up 91-78 entering the fourth. Griffin had been listed as doubtful for the game with back spasms. Ex-Sun Jared Dudley made two free throws with 8.1 seconds to play to clinch the win. Dragic and Gerald Green scored 15 points apiece for the Suns, but Dragic was just 2 of 11 from the field, 0 of 5 from 3-point range. P.J. Tucker, whose rebounding was a big factor in the Suns third-quarter run, had 10 points and 11 rebounds. With Griffin and Paul on the bench, the Clippers scored 11 in a row early in the fourth quarter — the last five by Willie Green — to cut Phoenixs lead to 92-85. Dudleys 3-pointer with 5:57 to go cut it to 97-94. "You know, we won the game because of our second unit," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said. "Honestly, when we were down 17, I was thinking if we didnt cut into it, I was just going to keep them out on the floor, but then they cut into the lead so quickly." Dudleys two free throws put Los Angeles ahead 105-104 with 2:38 left. Eric Bledsoes 9-foot floater gave the Suns their last lead, 106-105 with 2:15 left. Phoenixs defence was strong on the next possession, and just before the clock was to expire, Paul hit from far beyond the arc. Griffins rebound basket with 49.5 seconds left made it 110-106. Bledsoe scored on the layup to cut it to 110-108. The Suns had a chance to tie it, but Collison blocked Bledsoes layup from behind. The ball went out of bounds off the Suns and Dudleys free throws iced the win. "We cant afford to have lulls against good teams like this," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. The Suns broke away from a 69-69 tie with their 22-5 outburst. Tucker had three rebound baskets in the run. He was fouled on his final one, capping the big run with a three-point play that gave Phoenix its biggest lead, 91-74, with 1:49 left in the period. The Clippers scored the next four to trail 91-78 entering the fourth. Phoenix led 62-60 at the break. NOTES: Paul has eight straight games with at least three steals. ... Collison has scored at least 20 points in consecutive games for the first time in four years. ... Bledsoe drew a technical foul for slamming his hand on the scorers table after being called for an offensive foul, his third foul of the game, with 10:39 left in first half. ... Jamal Crawford, in and out of the Clippers lineup lately, was out again with a sore left Achilles tendon. ... Only two of Phoenixs seven remaining games are at home. Nico Hischier Jersey . Re-signed by the club to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract on July 5, Bass appeared in three preseason games with Columbus prior to breaking a bone in his hand on Sept. Michael McLeod Jersey . -- Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a major injury, Ryan Callahan had his first goal with Tampa Bay, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Thursday night. http://www.nhldevilshockeystore.com/stefan-noesen-jersey/ . Masahiro Tanaka has touched down in the United States and the courting of the Rakuten Golden Eagles stud pitcher has begun in earnest by a bevy of MLB teams interested in the Japanese ace.NEWARK, N.J. -- The NHL reduced its penalty against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday for signing Ilya Kovalchuk in 2010. The Devils will keep the first-round draft pick they were scheduled to forfeit this year, and the league will reduce the $3 million fine assessed against the team for circumventing the NHL-NHLPA collective bargaining agreement The Devils recently applied to the league for reconsideration and relief from a portion of the original penalty, citing primarily changes in circumstances which, in the clubs view, changed the appropriateness of the sanctions. The NHL did not spell out what changed, but Kovalchuk retired after last season and returned to Russia to play there. Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said the franchises new ownership asked the league to reconsider the penalty, and a hearing was held this year. "Were pleased," said Lamoriello, who said several factors other than Kovalchuks retirement went into the leagues decision, without elaborating. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur felt the original NHL penalty was harsh. "I thought it was a bad judgment by them when they penalized with a first-round pick and all the money," Brodeur said. "I thought they hit our organization preetty hard at the time. Andy Greene Jersey. It will be nice for the future to count on an extra No. 1 pick." The league said the Devils will be entitled to the 30th selection overall -- the last pick in the first round -- in the 2014 draft. They will not be permitted to trade or transfer its right to that pick. Kovalchuk, who had been acquired by the Devils in February 2010, became a free agent at the end of that season. New Jersey signed him to a 17-year, $102 million deal but the league ruled what would have been the longest contract in NHL circumvented the salary cap and rejected it. Arbitrator Richard Bloch heard the unions appeal and nullified the deal. The Devils eventually signed the Russian to a 15-year, $100 million contract deal. However, the NHL ruled the original contact tried to get around the salary cap and penalized the three-time Stanley Cup champions. The Devils had already forfeited a third-round draft pick in 2011. The team also had a first-round draft pick taken from them in the ruling handed down by an independent arbiter, but they had the right to defer until 2014. The Devils kept deferring the loss of the first-round pick, which they were due to lose in June. The NHL said it would not comment further on the decision. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '