rolled to Rico and his angled shot secured a 2-1 victor

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Blake Griffin wont be playing in Portland, regardless of whether his 16th technical of the season is rescinded. Griffin will stay home to rest, along with J.J. Redick, while the rest of the Los Angeles Clippers close out the regular season against the Trail Blazers. They recorded their franchise-record 57th victory with a 117-105 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night, when Griffin scored 24 points. "Im very happy that were doing this stuff, but its not what we want," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. Chris Paul had 21 points and 10 assists, and Redick added 18 points in the Clippers finale at home, where they went 34-7 for another franchise mark. DeAndre Jordan had 13 points and 16 rebounds. "Its all good and well," Paul said about the franchise records, "but its all about the post-season." The win kept the Clippers in the hunt for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They would need to win at Portland and Oklahoma City would need to lose to Detroit on Wednesday night for the Clippers to claim the second spot. Otherwise, they will remain the third seed. Griffins 16th tech triggered a league-mandated one-game suspension. But he said he thinks the league might rescind it. "I honestly do," he said. "It was one of those ones that was kind of a continuation. If I make a play on the ball and I hit the ball first, and he gives me a tech for that, Im not sure if thats going to stand up." Griffin was assessed the tech with 3:23 left in the second quarter. He swung his right arm around to try to get the ball from Timofey Mozgov and hit him in the head. Griffin pleaded his case with the referees to no avail. Teammate Jared Dudley saw the play and was confident the call would be rescinded. "He did hit ball, but he did follow through and hit his face," Dudley said. "If it wasnt an offensive foul, the ref said that he wouldnt have called the technical; it would have been more of a flagrant." Kenneth Faried led the Nuggets with 21 points and Aaron Brooks added 19. Mozgov had 18 points and 11 rebounds as Denvers three-game winning streak ended. "Every time, its tough to play against the big guys like them," Mozgov said about Griffin and Jordan. "They work under the basket so hard." The Clippers scored the games first 13 points and never looked back. Paul hit two 3-pointers and Matt Barnes added another before the Nuggets called timeout to regroup. Redick scored 10 unanswered points by himself, including two 3-pointers that extended the Clippers lead to 18 points. Griffin had three one-handed highlight dunks in the first. "We were rattled at the beginning of the game," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. "We couldnt settle down and they jumped out to that big lead, and it was just too much for us." Mozgov helped the Nuggets close within single-digits after trailing by 23 with a three-point play that left them down 88-80 to end the third. Denver twice got within five in the fourth, when all of the Clippers starters except Barnes and Jordan rested. But Los Angeles pulled away down the stretch for the easy win. "I wanted them to figure it out," Rivers said of the reserves. "Thats a confidence booster for them to close it out." NOTES: Redick wont play the regular-season finale Wednesday at Portland to avoid a back-to-back situation. ... Clippers F Danny Granger could practice Thursday or Friday. He missed his eighth straight game because of a strained left hamstring. ... Denver finished 14-27 on the road and 7-19 against the West away from home. ... The Nuggets host playoff-bound Golden State on Wednesday in their final game of the season. <a href="http://www.officialgoldenknightspro.com/Reilly-smith-golden-knights-jersey/">Reilly Smith Jersey</a>. Heck, we might just miss the BCS. Maybe? It sort of worked out this season. Top-ranked Florida State (13-0) was the only team to get through the regular season unbeaten, and the Seminoles did it in dominating fashion. <a href="http://www.officialgoldenknightspro.com/Colin-miller-golden-knights-jersey/">Colin Miller Jersey</a>. Today, well look at five frontcourt players today, here from the Bay Area. 1. AMIR JOHNSON (Raptors): I cant figure out what the issue or problem is, but based upon what Im seeing, hes not right. http://www.officialgoldenknightspro.com/...knights-jersey/. Both sides of the deal have formally announced acquisitions: TFC introduced Jozy Altidore as a designated player on Friday, while their counterparts announced a three-and-a-half-year deal with Jermain Defoe. <a href="http://www.officialgoldenknightspro.com/Oscar-lindberg-golden-knights-jersey/">Oscar Lindberg Jersey</a>. Stevenson scored the first three goals of the game in the first period for Regina (35-22-6), which has won eight of its last 10 games. Patrick DAmico added two for the Pats, Braden Christoffer had a single and Morgan Klimchuk chipped in a goal and four assists. <a href="http://www.officialgoldenknightspro.com/Jonathan-marchessault-golden-knights-jersey/">Jonathan Marchessault Jersey</a>. Gomes drove in all three runs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, and Cleveland rallied for a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.MADRID, Spain -- Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his Ballon dOr triumph by scoring from one of his trademark free kicks as Real Madrid beat Osasuna 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday. Ronaldo smashed a swerving shot from 25 metres around the defensive wall and straight at goalie Andres Fernandez. The keeper tried to punch it out but ended up sending it down off the ground and between his legs into the net. Ronaldos 22nd-minute strike effectively sealed the contest, with Osasuna having lost the first leg 2-0. Osasuna forced Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas into a number of saves to close the half after having rarely threatened before Ronaldos opener. Angel Di Maria capped a quick counter in the 56th by sweeping home Jeses cross following a long run from the halfway line, securing a 4-0 aggregate victory at El Sadar Stadium. "The team looks better with every game," Jese said. Madrid defender Fabio Coentrao was shown a second yellow card in the 85th and Madrid finished with nine players after substitute Alvaro Morata came off minutes later with his left eye swollen shut following a collision earlier on. Ronaldos 30th goal in all competitions this season -- and 37th when counting those scored for Portugal -- further justified the forwards pick as world player of the year ahead of Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery. Ronaldo made way for Gareth Bale in the second half but the worlds most expensive player made little impact. Madrid will next play Espanyol, which eliminated second-tier Alcorcon 4-3 ffollowing a 4-2 home win on the night.dddddddddddd Portuguese forward Pizzi curled home an 86th goal to ensure Espanyols progress at the expense of Alcorcon, which famously knocked Madrid out of the competition in 2009. A rematch with Madrid had looked on the cards after Alcorcon midfielder Javier Peral made it 2-2 in the 80th minute, with his side holding a 1-0 lead from the home leg. Victor Alvarez put Espanyol 3-2 ahead minutes later but the second division side was still through thanks to the away-goals rule -- until Pizzis curler from the left side. Also, Mikel Rico scored two goals to send Athletic Bilbao into the last eight with a 2-0 victory against last-place Real Betis. Bilbao, trailing 1-0 after the first leg in Seville, levelled the contest on aggregate in the 23rd minute when Rico produced a magnificent touch to gather Ander Iraiolas lofted pass into the area on the run and score with a left-footed shot. Athletic, a 22-time winner of the cup, secured its passage at its San Mames Stadium in the 67th minute when a poor clearance rolled to Rico and his angled shot secured a 2-1 victory over two legs. The Basque club will play defending champion Atletico Madrid next. Levante beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 thanks to David Barrals first-half goal to advance by the same scoreline. Levante is most likely to play Barcelona, which leads Getafe 4-0 before Thursdays return leg. Real Sociedad is at Villarreal on Thursday after a scoreless first leg with the winner going on to play third-tier Racing Santander next week. <a href="http://www.chinawholesalejerseysnfl.com/">Wholesale Jerseys</a> ' ' '