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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 - Blake Griffin wont be playing in Portland, regardless of whether his 16th technical of the season is rescinded.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 Teammate Jared Dudley saw the play and was confident the call would be rescinded.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. Steven Matz Mets Jersey . Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous round. Zack Wheeler Mets Jersey . The 20-year-old overager has appeared in 35 games for the Ontario Hockey Leagues Erie Otters this season, scoring 41 goals and adding 27 assists with a plus-28 rating. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/ade...-mets-jersey/.C. -- Ryan Sproul scored the winner late in double overtime to lift the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 2-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Friday in Game 1 of their American Hockey League playoff series. Todd Frazier Jersey . -- Jose Bautista never worries about hitting homers during the regular season. Devin Mesoraco Mets Jersey . Right-hander Ricky Nolasco and the Twins agreed to terms on a free-agent contract Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.TORONTO -- Rudy Gay skipped shootaround Friday morning, choosing to stay in bed in hopes of beating the flu bug. But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. However, he had 11 points in the final 12 minutes of play as Toronto used a dominant fourth quarter to defeat the Washington Wizards 96-88 to remain in first place in the Atlantic Division. Toronto trailed Washington 70-66 heading into the final quarter, but Gay hit all three field goal attempts in the fourth and added five free throws to lead the Raptors to victory. "There was no stopping me. I was going to play," said Gay. "I was out of breath and the sort of things that happen when youre sick but I had to push through it for my team. "In the fourth quarter, I just let it come to me and it got a lot easier." Gays 11-point fourth quarter gave him 17 for the night, tied for team high with DeMar DeRozan, as Toronto (6-7) won for the second straight time to stay atop the NBAs Atlantic Division. "He struggled a little bit early but when it was down the stretch, he came through for us," head coach Dwane Casey said of Gay, who was booed in the third quarter by the 18,671 in attendance for his poor shooting performance and a couple of turnovers. "He was a little weak from the flu but he gutted it out. "He could have easily mailed it in or checked out but he fought through it and gave us 17 big points." Toronto scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to wrest the lead back from Washington. The Raptors outscored the Wizards 21-9 over the opening 7:34 of the final period and 30-18 overall. It was a dramatic turnaround from the third quarter when the Wizards (4-8) outscored Toronto 32-15, turning a 13-point halftime deficit into a four-point lead going into the final quarter. Waashington point guard John Wall, who had a game-high 37 points, scored 18 in the quarter.dddddddddddd "Teams are going to go on runs," said Toronto forward Tyler Hansbrough, who had eight points and six rebounds off the bench. "As we continue to grow, we cant have lapses where it carries over and have a hangover until the fourth quarter. "Weve got to keep on moving and thats what happened." The Raptors, who shot 47 per cent from the field on the night, featured a balanced attack, with six players finishing with double figures in points. Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points and 13 rebounds. "Third quarter, we have to figure that out sooner or later," said guard Kyle Lowry, who had 12 points, nine assists and six rebounds on the night. "(But) that group that came in in the fourth did a great job getting us a 10-point lead. "They (Wizards) made a run at the end but we closed it out." Toronto returned to Air Canada Centre to open a four-game homestand -- their longest of the season -- leading the division for the first time since they won it in 2007. And the Raptors came out flying, shooting an eye-popping 67 per cent from the field in the first quarter to take a five-point lead, which they widened to a 13-point edge at halftime. It appeared the Raptors were on the way to an easy victory before Wall, the first overall draft pick in the 2010 NBA draft, who signed a five-year, US$80 million contract extension in July, went off. "You can see why he got paid all that money," De Rozan said. "Hes definitely a heck of a player. "He has the passion to win and he showed that in the third quarter to try and bring his team back. "We had to withstand that as much as we could and get the win." The Raptors return to action Tuesday hosting Brooklyn before closing out the homestand with games against Miami and Denver. ' ' '