lucylily's blog: "ght"

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin officially signed a multi-year extension shortly after the NBAs moratorium ended. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Los Angeles Times earlier reported Griffins extension is worth up to $95 million over five years. Griffin, the NBAs top rookie for 2010-11, has averaged 21.7 points and 11.5 rebounds in his two seasons with the Clippers. He has never missed a game in his two years after sitting out the entire 2009-10 campaign with a knee injury. The Clippers, according to the Times report, also made an offer to guard Chris Paul, who apparently turned down a three-year, $60 million extension. Paul, who was acquired by the Clippers in a trade with New Orleans prior to last season and also joins Griffin as part of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, still has a year remaining on his contract. cheap jerseys us . -- Dan Uggla appears to be on track for a much better start this season, and Brandon Beachy is getting closer to being ready for opening day, too. cheap jerseys . Malte Stromwall scored the game-winning goal in the third period, as the Americans beat the Everett Silvertips 3-2 to snap a three-game slide Friday night in Western Hockey League action.TORONTO -- Five consecutive victories isnt quite enough to make Dwane Casey breathe easy. DeMar DeRozan poured in 17 points as the Toronto Raptors stretched their winning streak to five games with a 93-90 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday. Asked how hell guard against overconfidence in the locker-room, Casey chuckled. "Were 9-and-19, there is no overconfidence in that room or in the coaches room," the Raptors coach said. "We still have a lot of work to do. Were not satisfied, were still a work in progress, were happy about five in a row, but we havent gone anywhere." Jose Calderon added 13 points and nine assists for the Raptors (9-19), while Terrence Ross had 13 points, and Ed Davis, Alan Anderson, and Amir Johnson all finished with 10 apiece. Arron Afflalo had 26 points to lead the Magic (12-14), who lost for the first time in five games. Nikola Vucevic finished with 16. The winning streak is their longest since the Raptors won five straight in January 2010. The Raptors joined the Argonauts as the only Toronto sports teams to win five in a row in 2012. The Argos won their final two regular-season games and all three playoff games en route to capturing the Grey Cup. The Blue Jays had four, four-game win streaks, and the Maple Leafs one. Fridays victory wasnt particularly pretty as the two teams played three sloppy quarters, the Raptors taking a 71-62 lead into the fourth. Ross injected some much-needed excitement into the game during a half-minute span midway through the final frame. The Raptors rookie first drained a three-pointer, then stole the ball off Jameer Nelson on Orlandos next possession, finishing with a spectacular windmill dunk that brought the festive Air Canada Centre crowd of 18,391 fans to its feet. "I was thinking. . . Make sure youre going to make it, because if you miss it, its going to be embarrassing," Ross said. The Raptors nearly coughed up the victory in the dying minutes, allowing the Magic to pull within a point on a three-pointer by Nelson with 56 seconds left. Johnson, debuting a new do -- a dyed-red Raptors claw logo shaved into the back of his head -- sunk a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left to make it a three-point game. Ross grabbed a key steal with 31 seconds left, DeRozan missed on a jumper, but J.J. Redick then fired up a three-pointer that clanged off the rim and gave Toronto the victory. "Its learning to execute but we found a way to win, thats the positive," Casey said. "We found a way to win in a tough game, against a very gritty, grimy team but we grinded it out." The coach had high praise for Rosss defensive game. "I was really proud of him, hes guarding one of the best pure shooters in Redick, and Afflalo," Casey said. "I was scareed every time Redick was over in the corner, I was holding my breath.dddddddddddd. Hes one of the best actors in the league, hes acting like hes not doing anything and then he goes from zero to 100 in no time flat." The Raptors played their fifth straight game minus injured Andrea Bargnani and Kyle Lowry, but have played their best basketball of the season without the two starters. They lost Jonas Valanciunas midway through the first quarter when the rookie broke the ring finger on his right hand. Valanciunas was battling for a loose ball under the basket when he fell. He was favouring the hand when he got up and X-rays revealed the break. "Very unfortunate, a young kid, growing every time he walked on the floor. Now hes set back with a broken hand," Casey said. Canadas Andrew Nicholson made his first career start, in place of Orlando forward Glen Davis, whos expected to be out six weeks with a sprained shoulder he suffered in Washington on Wednesday. Nicholson finished with six points and four rebounds in just under 20 minutes. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn has varied Nicholsons playing time in his rookie season. "Its a long year, 82 games for a guy from St. Bonnie," Vaughn said of the Mississauga, Ont., native. "So some days as a coach I have to see how hes feeling. We ask a lot of him. He gets to the gym early, he stays after, hes trying to be the best professional he can be. "Sometimes as a coach Ive got to sense how tired is Andrew Nicholson and is he getting overwhelmed? I have to look at those things." Johnsons daring hairdo, meanwhile, drew the attention of fans and television cameras all game. "Thats team spirit right there," he told reporters after Friday mornings shootaround. "I was just thinking about doing something when I was sitting around the house." Casey isnt a big fan of the new look. "If you do that, you better be the baddest man in the paint," the coach said. "Youre saying look at me. Its not something I condone but Amir is his own man." Both teams started off at a pedestrian pace in a sloppy opening first quarter. Toronto led 20-15 to end the first -- the lowest an opponent has scored in a quarter this season. The second quarter wasnt any prettier as Toronto shot just 29 per cent from the field. Still, the Raptors took an 11-point lead on a three-pointer by Linas Kleiza with five minutes left. The Magic ended the half on a 15-7 run to cut the Raptors lead to 42-39 at halftime. The Raptors outscored the Magic 29-23 in the third and led 71-62 with a quarter left to play. NOTES: The Raptors dont play again until Boxing Day, when they meet the Spurs in San Antonio. . . Toronto had dropped three straight to the Magic before beating them 97-86 last month. ' ' '