LOS ANGELES -- When the final buzzer sounded on the longest two weeks of the Los Angeles Clippers careers, they felt more exhaustion than elation. While coach Doc Rivers high-fived fans and pumped his fist at the crowd, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul quietly congratulated each other. They had just persevered through seven exhausting playoff games amid enormous distractions leading to their owners lifetime banishment from the NBA. A franchise that once redefined losing was a winner despite it all -- and theres no telling how much farther these new Clippers can go. Griffin scored 24 points, Paul had 22 points and 14 assists, and the Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 126-121 in Game 7 on Saturday night to win their first-round playoff series. "Im just happy we pulled it out," Paul said. "Its going to sound crazy, but it was all about tonight. Everything else was in the past. We didnt dwell on all that stuff, and not to diminish how serious everything has been in the past week or so. It was all about basketball tonight." Jamal Crawford scored 22 points for the third-seeded Clippers, who earned the franchises third playoff series win in 38 years with the highest degree of off-court difficulty imaginable. Less than a week after dumping their team warmup jerseys at centre court in a pregame gesture of defiance against Donald Sterling, the Clippers earned a cathartic win and a second-round date with the Oklahoma City Thunder, starting Monday night. "I just thought with all this stuff, this team just needed this win," Rivers said. "This was a hard week. It feels like two months. I just needed to be able to smile and laugh and cheer, and be proud of something. And I was very proud of my players." Sterling was banned for life from the NBA on Tuesday after a recording of racist comments by the 80-year-old billionaire was made public. The Clippers endured sleepless nights, constant public scrutiny and a failed attempt to close out the series in Game 6 before they finally hung on to beat Golden State. Sterlings long-estranged wife, Rochelle, cheered and clapped from the back of the lower bowl of Staples Center, where most of the advertising signage was illuminated again after the advertiser walkout sparked by Sterlings comments. "Its been a crazy ride for us," said DeAndre Jordan, who had 15 points and 18 rebounds. "I commend our guys for sticking with it. Its been a roller coaster, but we came out and had a job to do, and we did it." Stephen Curry had 33 points and nine assists, but Golden State blew a lead with 2:10 left in Game 7. Draymond Green scored 24 points for the Warriors, who lost their first Game 7 since 1977 and failed to advance in consecutive postseasons for the first time since that same year. "We fought so hard this whole series, this whole season," Curry said. "It stings. Its disappointing for sure." An exhausting series ended with one last well-played game between the California powers who traded the lead throughout the second half. Los Angeles couldnt seize control of the first home Game 7 in franchise history until the final minutes -- and the Clippers did it in fitting Lob City style. After Griffin put the Clippers ahead for good by muscling home a layup, Jordan blocked Currys layup attempt to set up a fast break leading to J.J. Redicks lob to Griffin for a thunderous slam. Jordan added a dunk on an offensive rebound, and Griffin spun in the air and threw home a layup while getting fouled with 56 seconds left. Jordan threw down another alley-oop from Griffin with 22 seconds left, but Green hit a 3-pointer to trim the lead to 120-118. But Redick, Paul and Darren Collison hit two free throws apiece in the final 12 seconds to ice it. Redick scored 20 points for the Clippers, and Jordan put in a stellar low-post performance for the two-time Pacific Division champions. Klay Thompson managed just 15 points for the Warriors, failing to make a shot in the fourth quarter. Curry had just three field goals in the second half. "I thought it was a hard-fought series that everyone in the organization should be proud of," Jackson said. "We all went through it. The statements that were made were made to all of us. ... We did a good job handling what could go down as the toughest moment in league history, as far as what we had to go through." The game could have been the last for Golden State coach Mark Jackson, who might be on shaky ground with Warriors ownership despite presiding over the long-struggling franchises best two-year stretch in two decades. Curry said it would be "a shock" if Jackson wasnt the Warriors coach next year. "I dont get caught up in it," Jackson said. "Im totally confident, and I have total faith that Im going to be fine." NOTES: The Warriors havent won a Game 7 on the road since the Philadelphia Warriors beat the St. Louis Bombers in the 1948 BAA semifinals. ... Jordan set a franchise record for rebounds in a single playoff series, surpassing Bob McAdoos 94 rebounds for the Buffalo Braves in 1975. Jordan had already set the club record for blocked shots in a series. ... Warriors big man Jermaine ONeal played only three minutes after a collision with Los Angeles Glen Davis in Game 6 left him with a bone bruise on his right kneecap. Mike Foltynewicz Jersey .Y. -- First, Patrick Kane gave his family and friends something to cheer about by scoring a highlight-reel goal in a rare trip home to Buffalo on Sunday night. Josh Donaldson Braves Jersey .Tzavelas opened the scoring in the 11th and Pereyra added another in the 51st. Emmanuel Kone pulled one back in the 80th and Levadiakos missed several chances to level in the last 10 minutes. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/josh-tomlin-braves-jersey/ . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said. Sean Newcomb Braves Jersey . Cabrera is hitting .218 with three homers and 16 RBI in 80 games this season. The Padres recalled second baseman Brooks Conrad from Triple-A El Paso to replace Cabrera on the roster. David Justice Braves Jersey .Y. -- The Montreal Canadiens have had few reasons to celebrate this season as they have been mired near the basement of the Eastern Conference.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Suns point guard trio combined for 61 points and Phoenix went into Staples Center and topped the Los Angeles Lakers, 116-107. Goran Dragic scored a game-high 24 points, Eric Bledsoe posted 22 with eight rebounds and eight assists and Isaiah Thomas had 15 off the bench for the suddenly red-hot Suns. Phoenix has won six games in a row on the heels of a six-game slide, although four of those wins have come against teams with a losing record. We stayed focused, said Suns coach Jeff Hornacek. Eric had a rough start but he gave us a big lift in the third quarter. Nick Young and Jeremy Lin scored 21 and 19 points, respectively, off the bench, as LA fell to 4-11 at home this season. Phoenix led 88-81 after three quarters and extended its lead to 13 with Dragic and Gerald Green each hitting a 3-pointer in the opening 30 seconds of the fourth. Marcus Morris jumper two minutes later kept the lead at 13, but Young scored five points during a 9-0 run that gave Los Angeles life. The spread was back to nine, 106-97, with Wesley Johnson connecting on a pair of 3s. Young then drained a pair at the line to pull LA within a point. Youngs free throws came with 2:20 remaining. The Lakers then went nearly two minutes without a point as Phoenix put the game away. P.J. Tuckeer got a driving layup to go and Markieff Morris hit a difficult turnaround bank shot.dddddddddddd Thomas made two free throws and Bledsoe went 4-for-4 to seal it. Just couldnt get a stop, said Lakers coach Byron Scott. We were right there again, played hard for 48 minutes. But the last couple of minutes of the game, feels like we just lost it. Young hit four 3-pointers in a three-minute window early in the second quarter. His first trey at 10:27 broke a tie, and the fourth gave the Lakers a 45-37 lead. Phoenix chopped away over the course of the period and appeared to go ahead with a Dragic 3 as time expired, but video confirmed the ball was still in his hands when the buzzer sounded. The Lakers led 56-55 at the half. Dragic followed a Bledsoe layup with one of his own at 7:24 of the third, and Alex Len took a feed from Markieff Morris and dunked as Phoenix climbed back in front. The margin was down to once on multiple occasions after that, but LA never got over the hump. Game Notes Tucker and Markieff Morris scored 12 points apiece for Phoenix ... Earlier on Sunday, the Lakers were awarded rookie center Tarik Black off waivers from the Rockets and waived guard Xavier Henry ... Kobe Bryant finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. ' ' '
