answering time Wednesday laughing or smiling. Off-s

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Clippers struggled with an inferior team the last time out and could be in for a long night Friday against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. The Clippers squeezed past the Detroit Pistons, 104-98, on Wednesday at The Palace and Jamal Crawford came off the bench to score 25 points. Chris Paul had 23 points and seven assists, while Blake Griffin added 15 points and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 11 rebounds. Los Angeles made 47.4 percent from the floor and have won two in a row to improve to 4-1 on a seven-game road trip. The Pistons led 51-48 at the half and took a 73-72 lead into the fourth, but the Clippers had a 32-25 scoring advantage over the last 12 minutes. We started making some shots and started moving a little bit, said Paul, who is third in the NBA with 9.7 assists. We got them to turn it over and miss a few shots, and thats when were at our best. The Clippers have scored 100 or more points four times during the road trip and are 5-2 away from home. They are averaging 103.3 points this season and sit third in field goal percentage at 47.2. The Clippers are 8-1 when scoring 100 or more points. LA will close the trip Saturday against the Utah Jazz. In injury news for the Clips, forward Matt Barnes is questionable Friday with a calf strain and has missed the last two games. Barnes is posting 7.8 points this season. Houston will close out a five-game homestand Friday and is 3-1 so far on the stay. In a 102-89 victory over Sacramento on Wednesday, Isaiah Canaan nailed six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points. James Harden had 26 points and made only 10-of-31 shots from the field, and was impressed with Canaan. Isaiah played extremely well at both ends of the floor, Harden said. Our defense turned it up when we needed to. Donatas Motiejunas hit the 20-point mark with 21 and Trevor Ariza ended with 13 points for the Rockets, who made 44.7 percent from the field and have won three in a row and six of eight games. The Rockets registered a 37-19 difference in the first quarter and scored 32 points off Sacramentos 21 turnovers. The Rockets will visit Milwaukee Saturday night and are 6-2 at home. They are first in opponents scoring at 91.5 percent. Rockets center Dwight Howard has missed four straight games and could be sidelined once again. Howard is dealing with a knee issue and is posting an average of 18.8 points and 11.3 rebounds. Patrick Beverley (hamstring) is doubtful and Terrence Jones (contusion) is listed as out for Fridays game versus the Clippers. The Clippers won all four meetings with the Rockets in 2013-14 and are 10-2 in the past 12 matchups between the Western powers. Los Angeles has prevailed in two straight and four of the past five visits to the Toyota Center. Howard averaged 19.0 points and 9.3 rebounds in three games against the Clippers last season and Harden amassed 19.3 points in four. Paul had 20.3 points and 12.8 assists, and Griffin averaged 17.5 ppg in four games against Houston last season. Roberto Firmino Jersey .J. - Several people have collapsed in an overcrowded New Jersey train station while waiting in long lines to get to the Super Bowl. Daniel Sturridge Jersey .Y. -- The Detroit Red Wings had just enough time to salvage a point. http://www.liverpoolgear.us/Authentic-Virgil-Van-Dijk-Liverpool-Jersey/ .One day after winning her record 63rd World Cup race, Vonn posted to her Facebook account Tuesday that she was happy Woods surprised her by coming to the race, and that she felt terrible that his tooth got knocked out. Fabinho Liverpool Jersey . The D-Backs came into being in 1998 and appear destined to finish second in the AL West after the Tsunami that is the Los Angeles Dodgers swept over them. I thought it might be interesting to see what the D-backs have done over their 16 years compared to what the Blue Jays have done over their past 16 campaigns. Pedro Chirivella Liverpool Jersey . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday.SAN ANTONIO - LeBron James should be used to the NBA Finals by now. After five trips to the championship series in eight years, it would make sense if he had a been-there, done-that attitude when stepping onto the sports biggest stage. He doesnt. On Wednesday James took a seat inside a makeshift interview area, sneaked a quick glance at the NBA Finals signage that was off to his left side, and beamed like a kid in a candy store. Just a couple years removed from being ripped for not delivering in the moments that decide championships, James seems more comfortable in these surroundings than ever. "Im blessed, man," James said. "Thats all I can say." And then, without stopping, the four-time MVP said much more. "This is my fifth appearance in a finals," he continued. "Im blessed. I was a kid who watched so many finals appearances and, you know, watched Michael Jordan and watched Shaq and Kobe ... we watched throwback finals games. ... I just wished maybe I could see the finals verbiage behind me and be a part of this." His wishes come true again Thursday night, when James and the Miami Heat open these finals against the San Antonio Spurs, the NBAs first championship-series rematch since 1998. The Heat are going for a third straight title, the Spurs are trying for their fifth crown since 1999. If Miami wins, the perception will be James came through. If Miami loses, the perception will be he didnt do enough. James knows thats the reality. He doesnt mind. "I play for my teammates, our team, the city of Miami, my friends and family, and I gave it all for that," James said. "And at the end of the day, win, lose or draw, Im satisfied with that. I dont get involved in what people say about me and my legacy. I think its actually kind of stupid." By now, the story behind James rise to a champion is no secret. He left Cleveland in 2010 because he felt Miami gave him a better opportunity to win titles. In 2011, when Miami lost to Dallas in the final round, James said he was relying too much upon proving his doubters and naysayers wrong. So the next season, he vowed to play the game the way he hadd in the past.dddddddddddd Championship No. 1 came in 2012, championship No. 2 came last season in an epic seven-game series against the Spurs, and now the shot at No. 3 is here. "Hes really taken his game to a whole other level," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "Obviously as an individual hes grown, as a man, both on and off the court from his own experiences. So I think hes done a phenomenal job. ... If I sit back and look from afar, hes done an unbelievable job under the microscope that hes been under since he was 16 years old of doing things his way and been very successful at doing them." If James is feeling pressure right now, it doesnt show publicly. Away from the public eye, though, teammates have marveled all season about how someone who makes more than $50 million a year in salary and endorsements is working perhaps harder than ever. "Nothing he does is normal," Heat forward Michael Beasley said. "He practices wearing a weight vest. Does that sound normal?" James spent the majority of his question-answering time Wednesday laughing or smiling. Off-stage, he joked with a few other people, chatting and seeming as relaxed as he would if this was the eve of a Heat-Spurs game in January, not one in June. The Spurs are worried about stopping James, they know that wont happen. "We understand LeBron is the best player in the league and just physically hes just a monster," San Antonio forward Tim Duncan said. In 2007, when the Spurs swept Cleveland, James was still learning. In 2011, he felt like he absolutely had to win, and failed to get it done. In 2012 and 2013, he just played the game the way he felt it needs to be played. And its no coincidence that its all fallen into place since. "Every time I come up here and talk to you guys or I do something, you know, very well on the basketball floor or off the floor, my city is rewarded by that," James said. "My family is rewarded by that, my friends are rewarded by that, the kids and all the kids in the world that look up to me are rewarded by that. Thats enough to get me by. Everything else is extra credit." ' ' '