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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Paul leads Clippers past Thunder

Detroit Pistons' Rodney Stuckey (3) puts up a shot against Milwaukee Bucks' Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. (Associated Press)

NBA: Chris Paul had 26 points and 14 assists, Blake Griffin added 22 points and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated Oklahoma City 112-100 Monday night, snapping the Thunder’s four-game winning streak in a matchup of division leaders at Los Angeles.

Caron Butler also had 22 points, Chauncey Billups scored 13, Mo Williams 12 and DeAndre Jordan had 11 with 11 rebounds as the Pacific-leading Clippers dunked with high-flying abandon against the team with the NBA’s best record at 16-4. They won their third in a row to follow up a 109-105 victory at Denver a night earlier that began a stretch of five games in seven nights.

Kevin Durant had 36 points and 13 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 31 for the Northwest-leading Thunder, whose league-best road record dropped to 8-3.

Jazz rally to upend Blazers: Paul Millsap had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz used a 13-0 fourth-quarter run to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 93-89 in Salt Lake City.

LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 25 points, including 14 in the third quarter as the Blazers built an 11-point lead. But the Jazz fought back, even without starting center Al Jefferson and guard Raja Bell, who did not play because of injuries.

The loss was the eighth in 11 road games for the Blazers, who had beaten Utah three consecutive times.

Wesley Matthews’ runner pulled Portland to 90-89 with 5.6 seconds left before C.J. Miles made one of two free throws. Gordon Hayward, who started 0 of 8 from the field, grabbed the rebound of Miles’ miss and sank a pair of foul shots for the final margin.

Adelman wins in return to Houston: Michael Beasley scored 34 points, Ricky Rubio had 18 points and 11 assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Rockets 120-108 in Rick Adelman’s return to Houston.

Kevin Love had 29 points for the Timberwolves, who blew open a close game with 42 points in the third for their highest scoring quarter this season.

Adelman went 193-135 in four seasons coaching Houston, and turned down the team’s offer to renew his contract after last season.

Washington’s Blatche out: Wizards forward Andray Blatche will be out three to five weeks because of a strained left calf.

Blatche was injured in Saturday’s win in Charlotte. He was averaging 10 points and seven rebounds per game.

No. 4 Missouri escapes at Texas

Men’s basketball: Michael Dixon scored 21 points, including the game-winning layup with 31 seconds left, as No. 4 Missouri beat Texas 67-66 in Austin, Texas.

Ricardo Ratliff and Phil Pressey added 13 points each for Missouri (20-2, 7-2 Big 12).

J’Covan Brown scored 20 for Texas (13-9, 3-6), which lost for the fifth time in six games, all to ranked teams.

UConn women end Duke’s home streak

Women’s basketball: Bria Hartley scored 15 points and No. 3 Connecticut beat No. 5 Duke 61-45 to snap the Blue Devils’ 34-game winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Caroline Doty added 11 points for the Huskies (20-2). They shot 45 percent and held Duke to a season-low 24.6 percent shooting.

Chelsea Gray scored 13 points for the Blue Devils (17-3), who had won 11 straight overall. It was their first loss at Cameron since UConn visited two years ago.

Ravens sign Caldwell as quarterbacks coach

NFL: Jim Caldwell is back in the NFL, this time as the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterbacks coach.

The appointment comes less than two weeks after the 57-year-old Caldwell was fired as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts following a 2-14 season.

Caldwell went 26-22 in three years with Indianapolis, including a Super Bowl appearance.

After working with Colts standout quarterback Peyton Manning for 10 seasons, Caldwell will turn his attention toward improving Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco and teaming with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to strengthen Baltimore’s passing game.

Colts land Arians as offensive coordinator: A person familiar with the hiring tells the Associated Press that the Indianapolis Colts have hired Bruce Arians as offensive coordinator.

Arians recently left Pittsburgh, where he held the same position. He will join the staff of new coach Carl Pagano, the person said on the condition of anonymity because the team has not yet announced the hiring.

Rangers’ Washington signs 2-year extension

MLB: Texas manager Ron Washington has signed a two-year contract extension through the 2014 season after leading the Rangers to consecutive World Series.

Washington has a 427-373 record in five seasons with Texas, his first major league managerial job. He is the first manager in major league history to increase his team’s win total in four consecutive seasons after his initial season with a club.

Milwaukee picks up outfielder Patterson: The Brewers have signed outfielder Corey Patterson to a minor league contract.

Patterson played 44 games for the St. Louis Cardinals last season, batting .157.

Flood named head coach at Rutgers

Miscellany: Rutgers turned to assistant Kyle Flood to replace Greg Schiano as the team’s head football coach, hours after Florida International’s Mario Cristobal passed on a chance to take over the Scarlet Knights.

Flood is expected to be introduced today at a news conference on the Rutgers campus in Piscataway, N.J.

Schiano left Rutgers last week to become the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ head coach, leaving the school scrambling for a replacement less than a week before national signing day.

The 41-year-old Flood has been a member of Schiano’s staff since 2005, coaching tight ends and offensive linemen while working his way up to assistant head coach in 2008.

Rutgers finished 9-4 last season and returns most of the key players from that team.

Women’s Professional Soccer season suspended: Women’s Professional Soccer won’t play the 2012 season amid a legal dispute with an ousted owner.

The league’s board of bovernors voted to suspend the season with hopes of resuming in 2013, the WPS announced.

The league’s predecessor, the Women’s United Soccer Association, folded after three years.

Rachel Alexandra and colt back home: A spokeswoman for Stonestreet Farm says Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year, and her newborn colt have returned to their home in Lexington, Ky.

The two had been taken Friday to Rood and Riddle Equine Clinic in Lexington as a precautionary measure for pain management related to the birth.