LOS ANGELES -- The Clippers gave up 96 shots to Minnesota. Marcus Johansson Jersey . Lucky for them, the Timberwolves last three didnt go in. Blake Griffin had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Chris Paul added 21 points and the Clippers hung on for a 109-107 victory on Monday night after Kevin Love missed a tip-in at the buzzer. "We got fortunate at the end," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said. "It was a point-blank tip." With 3 seconds left, Kevin Martin missed a jumper that Nikola Pekovic rebounded, only to miss the layup. Love grabbed the ball and missed again to end the Wolves two-game winning streak. "My natural instinct was to try to rush it and get it up there, but it sat on the rim and came right off. I would say 99 times out of a hundred times that goes in," Love said. "I could have dunked it, but I thought I just had to touch it real quick because time was running out." Paul had 11 assists, Jamal Crawford scored 18 points and DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 11 rebounds to help the Clippers improve to 3-0 at home with Oklahoma City headed to Staples Center on Wednesday. "This year is one of the most competitive years Ive seen for a while," Clippers backup centre Ryan Hollins said. "Every single night youre playing a big matchup. Minnesota didnt even make the playoffs last year, and theyre just as good as anybody in the league right now." Martin scored 30 points for the Wolves, who lost their sixth straight against the Clippers. Pekovic added 25 points, and Love had 23 points and 19 rebounds. They ended a 22-game series losing streak against the Lakers on Sunday, and nearly stopped their skid against Staples Centers other NBA team. "Our guys believed they could get back in it," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "They made the right plays defensively and converted at the other end. Thats the way you have to play if youre going to try to win. In this league, you have to give yourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter, and we were there." Los Angeles opened the fourth with a 14-7 run to build a 98-87 lead, its first by double digits since the second quarter. Crawford scored eight points. Jordan missed all five of his free throws in the period, clanking his last two off the front of the rim while the Wolves got within six. Minnesota cut its deficit to 101-99 on a fast-break dunk by Martin off Pauls turnover. Martin hit a 3-pointer on the previous possession. The Clippers scored six in a row to go up 107-99 before the Wolves answered with six straight to trail 107-105. Griffin got fouled and made both for a 109-107 lead. Corey Brewer missed a 3-pointer in the left corner, but Pekovic was alone under the basket, grabbed the rebound and put it in to keep the Wolves within two with 28 seconds left. "Were a very good team when we are fighting back and this was another great learning experience for us," Love said. The teams played a back-and-forth third, with neither leading by more than six points. Ricky Rubios 3-pointer put the Wolves ahead 76-74 before the Clippers closed on an 11-4 run to lead 85-80. Crawford tossed up a 3-pointer from 15 feet behind the midcourt line that banked in at the buzzer, enlivening the crowd. "We only won by two points so it came in handy," he said. The Clippers used a 19-5 run, including 10 in a row, with six different players scoring to go up 53-42 in the second quarter. Pekovic keyed a 16-6 spurt with nine points to send the Wolves into halftime trailing 59-58. Notes: Paul missed a free throw, going 7 of 8 to end his streak of converting 37 in a row. ... Barnes played with a right thigh contusion. ... Wolves rookie Shabazz Muhammad, who left UCLA after one year, sat after playing 2:47 against the Lakers in his return to Los Angeles. ... Paul has at least 10 assists in all eight games this season. ... The Clippers swept the Wolves in four games last season. Ilya Samsonov Jersey . -- San Francisco 49ers offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman is a finalist to replace Joe Paterno at Penn State, his agent said Monday. Custom Washington Capitals Jerseys . - Steve Stricker usually doesnt show up at a tournament on Sunday.BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Joey Logano was only a few laps away from victory when suddenly, holding off Paul Menard wasnt his main problem. "I could tell something was wrong on the back straightaway," Logano said. Loganos flat tire with about five laps remaining allowed Menard to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. It was Menards second victory on that circuit and first since 2006, and Logano was left trying to come to terms with a race that was going well until the final moments. "I hate to give them away like that," Logano said. "You look at the silver lining I guess, which is we had a fast race car and should have won the race. You win some this way and lose some this way." Logano was leading when he was derailed by the tire problem. Menard took advantage of his good fortune, holding off Sam Hornish Jr. by 0.468 seconds. It was Menards first Nationwide start of the season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished third, followed by pole-winner Kyle Busch and Brian Scott. Regan Smith finished seventh and remained atop the points list. Menard, one of several Sprint Cup drivers in contention in the event, won the 250-mile, 125-lap race in his No. 33 Chevrolet. He figures he might have had a shot to win even without Loganos mishap. "I would have liked to have lined up nose to tail with Joey," he said. "It would have been a hell of a race." Logano wasnt disputing that, but the point became moot when he ran over something in his No. 22 Ford and dropped all the way back to 16th place because of the cut tire. "The 33 was quick and had a fast race car also. We were going to have a race because he was catching me a little bit," Logano said. "Sometimes you are the bug, sometimes you are the windshield. Andre Burakovsky Jersey. It is never over until it is over. You think you are in good shape and you are worried about a caution more than anything else and then the next thing you know you hear it starting to come apart." Busch won his third Nationwide pole of the year but was unable to repeat his victory two weeks ago at Dover. Scott was the highest finisher among this years Nationwide regulars, holding his own among several Cup drivers. "Ive been fortunate to run a couple Cup Series races, and I felt like it was a huge benefit to me and my team in the Nationwide Series," said Scott, who along with Menard was part of a big day for Richard Childress Racing. "The added track time, just driving something with more horsepower. You actually figure out ... the grip threshold, and you realize just how high it is. Then you can get in your Nationwide car and you know that youre nowhere near it or youre at it, and how to approach that." Hornish nearly won the Nationwide Series in 2013, but his sponsorship money dried up and he parted ways with owner Roger Penske. Hes made only three Nationwide starts this year, but the irregular schedule doesnt seem to be affecting his performance. Hes finished in the top five in all three races, including a victory at Iowa in May. He was in the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday. "Its not really a knocking-off-the-rust thing, because Im at the shop every week," Hornish said. "I feel like Im keeping from being rusty by the amount of things that Im doing as far as that. Gotten to do a little bit of testing, and theyve given me good cars. Everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing has been super nice to me so far -- glad that we could come out and have another good day for them." 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