CHICAGO -- When the Los Angeles Clippers lost All-Star Chris Paul to a separated shoulder, they turned to Blake Griffin for leadership. And he has responded by stepping up his play. Griffin had 26 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 112-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. The Clippers improved to 7-3 since Paul, who was averaging 19.6 points and 11.2 assists, was injured. "Blake doesnt run from a challenge," Clippers guard Jamal Crawford said. "Hes one of the hardest workers Ive seen." The Clippers enjoyed a strong outside game, opening up Griffin on the inside, and he finished with his 27th double-double. "(I want to be) a leader for us, knocking down shots and being able to mix up my game, going inside when I felt the need to and going outside when I needed to," Griffin said. Crawford added 19 points for the Clippers, who had six players score in double figures and shot 54 per cent from the field -- including 13 for 21 on 3-pointers. DeAndre Jordan added 10 points and 12 rebounds. "They were open, the right guy was taking them, all of our 3-point shooters," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "They made them, and that opened it up for Blake." Carlos Boozer scored 22 points for the Bulls, who snapped a three-game winning streak. "I dont think any aspect of our defence was any good," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. The Clippers have won four straight against the Bulls, and improved to 3-2 on their seven-game trip. Chicago cut the lead to eight in the third quarter but Darren Collison answered with two quick baskets and the Clippers led 92-80 heading to the fourth. Los Angeles got off to a strong start. The Clippers shot 10 for 14 on 3s and finished 64.1 per cent overall from the field in the first half to take a 68-55 lead at halftime. Jordans dunk gave the Clippers a 60-39 lead, their largest margin, with 3:52 left before halftime. Los Angeles was 7 for 8 from beyond the arc in the first quarter to set a franchise record for 3s in a quarter. The Clippers led 41-26 after shooting 73.7 per cent in the period. "Thats kind of what we talked about, especially defensively," Griffin said about the quick start. "But we still didnt do a good job in the first quarter. We were just so hot early. We got that lead and kept it. Especially on the road, you never want to come out sluggish." In the teams previous meeting, the Clippers routed the Bulls 121-82 on Nov. 24 for their worst loss of the season in the first game after Derrick Rose suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Clippers were averaging 105.4 points, fifth in the league. The Bulls were one of the NBAs top defensive teams, holding opponents to 92.5 points per game before Friday. "Giving up 3s, we strive for five or less," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. "That was just crazy. We kept fighting. But once they give a team like that confidence, its hard to shut them off." J.J. Redick scored 18 points and shot 4 for 7 from 3-point range. Collison, playing despite a sprained toe, had 17 points. Boozer, back from a one-game absence due to a sore left calf, scored 16 points in the first quarter. Gibson added 18 points, Mike Dunleavy had 17 and Joakim Noah 12 as the Bulls shot 43 per cent from the field and 6 for 19 from 3-point range. The Bulls were without Kirk Hinrich, who missed his second consecutive game with a strained right hamstring. "I think we were passive," Bulls guard Jimmy Butler said. "I dont like the word soft, but I think we were a little bit of that too. They got the shots they wanted to get. We didnt make it too tough for them at all." NOTES: Rivers said the Bulls shouldnt let Thibodeau get away. Thibodeau was on Rivers coaching staff from 2007-10 with the Boston Celtics. "I think it would be nuts not to have him here," Rivers said. "Hes the best coach, one of the best coaches, in the league, so if you have that, thats an asset. And I dont think any right-minded organization would allow that asset to leave. Because with all this adversity theyve had with injuries, if you allow that one to leave, things will fall apart -- and that would be pretty much a guarantee." Thibodeau declined to address rumours about his future. ... Hinrich will possibly miss the Bulls trip to Charlotte on Saturday as he continues to receive treatment, Thibodeau said. ... Thibodeau said it would be a great experience for Rose to play for Team USA if he is healthy. Rose was one of 28 players named to the 2014-16 national team pool. The FIBA Basketball World Cup will be Aug. 30-Sept. 14 in Spain. Rose is out for the NBA season after undergoing knee surgery on Nov. 25. ... Thibodeau picked up a technical foul with the Bulls trailing 86-74 with 2:10 left in the third quarter. Wholesale NBA Jerseys . Still, Encarnacion felt a sense of relief. He felt a pop just before crumpling to the ground after running out a groundball in the first inning of Saturdays game. It could have been worse. “Its going to take maybe two weeks,” said Encarnacion. “It depends how Im going to be and how Im going to be day after day, feeling better or not. NBA Jerseys For Sale . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Keeping The Captain? Brian Giontas agent Steve Bartlett told La Presse on Tuesday that the Montreal Canadiens want to keep their captain - an unrestricted free agent on July 1 - in the fold, while sources tell the paper that the two sides will start talks this week. https://www.cheapnbajerseysjustwholesale.com/. Belfort was originally schedule to fight Chris Weidman at UFC 173 on May 24, but a Nevada State Athletic Commission ban on testosterone replacement therapy forced the former light heavyweight champ to withdraw. Authentic NBA Jerseys . Roy says he will know more about Duchenes potential playing status Sunday. Duchene has been out since damaging the MCL in his left knee when he ran into a teammate against San Jose on March 29. Hes been skating on his own all week, before joining the team Saturday hours before a pivotal game in a series tied at 2. Fake NBA Jerseys . The 24-year-old right winger has one assist in nine games this season with the Sabres. In his career, he has three goals and six assists in 43 NHL games.MANCHESTER, England -- The two Manchester clubs slumped to shock defeats and Arsenal moved two points clear with a win at Swansea on Saturday, extending the unpredictable start to the English Premier League. Five months after capturing a 20th English title, Manchester United is languishing in 12th place in the 20-team standings after losing 2-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion in the latest setback to hit David Moyes troubled first season in charge. Amid its worst six-game start to a league season since 1989, United slipped eight points behind Arsenal after the London club beat Swansea 2-1 for an eighth straight away victory in the league. The only solace for United on an action-packed day was neighbour Manchester City enduring similar misery by sinking 3-2 at Aston Villa. With the Manchester giants showing fluctuating form, their rivals from London are taking full advantage. Tottenham is two points behind in second after drawing 1-1 at home to third-place Chelsea in an entertaining match that saw Fernando Torres sent off for the visitors. "Im concerned after todays result, but only because we didnt play well," said Moyes, whose team took another blow six days after losing 4-1 to City in the derby. "But there are a lot of games to go and Ill try to put it right." Even promoted teams Cardiff and Hull are above United after six games. Cardiff won its first away match of the season, 2-1 at Fulham, and Hull edged West Ham 1-0. But another newcomer, Crystal Palace, lost 2-0 at Southampton, which is adding to the surprise factor this season by sitting in fourth place. Sunderland is lodged to the bottom on one point ahead of Sundays game against Liverpool. Unbeaten Everton hosts Newcastle on Monday. Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey maintained his stunning start to the season by setting up Serge Gnabrys opener in the 58th then scoring himself four minutes later at Liberty Stadium. Ben Davies cut the deficit in the 81st but Arsenal held on and is confounding expectations. "We have a lot of quality," said Ramsey, who has scored eight goals in nine matches this season. "Weve had a lot of injuries recently but weve managed to dig in and put a load of wins together and hopefully now we get players back and were in with a shout (of winning the title).dddddddddddd." West Brom fully deserved its first win at United in 35 years, with Saido Berahino clinching victory with a 67th-minute strike from the edge of the box that finished off a flowing team move. Wayne Rooneys free kick score cancelled out Morgan Amalfitanos stylish solo goal, but a United side missing several regular first-team stars with a Champions League match at Shakhtar Donetsk in mind struggled throughout. Moyes team hasnt scored from open play since the first day of the season. City was toasting derby glory last weekend, but was brought to earth by the loss at Villa to drop to fifth. City twice threw away the lead given by Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko before Andreas Weimann struck Villas winner to leave the visitors without an away win this season. "We played very well and deserved to win, but in five minutes (when Villa scored twice) we threw away everything good we did in the rest of the match," City manager Manuel Pellegrini said. "The way we lost this game was incredible." Tottenham showed it should be held up as a genuine title contender by holding Chelsea to a draw at White Hart Lane, although it will be disappointed the team couldnt kick on after Gylfi Sigurdsson opened the scoring in the first half. Chelsea seized the initiative in the second half, with John Terry equalizing with a header from Juan Matas free kick but hopes of victory receded with around 10 minutes to go when Torres was shown a second yellow card for an aerial collision with Jan Vertonghen. "Im sad because the game was good," Mourinho said. "In the first half it was not such a good Chelsea, in the second half Chelsea was not good -- Chelsea was very, very good." Cardiff inflicted more misery on Fulham manager Martin Jol after substitute Jordon Mutch curled home the winner in the second minute of injury time. Steven Caulkers opener for Cardiff in the 12th had been cancelled out in the 45th by substitute Bryan Ruiz. Robbie Brady won and converted a 12th-minute penalty for Hull while Pablo Osvaldo and Rickie Lambert -- with his 200th league goal -- were the scorers for Southampton. ' ' '