MINNEAPOLIS -- The excuses came ready made for the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. Rockies Charlie Blackmon Jersey . Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford were out with injuries. They were playing their fourth game of a five-game road trip. Chris Paul would have none of that. "I said, Fellas, lets be who we are. We got who we got, lets keep the train moving," Paul told them. "We said, No excuses." And no mercy on a Minnesota Timberwolves team that just wants this massively disappointing season to end. Darren Collison had 28 points and seven assists, and the Clippers didnt miss a beat with Griffin out with a back injury in a 114-104 victory. Paul had 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and Matt Barnes scored 19 points for the Clippers (53-22). Griffin, the teams leading scorer, warmed up before the game but wasnt quite ready after being injured on Saturday night against Houston. Jared Dudley started in his place and scored 16 points, while DeAndre Jordan grabbed a career-high 24 rebounds to help the Clippers pull within two games of Oklahoma City for the second seed in the West. "Everyone keeps track," Dudley said. "We know we have another game against (the Thunder) at home and were just trying to win every game. We want that 2 seed and we know the 1 seed could be tough because San Antonio hasnt lost in a month or so." Kevin Love had 20 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for the Wolves. Crawford was out with a calf injury, but a lacklustre effort by the Wolves starters on the second night of a back-to-back made up for his absence. "Theyve got to bust it," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "They owe themselves that. Owe their teammates that; owe the organization, the fans." The Clippers hit 12 of 30 3-pointers and blew the game wide open with a 31-5 run in the third quarter. The Wolves led 59-57 early in the period, but Collison scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the quarter. The Clippers put their foot on the gas, scoring 13 points in transition during the surge, and punctuating it with a lob pass from Paul to Jordan for an 86-64 lead. Nikola Pekovic left seven minutes into the game when his bothersome right ankle flared up again, and only a spirited effort by Shabazz Muhammad (11 points) and the Timberwolves bench in the fourth quarter kept the game from getting out of hand. The Clippers went 13-2 in March, their second-best month in franchise history, and have won 16 of their last 18 to improve to more than 30 games over .500 for the first time in the teams 44-year history. And Paul has instilled this team with a nastiness that could serve it well in the post-season. With a 14-point lead and just over four minutes to play, the 6-foot Paul went up to swat a dunk attempt by Minnesotas 6-foot-11 rookie Gorgui Dieng. Paul was called for a foul, but he also sent Dieng crashing to the court. Message delivered. "Thats the attitude that we have to have that no matter what the obstacles you just keep playing," coach Doc Rivers said. "We have enough guys, and thats what we talked about today. We didnt mention the injuries. ... You just go out and play and itll work out if you believe that and play well." The Timberwolves were supposed to be in the playoff picture with the Clippers this season, but their 36-37 record to this point makes them one of the biggest disappointments in the league. Ricky Rubio had just three points on 1-for-6 shooting with five turnovers, Love was 8 for 21 and Kevin Martin was a non-factor with 12 points on 4-for-14 shooting. "Its definitely tough right now," Love said. "Weve got to try to finish this thing strong and just try to play well. ... Were a little beat up right now, but we still have to come and play and try to give it our best. But thats a very good team right there." NOTES: The Clippers hosted Iowa coach Fran McCaffery and his 14-year-old son, Patrick, who had a malignant tumour removed from his thyroid last month. Paul has been a vocal supporter of Patricks ever since first hearing about the boys situation. Patrick is a big fan of Paul, and the All-Star guard called him the day before he had surgery. ... Glen Davis had two points in four minutes after getting sent to the locker room against Houston for what Clippers coach Doc Rivers called an attitude problem. ... Love set the franchise record for made free throws in the first quarter, surpassing the 465 made by Tom Gugliotta in 1996-97. Rockies Carlos Estevez Jersey . The 23-year-old Woods, Tiger Woods niece, closed with a 4-under 69 at Royal Pines to finish at 16-under 276. Lee also shot 69 in the event sanctioned by the European and Australian tours. Woods birdied the par-5 15th to open a two-stroke lead, hitting a wedge from about 120 yards to 4 feet. Rockies Scott Oberg Jersey . The win puts the final playoff berth in Group A in question. If the Czechs beat Slovakia on Tuesday, they will go through. If they lose, Germany will get the last quarter-final berth. http://www.cheaprockiesjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=rockies-carlos-gonzalez-jersey . "Last year didnt go the way we wanted it to, but we need to look at what went well and what didnt go so well. Hopefully this year we will be better," Brendan Gallagher said after practice. This year, the Canadiens have a little more depth to work with by adding players like Daniel Briere, Dale Weise, Mike Weaver, Douglas Murray and arguably, the biggest addition to this playoff roster, Thomas Vanek, who the Canadiens were able to land at the trade deadline.Martin ONeill praised the strength of his Republic of Ireland side after they beat Austria for the first time in 53 years. James McCleans second-half winner helped Ireland move top of their World Cup qualification group, having picked up 10 points in their opening four games.Irelands first ever taste of victory in Austria has put them in a strong position to qualify for Russia in 2018, but ONeill admitted it will be a close-fought race. Naturally its a big win because we have defied the odds here this evening. Weve won a game here in Austria, ONeill told Sky Sports after the match.Ive just been told its 53 years since we last won. I dont think thats really important - its about whats happening now and its three great points for us. James McCleans goal sends the Republic of Ireland top of their World Cup qualifying group Its a really great start but I know from our experience in the Euro [2016] campaign, when matches were difficult and wed lost our fourth game against Scotland - it seemed a long way away but we had to come back.We drew with Poland and Scotland but we always felt like we were in it, and thats the same here, even though we have an extra couple of points on the board, I still believe it will be very tight. McClean celebrates after scoring against Austria Having crashed out of their Euro 2016 group in summer, Austrias year ended with greater disappointment as Ireland upset Marcel Kollers side on Saturday night. Rockies Mike Dunn Jersey. But it was a resolute performance from Ireland, while Austria were abject in front of goal, and the victory was richly deserved despite a nervy start.We had to withstand a lot of early pressure from Austria and we gradually got into the game, but it took us a while to do so, ONeill added. Highlights of the Republic of Irelands World Cup qualifier against Austria [Jonathan] Walters chance at the end of the first half gave us that spirit to go on, and then we were very strong.Its too easy to say theres a great spirit about the team. We have a good strength of character which is very important and is epitomised by players like McClean. Hes done brilliantly for us tonight.Walters hasnt played all that often for Stoke, but he was brilliant tonight, I could go through the whole team. We have something there which is very strong within the group. 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