offense to put more points on the board and we end having to kick fiel

MINNEAPOLIS -- Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers burst into Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeaus postgame press conference, hollering Can you come on! Im out here waiting! to his longtime friend and former assistant.Thats what happens when you win, a chuckling Thibodeau said.Rivers would know.Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds and DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 16 boards to lead the Clippers to their sixth straight victory, 119-105 on Saturday night.Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists and J.J. Redick scored 18 points for the Clippers (9-1), who have the best record in the NBA. Los Angeles shot 52.6 percent and outscored the Timberwolves 21-10 in transition.This is the best team Ive had here, Rivers said. But we got to keep doing it. Weve got to keep getting better and performing. But this is a heck of a basketball team.Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio had seven points, six assists and six rebounds in his return from a five-game absence for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, but shot just 8 of 24.We had to work for our shots, Wiggins said. The clogged the paint up, switching everything, contesting every shot. They made it hard on us.The Clippers are off to their best start in franchise history and have so far exhibited all the qualities of a team that can make a deep playoff run. Once a weakness, the bench has been a strength this season. And they entered the game as by far the best defensive team in the league, allowing a paltry 90.4 points per game.After slugging it out with Oklahoma City on Friday night, Los Angeles put the clamps on the young and athletic Timberwolves, who entered the game with the most explosive first-quarter offense in the league. The Clippers outscored Minnesota 34-21 in the period, holding the Wolves to 39 percent shooting and forcing four turnovers, and they never looked back.There are some good things, but to beat a team thats rolling like that, we have to obviously play a lot better than we did, Thibodeau said.TIP-INSClippers: Defensive stopper Luc Mbah a Moute scored 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. ... Redick hit 2 of 7 3-pointers, extending his streak to 66 straight games with at least one made from long distance, the longest active streak in the league. ... F Wes Johnson did not play because of a sore heel. He was injured on Friday night in Oklahoma City after a blocked shot.Timberwolves: Thibodeau fell to 8-9 in his career against Rivers. ... F Brandon Rush was inactive and has not played in the last three games.HACK-A-JORDANThe Wolves went to the Hack-a-Jordan strategy just over midway through the fourth quarter, with Cole Aldrich fouling him on three straight possessions to get Jordan to the line. As Aldrich headed to the bench 30 seconds later, Jordan gave his former teammate a playful shove off the court.The strategy did not work, either. The big man hit 10 of 16 foul shots in the never-ending fourth quarter.Im confident up there. Ive got a routine, Jordan said. Ive got everything I need and Im just going to go up there and shoot.GRIFFINS MILESTONEGriffin entered the game needing 17 points to join an exclusive club with 9,000 career points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists. Griffin got it on a free throw in the fourth quarter. He became the fastest player to reach that plateau since Larry Bird.Its an honor to be mentioned in that category, but Larry went on to have quite a bit more, Griffin said. Thats the ultimate goal, having a career like that. Its cool to have a start like that, but thats not the end goal, a goal by any means.UP NEXTClippers: Head back home to face Brooklyn on Monday as they continue a stretch of four games in six nights.Timberwolves: Host the Lakers on Sunday in the 31st home back-to-back in franchise history, but first to occur on Saturday and Sunday nights. Craig Anderson Jersey . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. Chris Tierney Senators Jersey . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. http://www.senatorssale.com/authentic-mark-borowiecki-senators-jersey/ . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Colin White Senators Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. Thomas Chabot Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals missed another chance to get a statement win.A road game on Monday night against a winning team was an opportunity for the Bengals to reach .500 for the season.The Bengals faltered in the fourth quarter, though, and lost to the Giants 21-20 to fall to 3-5-1.The Bengals dropped to 11-23 on Monday night, including 4-7 in the Marvin Lewis era. The Bengals havent won a road game on Monday night since the 1990 season, which was also the last season the team won a playoff game.The loss also continues the Bengals struggles against the leagues better teams in 2016. They also have lost to Dallas, Denver, New England and Pittsburgh.Weve got to find a way to flip the switch and get these games turned into wins rather than a tie in London and a one-point loss here tonight, Dalton said.Weve got to take a good hard look at what were doing and correct the things that are hurting us.Penalties, an inconsistent offense and an inability to contain Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. combined to foil the Bengals.Dalton was 16 of 29 for 204 yards with a TD pass to A.J. Green and an interception.The Bengals finished with only 12 first downs and 264 yards.The defense, which entered the game ranked 25th in the league, allowed 351 yards, and the Bengals were penalized nine times for 60 yards.Trailing 21-20 early in the fourth quarter, Dalton was intercepted by Landon Collins. George Iloka intercepted Manning on the next play, but the Bengals were unable to take advantage as they failed to get a first down. The Bengals were forced to punt on their next two drives as the Giants sacked Daltonn twice.ddddddddddddThe fourth-quarter struggles overshadowed a strong start to the second half.The Bengals used Alex Ericksons 84-yard second-half kickoff return to get back in the game. Jeremy Hill had a 9-yard TD run and the Bengals later added Mike Nugents 38-yard field goal for a 20-14 lead in the third quarter.But the defense couldnt hold the lead as the Giants went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3 and scored on Mannings third TD pass of the game early in the fourth quarter to retake the lead at 21-20.Late in the second quarter, the Bengals missed an opportunity when they only mustered a field goal after Dre Kirkpatricks interception gave them the ball at the 7. They were held to a 25-yard field goal by Nugent for a short-lived 10-7 lead.We have opportunities on offense to put more points on the board and we end having to kick field goals and that ended up probably being the difference in the football game, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. If we get a touchdown, particularly from the 7-yard line there.Manning then led a drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Beckham for a 14-10 lead at the half.With no team in control of the AFC North, the Bengals fell further behind in their hope to reach the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. They host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.Were trying to figure out what we need to do to have these outcomes be different and theres not one explanation for it, Dalton said.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '