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LOS ANGELES -- Defense will probably dictate when the Detroit Pistons tangle with the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night at Staples Center.Both clubs rank among the NBAs best in defending. The Clippers lead the league in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 90.7 points per game, while producing 102.7 per outing.The Pistons are second to Los Angeles in scoring defense at 93 points per game, while averaging 100.5 points per game.Clippers point guard Chris Paul tops the NBA in steals at 3.5 per game.As a team, Los Angeles is the leader in steals with an average of 10 per game.Detroit has one of the games top defenders in the middle with center Andre Drummond, who is averaging 14.7 boards. And, the Pistons are the fifth-best rebounding club in the NBA at 47.3 per game. The Clippers are rank 11th at 45.2. Both teams are averaging 10.2 boards on the offensive end.But it isnt all about defense with the Pistons (4-2), who earned a 103-86 win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday in a game Drummond had 19 points and 20 rebounds. Tobias Harris has been a sparkplug offensively, leading the Pistons at 18.8 points per game.Hes a very mature guy and hes very professional in his approach, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said, according to Pistons.com. Hes a guy whos always looking to get better. He looks at his game realistically. He figures out where he needs to improve and he works on it. Hes not an excuse guy. Its not outside forces and everything else.Van Gundy also praised Pistons forward Marcus Morris, who is scoring at a 17.5 points per game clip.Marcus is the same way (as Harris), Van Gundy said. Its one of the reasons those guys play well. Theyre willing to look at their performances realistically and make improvements rather than blaming everything and everyone else.The Clippers (5-1) return home after a successful two-game stretch on the road, where they have compiled a 3-0 mark this season. They are tied with Oklahoma City atop of the Western Conference, their lone loss being to the Thunder last week.Los Angeles recorded wins over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and rolled past the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday behind the performance of Blake Griffin, who scored 26 of his 28 points in the first half en route to a 116-92 romp.Its nice to have those easy looks go down, said Griffin, who shot 13-for-19 from the floor, according to the Los Angeles Times. It just kind of builds your confidence.Griffin, though, couldnt resist crediting the Clippers defensive performance for being the difference against the Spurs. After all, defense is the top priority of Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who preaches it practically every time he opens his mouth.It starts with defense, Griffin said, according to Clippers.com. I know we always say that, but it really does.Said Rivers, Thats two nights in a row that weve had great pace, and our defense has been as good as Ive seen it. Our hands are everywhere right now, and thats a good sign.Fake Nmd For Sale . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Wholesale Air Max 90 Cheap . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. http://www.outletsneakersclearance.com/fake-air-jordan.html . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Air Max 270 Clearance . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Cheap Nmd China . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.Arizona State continues its crisscrossing journey when it takes on No. 18 Purdue in the first game of the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.The Sun Devils (5-3) traveled 4,300 miles from Phoenix to New York on Sunday, part of a road schedule that has taken them to Orlando and the Bahamas since Nov. 17. By the time Arizona State meets San Diego State on Dec. 10, they will have flown 12,900 miles and slept in hotels 11 of 25 nights.The road warriors could be feeling the effects of the extended travel. Going into Saturdays win over UNLV, Arizona States defensive two-point field goal percentage of 56.4 was last among the Power Five conference teams.The Sun Devils gave up 115 points in a loss to Kentucky and 100 in a 17-point win over The Citadel.Tra Holder, Torian Graham and Shannon Evans II are all averaging 17 points and at least 31 minutes for the Sun Devils, who are coached by Bobby Hurley, the 1992 Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament out of Duke. Hurleys father, Bob, is the Hall of Fame coach at St. Anthonys in Jersey City.We have to have more energy, Hurley told AZ Central. The things that I talked about early in the season -- we have to be scrappy and feisty and use our quickness. I think we allowed our inability to play efficiently on offense to affect our mood and how we defended (against Kentucky).We have to move past that. If we miss a bad shot or if we turn the ball over, we have to be able to flip the switch and aggressively play that end of the floor at all times.Arizona State made a team-record 18 3-pointers against UNLV, but its perimeter defendeers will be tested by Boilermakers shooters that have made 62 3-pointers in the last five games and ranks 13th nationally in 3-pointers per game (10.dddddddddddd.5). Purdue (6-2) is shooting 43.3 percent from long distance, good for fifth nationally and first in the Big Ten.The Boilermakers committed a season-low nine turnovers in a 90-56 win over Morehead State on Saturday and had a season-high 27 assists. Purdue ranks seventh nationally in assists per game (19.8) and has had at least 20 in five of its eight games.We got into a flow because we made shots, we moved the ball, we had good inside-outside balance, Painter told the Lafayette Journal and Courier after the Morehead State win. But it all looks better when it goes in. I mean, it just does.Purdue is led by Caleb Swanigan, one of the premier big men in the country. The 6-foot-9 sophomore forward is 10th in the country in rebounding (11.5) and is one of two players nationally to average 17.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. (Dedric Lawson of Memphis is the other).Since 1993-94, just six players in NCAA history have averaged 17.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in a season.Purdue and Arizona State last met in Las Vegas on Dec. 21, 2002, when the Sun Devils won 70-53 in route to a 2003 NCAA Tournament appearance.The teams have met five times, with Arizona State winning twice. The other Sun Devils win was 85-80 on Dec. 21, 1968, in Tempe when the Boilermakers were ranked 12th. ' ' '