Chris Paul Blows It; Tony Allen Hits A Game-Winner

One night after being Mr. Clutch, Chris Paul blew it last night and he knew it. CP3 threw the ball away with only seconds remaining because he was fearful of being called for a backcourt violation and the Spurs walked out of L.A. with a 103-100 overtime win. Too bad CP’s (21 points) turnover ended up right in the hands of Gary Neal (17 points), who’s suddenly become a smaller, less annoying version of Robert Horry. Neal banged the three to send it to overtime, and then in the extra frame, hit the game-winning triple in the final moments to lift San Antonio to their 10th straight win. Paul called his turnover probably the worst play he’s been a part of since he got into the NBA … Staples Center was hardly rocking until the Clips ran off a 15-0 run to close the third quarter. It was capped by one of those Blake Griffin breakaway slams you immediately break out your phone to text and tweet about. Eric Bledsoe led a two-on-one break after a Clippers steal before bouncing a dime between his legs behind him to the trailing Griffin. He took off near the dotted line with two hands and, goodnight, add another clip to his YouTube lore. Griffin (22 points, 20 rebounds) had his first career 20/20 game – doesn’t that sound ridiculous when Kevin Love does it once a week? He also had a wild alley-oop, which actually DOES happen once a game. It was a freak loss but still… who ever feels like it’s time to deny the Spurs? … Will someone show Tony Parker some love? He had 30 points and 10 dimes on the supposed “best point guard in the league” and yet we rarely talk about him, rarely mention him. Honestly, as the best player on one of the top five teams in the league, he should be getting some individual love right now … And Manu suffered a strained left oblique in the fourth game back from the broken hand he suffered early in the season. The Spurs offered no other details, but it seems likely he’ll miss more time … Rudy Gay might’ve missed the shot to beat the Warriors but he deserves some credit. Number one, he’s hit as many game-winners as anyone in the past few seasons. And more importantly, his presence allowed Tony Allen to sneak around and get his own layup. Gay missed a potential game-winner, but TA found the space to tip it in – just as Dante Cunningham did on Friday night. Memphis won 104-103 despite ridiculous nights from the Warriors’ two guards – Stephen Curry (36 points) and Monta Ellis (33 points). Memphis wore its throwback Memphis Tams uniforms from the ABA days. Despite the win to push them to 2-2 in those unis, they REALLY need to scrap them … The Nets had their first win of the month, dominating the Bulls for a 97-85 win. Even without Derrick Rose, you lose big to a team like New Jersey, and you have to make some changes. Kris Humphries went crazy, finishing with 23 points, 18 rebounds and five dimes. Everyone in the world just quit boo-ing. Deron Williams had 29 but more importantly, Shelden Williams had 14 rebounds … DeShawn Stevenson has a knack for making big threes. He hit a couple more yesterday, and then did nothing else at all … Brook Lopez is also expected to start today against Milwaukee … And when was the last time an average team – which is Portland even though they beat Atlanta by 20 – looked like a legit contender? The Blazers did what they normally do – win at home, behind another big night from Nicolas Batum (22 points) and a rebirth from Raymond Felton (14 points, eight assists). Batum, it looks like, has left the bench permanently, and his length creates an insanely long starting lineup. With Batum, Wallace, LMA, Felton and Camby out at the tip off, the Blazers are one of the most versatile teams in the league. The Hawks found that out quickly, falling behind in the first quarter and never recovering … After being expected to miss time, Aldridge (19 points, 10 rebounds) had a major part in this one … And after all of this, Reggie Williams of the Bobcats surprisingly tweeted this: “I feel bad for not taking the picture with the little girl, but i had just farted. I was trying to protect her” … We’re out like CP.