CLIPS WIN ON ROAD WITHOUT GRIFFIN

atlanta » Jamal Crawford scored 21 points and the Clippers won again without Blake Griffin, holding off the mistake- prone Hawks 85- 83 on Wednesday.

The Hawks turned it over a season- high 23 times but still had a chance to force overtime when Chris Paul lost the handle on an inbounds pass after Al Horford’s free throw. Atlanta got it back with 6.7 seconds left and inbounded to Paul Millsap, who drove against Luc Mbah a Moute and got a good look at the basket but came up short on a running one- hander.

MONDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Spurs rebounded from their worst loss in three years to bash the Rockets 130- 99 and remain undefeated at home. San Antonio has won 25 straight at home to open the season and 34 consecutive dating to last season. Aldridge bounced back after he was held to five points and three rebounds in a 30- point loss to Golden State on Monday. … LeBron James scored 21 points before sitting out in the fourth quarter, Kevin Love added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and the Cavaliers stormed away in the second half for a 115- 93 victory over the Suns. Sluggish for the first 24 minutes, the Cavs opened the second half with a 12- 0 run. … Andre Drummond had 25 points and 18 rebounds, and the Pistons rallied to beat the 76ers 110- 97. Drummond, who came into the game having gone 1- for- 14 from the line in the last two games, hit seven of his 12 free throws. Reggie Jackson added 27 points, while rookie Stanley Johnson had 18 off the bench. … Kevin Durant had 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and hit two huge shots in the final two minutes to help the Thunder win a fast- paced thriller with a 126- 123 victory over the Timberwolves. Russell West brook had 24 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds, while Enes Kanter had 23 points and 10 boards for the Thunder. Kevin Durant added 27 points. … Rodney Hood had 24 points, Rudy Gobert hauled in 11 of his 12 rebounds on the defensive end and the Jazz beat the Hornets 102- 73.

FOOTNOTE

Bulls’ Mirotic loses appendix. Bulls expect forward Nikola Mirotic to be sidelined until after the all- star break following surgery Wednesday to remove his appendix. The team said Mirotic was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and that the operation at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center “went as expected.” The Associated Press