LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Eric Bledsoe made a name for himself during the Los Angeles Clippers playoff run last season. The third-year guard gained valuable confidence that is paying off. Bledsoe narrowly missed recording a triple-double, finishing with 22 points, 11 assists and nine steals in the Clippers 97-91 win over the Lakers on Wednesday night that kept their Staples Center co-tenant winless in seven preseason games. "Just having fun," Bledsoe said, recalling his only triple-double came in high school. "I thought I was going to be a little winded, but I wasnt." He played more than 43 minutes on a night when the Clippers All-Star guard Chris Paul sat out. Pauls counterpart on the Lakers, Kobe Bryant, missed his second preseason game with a strained and bruised right foot. Paul rested after being hit accidentally by a teammate in practice. Dwight Howard was rested while recovering from general soreness after his Lakers debut on Sunday. The Lakers wont have Bryant for their final exhibition against Sacramento on Thursday night in San Diego, while Paul will play the Clippers finale in Denver that night. "We had a lot of guys out and so did they so I didnt put a lot of stock in the outcome of this game," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. Bledsoe came into his own in the Clippers 4-0 second-round playoff loss against the Spurs, averaging 11. 5 points while shooting 70 per cent from the floor and 50 per cent from 3-point range. "The playoffs last year was huge for him and really gave him the confidence," Blake Griffin said. "He knows his role and he understands what his main job is. Hes had experience playing when CP is out." Matt Barnes added 18 and Griffin had 15 points for the Clippers. "Anytime these two teams match up, being where the Clippers are now, its going to be intense," said Barnes, a former Laker. Pau Gasol led six Lakers in double figures with 17 points. Rookie Robert Sacre of Gonzaga, starting in place of Dwight Howard, and Metta World Peace had 13 each. Jordan Hill added 12. Steve Blake and Jodie Meeks, who started in place of Bryant, had 11 each. Steve Nash, who had four points and seven assists for the Lakers, wasnt happy about dropping to 0-7. "Obviously Id like to have some wins under our belt, but were going to worry about our record when it counts," he said. The Lakers committed 20 turnovers — five by Sacre — that led to 33 points by the Clippers. "Some of it is were trying to work through a new offence," Nash said. "Theres other situations where were just careless." The Clippers opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, including four by Bledsoe, to take an 80-73 lead. Blake hit a 3-pointer that drew the Lakers within one before rookie Travis Leslie ran off six in a row to keep the Clippers ahead 91-86. Former UCLA player Ryan Hollins made consecutive baskets, extending the Clippers lead to 95-88. World Peace missed two 3-point attempts on the same possession and then Blake lost the ball with a bad pass in the closing 2 minutes. "Luckily its preseason. We just got to learn from these," Sacre said. "Make your mistakes in the preseason and you can always get better." Both teams tried numerous lineup combinations during the game, with the Clippers resting Jamal Crawford, Lamar Odom and Grant Hill. Chauncey Billups is still a ways away from returning after a torn Achilles tendon. The Lakers led 68-60 with less than 5 minutes to go in the third. The Clippers second unit outscored them 12-6, including five each by Barnes and Willie Green, to trail 73-72 going into the fourth. Paced by 10 points each from Griffin, Bledsoe and Barnes, the Clippers led 49-40 at halftime. NOTES: Howard wore a three-piece suit on the bench, while Bryant didnt sit with the Lakers, but was in the building. ... The Clippers beat the Lakers twice when they met during last years lockout-shortened preseason in December. ... Rapper-actor Common and former NFL star Terrell Owens attended as part of the sellout crowd of 19,060. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . The world No. 1 from Belarus figures to have a more difficult challenge in the semifinals when she goes up against Serena Williams. Azarenka, who captured her first career WTA singles title at this event in 2009, posted a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Kazakhstans Ksenia Pervak. Jerseys NFL China . That was more than Peyton Manning could say. During a stunning first quarter, Manning was picked off once, then twice, then a third time. http://www.jerseysnflwholesale.us/ . -- Floridas guards made the difference -- a big difference -- in an easy win over archrival Florida State on Wednesday night. Cheap NFL Jerseys . With the possibility of an upset hanging in the air at Hartwall Arena, the Canadian captain came through in the clutch Wednesday by scoring the winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Switzerland. Jerseys NFL Wholesale . The way he sees it, theres nothing better than having the chance to pitch and help his team make the playoffs. HAMILTON, Ont. -- The Hamilton Bulldogs were given several opportunities to win on Saturday, but missed out on all of them. Mark Olver scored the shootout winner and Calvin Pickard made 33 saves as the Lake Erie Monsters edged the Bulldogs 3-2 in American Hockey League action. Hamilton led until the final seconds of regulation, and squandered an extended power play in overtime before eventually losing in a shootout. "Games like these are painful lessons," said Bulldogs head coach Sylvain Lefebvre. "I thought that we played well enough to win the game. "Obviously, you want your power play to close it out in overtime." Paul Carey and Bill Thomas also scored for the Monsters (18-15-3). Brendan Gallagher and Frederic St. Denis had goals for the Bulldogs (12-19-3), while Robert Mayer stopped 35 of 37 shots. The Monsters snatched victory from the Bulldogs grasp with 3.9 seconds left on the clock. Lake Erie was pressing wildly for the equalizer when the puck slid through the crease with Mayer scrambling. Thomas separated himself from the crowd and got just enough of his stick on the puck to tip it backhanded into the open net. The Bulldogs enjoyed over three minutes of power-play time in the extra period after the Monsters Cameron Gaunce was assessed a double-minor penalty for high-sticking, but could not find the net on the ensuing advantage. Gallagher believed that his team had taken too much time searching for the perfect chance on its wasted power play, when the Bulldogs should have been content with firing shots on goal. "Youve got to find that line between patience and urgency," said the rookie forward. "When you have four minutes, you want to find the right shot, but at the same time, you have to be taking shots. "Thats disappointing. We had a good chance to win the game and when youre in that situation, youre expected to score." Michael Bournival scored on the Bulldogs third shot of the shootout, with Stefan Elliot responding on the Monsters fourth. Olver ended the game by scoring on Lake Eries next attempt. The first period opened at a subdued pace, with the home side getting the better of the action but unable to put together quality scoring chances. Hamilton reeled off eightt of the first nine shots of the game, due in part to Lake Eries early penalty trouble.dddddddddddd Nathan Beaulieu had Hamiltons best chance of the period with nine minutes remaining, when the defenceman rushed into the offensive zone and quickly rounded the visitors net, testing Pickard with a shot along the post. Lake Erie opened the scoring at 18:52 of the first, when winger Carey entered the Bulldogs zone and released a routine wrist shot from the top of the left circle that handcuffed Mayer and trickled past him. Pickard nearly suffered the same fate in the final seconds of the period, as a shot through traffic settled behind him but no Bulldog could successfully tap the loose puck across the goal-line. The hosts squandered another chance to draw even six minutes into the second, when Steve Quailer rushed down the left to conclude a power play and found Louis Leblanc with a precise cross-ice pass from below the red-line. Leblanc appeared unprepared to receive the pass however, and the puck bounced off his stick while Pickard scrambled to recover his position. An individual effort by Gallagher got Hamilton a goal at 10:40 of the second. He received a long pass from goaltender Mayer and spearheaded what quickly became a two-on-one break for the Bulldogs. Gallagher had a passing option to his right but kept the puck, and skated to the faceoff dot before releasing a wrist shot that beat Pickard over the far shoulder. A Bulldog power play quickened the games pace early in the third, after Lake Eries Mike Sgarbossa was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct for inciting a fight with Hamiltons Stefan Chaput. Monster forward Andrew Agozzino was the recipient of a giveaway at his blue-line that sprung him on a short-handed break, but he skated himself out of space and managed to fire only a meagre effort at Mayer. The Bulldogs nearly scored immediately after the miscue, as Beaulieus point shot through traffic struck Pickards far post and deflected wide. Gallagher was once again at the forefront when the home side scored to take the lead at 11:31 of the third. The winger skated in on yet another two-on-one and elected to pass, sliding the puck cross-ice to St. Denis, who made no mistake in firing it into the open net. cheap jerseys from china ' ' '