cent, according to the latest results. But those 2009 numbers were actually a big improvement over previous years. The teams GSR rose from just 8 percent in 2006, 17 percent the following year and 20 percent

LOS ANGELES -- DeAndre Jordan looked around the press room with that big, megawatt smile and playfully avoided a question about his injured thumb as though it never happened.Jordan sprained his right thumb Sunday but played with it taped on Monday night. That meant the Big Three for the Los Angeles Clippers was still very much intact and effective.Chris Paul scored 24 points and Blake Griffin had 21 points and 11 rebounds in a 116-98 victory over the winless Phoenix Suns.Jordan added 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Clippers relied on their top stars in improving to 3-0 this season.I feel great, Jordan said. It was a scary play for a second (on Sunday). I really want to play basketball. I dont want to miss any games. My teammates were definitely on me about getting it taken care of, but Im fine.As are the Clippers. Phoenix, however, has plenty of work to do.Brandon Knight scored 18 points for the Suns (0-4), who gave Los Angeles a little scare on Halloween when they cut the lead to 56-55 in the third quarter. The Clippers pulled away after that, and Phoenix was marred by fouls and turnovers.We kept playing hard, but the momentum kind of switched over, forward T.J. Warren said. After the third, we couldnt get stops and we were fouling a lot and putting them on the free throw line.Griffin scored 15 points in the first half, when Los Angeles built a 13-point lead. He made 12 of 14 free throws.The Clippers defense was stout and forced the Suns into 14 first-half turnovers and 20 overall. Los Angeles closed with an 18-3 run to lead 48-36 at halftime.The two things I liked were that we stayed engaged defensively, and thats what weve done all year and they just kept trusting, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. Like (they know) its going to fall and eventually it started falling and once the basket opened up, with the way we were defending, we were in great shape.Jordan entertained with an assortment of dunks and layups despite playing with his right thumb wrapped in tape. Early in the first quarter, he grimaced and grabbed his thumb when he missed an alley-oop. But he remained in the game and never showed any signs of a problem afterward.Four of the five Clippers starters had scored in double figures by the end of the third quarter. Los Angeles offense has been slow to catch up with its defense early this season, but the Suns were no match on the defensive end as the Clippers got into a rhythm.Suns center Tyson Chandler fouled out with 7:51 left, a product of trying to contain Jordan and the rest of the Clippers frontcourt.The fouls and turnovers caught up with the Suns late in the game.Thats a lack of focus, coach Earl Watson said. They all came in the second quarter. And we cant let foul calls disrupt our rhythm mentally. We have to weather that storm and be mentally tough and play through that.TIP-INSSuns: G Devin Booker, third on the team in scoring, was a game-time decision and sat out with a sprained toe. Before the game, Watson said: If he doesnt play, hes really in pain.Clippers: Jordan injured his thumb in a win over Utah. He left the game but returned to play, and X-rays were negative. Rivers said he would monitor the situation throughout the game.BACK-TO-BACKSBoth the Suns and Clippers were playing back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Suns hosted the Warriors on Sunday and lost 106-100. The Clippers played an afternoon game Sunday followed by a night game. Rivers said he doesnt mind that kind of schedule.PIERCE WINS HALLOWEENPaul Pierce is still out with an ankle injury, but his Halloween costume was a winner. Pierce dressed up as rock star Rick James but changed just before tip-off. He posed for plenty of pictures before the game, including one with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.UP NEXTSuns: Return home Wednesday to host Portland. Phoenix won the season series 2-1 last year.Clippers: Host the Thunder on Wednesday. Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook is averaging 38.7 points per game. He scored 51 against the Suns.Hes an unbelievable player, just the impact he has on the game from so many different areas, Griffin said. The pressure he puts on defenses alone is crazy. You kind of know, thats just his personality, to just go and destroy and try to take over. Roy Ruskusky . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Frank Oliver . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/scott-evans-jersey-for-sale/ . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Tyrone Calico .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Ping Bodie . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The NCAA announced Tuesday that 77 percent of black mens Division I basketball players who entered college in 2009 earned a degree within six years, up five points from a year earlier and a record high.That improvement helped the overall Graduation Success Rate match last years record of 86 percent of athletes graduating within six years, the NCAA said. Of all black Division I student-athletes, 74 percent graduated within six years. NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a news release the improved rates were hugely significant.Over the last 15 years, the overall Graduation Success Rate has dramatically improved, but the really good news is how college sports helps more and more minority students, especially those playing our highest-profile sport, earn a degree that will help them long after their athletics career is over, he said.The graduation rate for black basketball players is up 31 percentage points over the past 15 years, the NCAA said . Overall, all black male athletes have increased their GSR by 19 percentage points to 70 percent during that time. Black female athletes improved their rate 13 points to 84 percent over that same time.For all Division I athletes, the rate increased 12 percentage points during the past 15 years.B. David Ridpath, an associate professor and sports business and president of The Drake Group, an NCAA watchdog, said the GSR provides only a partial picture, pointing to reports of athletes at North Carolina taking courses aimed at boosting their GPAs in a department popular with athletes.Are we essentially practicing eligibility maintenance, potentially in a major with friendly faculty? he said. Are these kids graduating with a very meaningful, vital degree that can benefit them for the next 50 to 60 years of their life? In some cases, yes, this is happening. But all too often -- aand I know this because I worked in college athletics -- were essentially pushing these kids through, keeping them eligible and in cases where they do graduate they might not be graduating with the requisite skills.ddddddddddddAmong football teams in The Associated Press Top 25 , the only teams with a GSR 65 percent or lower were No. 25 Troy at 65 percent and No. 13 Oklahoma State at 50 percent. Among Top 25 mens basketball teams , No. 4 Oregon had a GSR of 38 percent, No. 25 California 40 percent, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 18 Syracuse and No. 24 Cincinnati all had GSRs of 50 percent, and No. 13 Michigan State has a GSR of 63 percent.The University of Connecticut mens basketball team had one of the lower graduation rates at 22 percent, according to the latest results. But those 2009 numbers were actually a big improvement over previous years. The teams GSR rose from just 8 percent in 2006, 17 percent the following year and 20 percent in 2008.School spokesman Mike Enright said the poor graduation rate reflects the same time period for which UConn was sanctioned by the NCAA and missed the 2013 postseason because of an another indicator, the Academic Progress Rate, which measures whether players are in good academic standing.The school has reported perfect or near perfect APR scores since 2012-13 and is expecting similar numbers this year, Enright said. He also said all current members of the basketball team are on track to graduate.The academic achievement of our mens basketball team has been outstanding the past several years and I have a full expectation that this will continue, athletic director David Benedict said.---AP Sports Writer Pat Eaton-Robb in Storrs, Connecticut, contributed to this report. ' ' '