LOS ANGELES -- Matt Barnes is back playing with the Los Angeles Clippers, and it looked as though hed never been away. Wearing goggles to protect his surgically repaired left eye, Barnes contributed 13 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers to help the Clippers win their fourth straight, 112-91 over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night. "Love having him back," said Blake Griffin, who had 24 points and 16 rebounds. "Hes a guy who has a positive impact even if he doesnt score a basket." Barnes played for the first time since undergoing three procedures to repair a torn retina in his eye. He got hurt on Nov. 18 when Memphis Zach Randolph inadvertently hit Barnes in the eye. "I feel good," he said, adding that he doesnt like the goggles. "I got elbowed and the goggles gave me a bruise. I dont see myself wearing them long." Clippers coach Doc Rivers said of Barnes, "He looked good. He just gives us something extra -- the toughness, the cutting, the basketball IQ. His shot looked good." Jamal Crawford scored 27 points, hitting six 3-pointers as the Clippers led all the way. Chris Paul added 10 points and 11 assists. DeAndre Jordan had 12 rebounds. "Whenever we set the tone in the first quarter it kind of carries us," Crawford said. "Chris and those guys threw some good passes. I had the easy part shooting the ball." Wilson Chandler scored all of his 19 points in the first half and Timofey Mozgov had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets, who lost their third straight. Ty Lawson added 13 points as Denver was held to 35 per cent shooting. "We just got thoroughly outplayed by a better team. They pretty much did what they wanted to do to us on the boards. Inside, outside, and on the break, our energy was bad," Nuggets coach and former Lakers star Brian Shaw said. "Were not in a good place right now. Weve got to do some soul searching and really get back to the basics if we want to right the ship." Nuggets starter Kenneth Faried rolled his left ankle at 8:45 of the first quarter and didnt return. The Clippers made 13 3-pointers, improving to 21-2 since the start of last season when they make at least 11. They hit five 3s in the third, including three by Crawford, who had 11 points in the quarter. Griffin went coast-to-coast for a dunk in the third, when Los Angeles stretched its lead to 79-60. "Thats a tough team," Chandler said. "Youve got to try to take something away on the fast break, but theyve got the layups, theyve got the lobs or theyve got the open man for the 3, so its kind of tough." Grifffin and the other starters got some rest to start the fourth before he, Crawford, Paul and Jared Dudley returned midway through. Griffin made four straight free throws and Crawford scored to restore the Clippers lead to 20 points with under five minutes to go. Griffin provided two highlights in the second. He dribbled the length of the court, drawing oohs from the crowd as he went behind his back three times before doing a 360-degree spin and hitting a layup. It didnt count, though, when Lawson was called for a foul. Griffin made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Clippers their largest lead of the half, 44-27. "I dont even know what I was doing," Griffin said, smiling. Barnes missed and Griffin flew in and slammed the ball down for the one-handed putback that kept the Clippers ahead by 11. Darren Collison got in on the act, too. Barnes tipped the ball as the Nuggets inbounded and Collison tossed up a 22-foot desperation heave that went in at the buzzer, keeping the Clippers ahead 56-43 at halftime. Collison scored 13 points. NOTES: Nuggets F Jordan Hamilton returned after serving a one-game suspension for throwing a punch in Tuesdays loss to Oklahoma City. ... Clippers G J.J. Redick is expected to get the cast off his right hand early next week. Hes recovering from a broken hand and torn ligaments in his wrist. ... The Nuggets fell to 1-4 in the second half of a back-to-back set. They were beaten by Phoenix on Friday. Nike Shoes Black Friday Discount . Left back Layvin Kurzawa put Monaco ahead in the 36th minute with a low shot after being set up by midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, sweeping the ball in after running onto Kondogbias cross from the left. Cheap Nike Shoes Black Friday . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/ . Lawries batting helmet hit an umpire during his ninth-inning outburst in the Jays 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The 22-year-old threw his helmet to the ground and it bounced up and hit home plate umpire Bill Miller on the right hip after Lawrie was called out on strikes for the second out. Nike Shoes Black Friday China . The incident occurred at 6:28 of the first period in Anaheims 6-3 home win over Dallas on Sunday. Garbutt left the penalty box and skated at Penner before leaving his skates to deliver a check. Fake Nike Shoes Black Friday . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come.MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Love landed hard on his hip after a foul late in the game. His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The win over the languishing Los Angeles Lakers was nice, too. Love had 31 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves to 109-99 victory on Tuesday that spoiled Steve Nashs return and stuck the Lakers with their seventh straight defeat. "I just want to continue to keep playing and give this team all that I can," Love said. "Yeah, Ive taken a physical beating, but youve got to expect being one of the top guys that theyre going to come at you." Kevin Martin helped the Timberwolves get off to a fast start, scoring 14 of his season-high-tying 32 points in the opening 10 minutes as the NBAs highest-scoring first-quarter team surged to a 25-point lead midway through the second period. They stumbled some after halftime, letting the Lakers pull within seven points early in the fourth quarter. "Its just one of those things where the game isnt going to be as easy as you think," coach Rick Adelman said. "You just have to persevere." With Nikola Pekovic likely out through the All-Star break, the Wolves started a difficult week, a theme of Adelmans pregame message. They play at Oklahoma City on Wednesday and New Orleans on Friday before hosting Portland on Saturday, a crucial stretch for a team running out of time to climb back into the playoff picture. But Love picked up the Wolves and carried them to an important win, playing the part of the burly Pekovic by throwing his body at the basket as often as he could. He made it to the line for 18 free throws, making 13. "We realize how good he is. He has incredible toughness," Martin said, adding: "He gets dirty down there. Thats why we pay him the big bucks and thats why hes an All-Star starter, to do things like that." Nash had been sidelined since Nov. 10 because of nerve problems in his back. The soon-to-be-40-year-old two-time league MVP had seven points and nine assists in 25 minutes, about 10 more than he was supposed to play. "I feel a bit sselfish in that we lost but it felt great just to play in the NBA again," Nash said, smiling.dddddddddddd "Obviously the game didnt go as we hoped, but for me personally thats pretty cool to be back out there." Coach Mike DAntoni was pleased. "I thought he competed, and weve got to have everybody compete that way," DAntoni said. Steve Blake also returned, coming back from a torn ligament in his right elbow that had shelved him since Dec. 10. He ruptured his eardrum during the game but kept playing on another night of bad luck and bad defence for the fallen franchise. Blake was scoreless in 31 minutes and took only two shots. Fittingly, as soon as two guys came back, two more went out. Jodie Meeks (sprained right ankle, first quarter) and backup Jordan Hill (headache and neck strain, first quarter) were hurt for the Lakers, who have been without star Kobe Bryant for most of the season. Pau Gasol also sat out with a strained right groin and could be out until after the All-Star break. DAntoni said Meeks wont play the rest of the road trip at Cleveland on Wednesday or at Philadelphia on Friday. Hill was walking stiffly in the locker room after the game but was held out as a precaution, the coach said. "I just feel for those guys. I just was in their position," Blake said. "Unfortunately its a part of the game, and the rest of us have to pick it up." The Lakers reserves had a whopping 70 points, with Nick Young (24 points), Manny Harris (17 points) and former Timberwolves first-round draft pick Wes Johnson (15 points and nine rebounds) leading the way. But the Lakers still lost for the 19th time in their last 22 games and fell into a tie for last place in the Western Conference with Utah and Sacramento. This was also their first loss at Target Center in almost seven years, ending an 11-game run. NOTES: This was the league-high seventh time this season that Love had at least 30 points and 15 rebounds. He has 25 for his career, one more than Kevin Garnett on the franchises career list. ... The Lakers have allowed 100-plus points in 15 straight games, their longest such streak since 17 in a row during the 1986-87 season. ' ' 'ork predicted outcome: Ravens 28, Dolphins 27 ' ' '