With a team full of role players, the Denver Nuggets convincingly defeated the star-studded Los Angeles Clippers, 112-91, at Staples Center on Thursday to assume the second best record in the Western Conference.

No Nuggets players were voted All-Star starters to represent the West, but collectively, Denver showed the rest of the league just how good they are with an impressive victory over the Pacific Division-leading Clippers, ending L.A.’s four-game win-streak. On Thursday, the Clippers’ Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were named starters for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star game in Orlando later this month. And although, Denver may not have a certified superstar -Nene Hilario finishing fourth among centers and Danilo Gallinari ninth among forwards in the West- they’ve built the NBA’s second-ranked offense on the strength of their complementary players. Led by Gallinari’s 21 points, five Nuggets scored in double figures as Denver received 39 points from their bench to snap their two-game losing streak.

After a tough four-point loss to the Clippers at the Pepsi Center on Sunday, the Nuggets dominated the home team on Thursday. Coming off an atrocious shooting performance against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday (eight points in 25 minutes), Gallo bounced back and torched the Clippers for 21 points in 26 minutes on 7-of-10 shooting, along with six rebounds and four assists against only a single turnover. He was lethal from behind the arc, draining all five of his attempts from 3-point land, and used his deadly outside shot to attack the rim. Denver trailed Los Angeles 32-19 after the first quarter, but when the Clippers second unit took over in the second, the Nuggets outscored them by a 32-16, while shooting 65 percent, and never looked back to grab a 54-51 lead at the half. The Nuggets’ defense became increasingly strong and their offense pulled away in the third. Gallo hit consecutive 3-pointers to start the second half, and Al Harrington closed the third with two straight threes to give Denver a 86-67 advantage into the final period.

The most dramatic moment of the evening came during the first minute of the third, when Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov squared up once again against his arch-nemesis Blake Griffin. Last season, Mozgov played for the New York Knicks and became the first poster-child of what has become Griffin’s extensive highlight-reel. On Thursday, it was Mozgov who made SportsCenter this time, scoring nine points and four rebounds while the Clippers shot a woeful 7-of-19 from the floor. And this time, Mozgov was determined not to get “Mozgov’d” again. As Griffin curled off a screen from CP3 and charged down the right edge of the lane, Mozgov met Griffin at the rim to challenge the dunk. Griffin’s attempted throw down clanked off the back of the rim and he was sent to the floor by a hard Mozgov foul, hitting his head on the way down. It was a statement foul in a statement game for the Denver Nuggets.

All five Clippers’ starters began the fourth on the bench, and although Paul returned within a couple minutes into the period, L.A. was trailing by 21 by then. Clippers’ head coach Vinny Del Negro pulled Paul a few minutes later and Mo Williams led the second unit, but they never posed a real threat. Denver native Chauncey Billiups, who played in his 1,000th NBA game, along with Denver’s Chauncey Billiups, scored 32 points with six 3-pointers on Sunday, and couldn’t find his rhythm on Thursday night. Billups finished just 2-for-9 for eight points and three assists against his old team. The Nuggets lead ballooned to 27 midway through the fourth as a stunned sellout crowd that seated Rihanna, Billy Crystal and Don Cheadle and retired Nuggets coach Dan Issel, filed out of Staples Center.

Thursday’s loss was not the way the Clippers wanted to set the tone for a six-game road trip, which starts Saturday at Washington. The loss dropped L.A.’s home record to 10-3 and their overall record to 13-7. Griffin led the Clippers with 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. CP3 finished with 15 points and nine assists and Caron Butler had 11 points after missing Wednesday night’s win at Utah with a sore lower back. Randy Foye contributed 17 points. Griffin and Paul became the first Clippers to start an All-Star game in 32 years (1976).

The Nuggets ended their three-game losing streak to the Clippers on Thursday. Gallinari lead the way 21 and starting point guard Ty Lawson added 18 points and six assists. Arron Afflalo, who drew the task of defending Paul, went 3-of-6 from the field and 8-for-8 from the foul line go finish with 15 points and two assists. Mozgov contributed 11 points and seven rebounds and Nene had with eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Guard Rudy Fernandez provided the spark off the bench with 10 points veteran point guard Andre Miller had eight points and eight assists in the win. Denver will stay in Los Angeles to face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on Friday.

Anyone who stans for Dubstep knows that Flux Pavilion always pops up in the conversation. hip-hop fans, though, might know the UK DJ/Producer (and BBC Sound of 2012 nominee) as the sample on JAY Z and Kanye West’s “Who Gon Stop Me” off Watch The Throne. The original song is Flux’s “I Can’t Stop,” a juiced up track that was the perfect cut-up backdrop for Ye and Jay’s opus. While Flux is currently tossing around album titles and concepts for his debut (and prepping for a summer tour), he talks to Life + Times about the Dubstep phenomenon, and how he and Doctor P made an accidental Funk/Dubstep hybrid out of their latest single “Superbad.”

Life+Times: Do you think dubstep has officially taken over the world yet?
Flux Pavilion: It seems that way, but I don’t think it’s officially taken over. I think nothing will ever take over. As soon as something gets big and starts dominating, all of a sudden loads of other things start coming out. I reckon it’s living in its heyday, but there’s room for other interesting stuff to pop out of it.

L+T: Why do you think Hip-Hop has such a fascination with dubstep?
FP: I believe it’s the tempo of it. I think Dubstep is the perfect tempo that can be instrumental, but can also work with just all-different vocal styles.

L+T: Your remix to the Freestylers’ song “Cracks” shows up about twenty times a day on Pandora. Are you aware of that?
FP: No! And I didn’t actually notice that someone used it on So You Think You Can Dance. I think the person who won it [Melanie Moore], one of her winning dances, they used “Cracks” for that. So that was on TV, and yeah, since then it’s been pretty crazy. It’s really weird because I made it about two years ago, and when I first made it and started playing it in the clubs, it didn’t really go down very well at all. I enjoyed it, but I remembered playing it and the person who signed it to his label was standing behind me thinking, “Ugh, maybe it isn’t as good as we think it is.” Over time, it got bigger and bigger. Now it seems to be a pretty popular track. Same with “I Can’t Stop” and all those kind of big tracks that I’ve done. It normally takes about six months and then someone notices it somewhere, and it gets really big. It’s quite weird.

L+T: After “I Can’t Stop” was sampled on “Who Gon Stop Me” on Watch The Throne, have you been approached by other Hip-Hop artists?
FP: Yeah, we got loads of people who have approached us to do stuff. We’re just trying to fit some stuff in the diary now, because I have my tours coming up over the summer. And I’m trying to finish my first album as well. I’m trying to find some dates to go over to the States and do some work.

L+T: If you could work with any Hip-Hop artist, who would you want to work with first?
FP: Quite a big question, really. I’ve always been a big fan of Hip-Hop. For me, conceptually, I’ve really liked what MF Doom and Madvillain have done. Also those Odd Future guys, I love Frank Ocean, Tyler, The Creator and all that kind of stuff. Then going back to like Jurassic 5, Tribe, Wu-Tang, that’s all of the hip-hop I grew up on really. So I can’t really answer that. Everyone, everyone. Every single one over time.

L+T: When you’re remixing a track, what’s the first element of the original that you aim to deconstruct?
FP: It’s normally the vocal; I try to get a decent vocal hook. After playing loads of DJ shows, when playing a big track, it’s the one moment where everyone shouts along. I try to find that somewhere in the track first – the bit that’s gonna get everyone in, the big hook. Then, find the right chords around it. I normally have about ten or fifteen different chord patterns and structures to give the vocals a different energy and a different movement. Then I choose the one that feels the best and go with that.

L+T: Do you feel like people like yourself and Skrillex are making dubstep more digestible to the mainstream audience?
FP: I think maybe, but I think it’s a happy accident, really. Because I never sat down and attempted to make a track that could be perceived as a commercial hit or is digestible for the masses. I do think it’s happening, but it’s more of an accidental thing. Something we make and everyone seems to like it.

L+T: Your new single “Superbad” has a G-Funk vibe to it. Was that intentional?
FP: Basically, me and Doctor P just sat down and wanted to make an old Funk track. That’s what the intro is – just me playing the guitar, we got a drum loop going. I play some saxophone on it, and we just wanted to have some fun making some Funk. It wasn’t even meant to be Dubstep, really. We had like five hours to kill before we had to fly over to Australia, so we just sat down and made some Funk. Then Doctor P got a bass patch out and it turned into a Funk/Dubstep track. So yeah, we actually were writing Funk, and then it turned into Dubstep.

L+T: What are you trying to achieve sonically with your new album?
FP: I’m singing on quite a lot of it; it just comes full circle back around to when I used to write music and sing on it. Then it went into writing Dubstep and club music back to using these tunes to sing on it. As I’ve been writing the tracks, I’ve been kind of thinking how I can get classical instruments in there. Really, I’m focusing on the Flux Pavilion live act; trying to be as live and organic as possible.

L+T: Where did you get the name Flux Pavilion from?
FP: Actually I was in a band with Doctor P and we didn’t have a name for the band, so we wrote down like five or six band names on my guitar, and Flux Pavilion was one of them that Doctor P came up with. We didn’t use it in the end. About three years later when I decided to make tracks and post them up online, I needed a name. I had my guitar next to me, saw Flux Pavilion and thought, “Yeah, that’ll do.”

In a league of guards, Derrick Rose is the one.

The quintessential point guard, with his dazzling array of speed, acrobatics and court awareness, single-handedly fended off a late New York rally to help his Chicago Bulls defeat the Knicks 105-102 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Chicago was playing their fourth game in five nights -including a lopsided loss to the Philadelphia 76ers the night before- and they were again without starters, Luol Deng (left wrist) and Richard Hamilton (right thigh), but the NBA’s reigning most valuable player wouldn’t be denied on this night. D. Rose and the Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony were both voted in as starters to represent the East in the All-Star game, but the Bulls’ guard made sure he was the lone star at MSG. Rose twisted, slashed and passed his way to 32 points and 13 assists, despite shooting 12-for-26 from the field, to prevent a two-game skid for Chicago. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Bulls haven’t lost consecutive regular-season games since Feb. 5-7, 2011, and Rose made sure a repeat of Wednesday’s desultory effort against the Sixers didn’t occur on Thursday.

After a slow start this season, Amar’e Stoudemire returned to his All-Star form, scoring the Knicks’ first seven points, and 16 of their first 32, as he had 18 of his season-high 34 points in the first half. STAT’s midrange jumper was smooth and his drives to the basket were aggressive, but as expected, the Knicks’ offense unraveled as they committed 10 second-quarter turnovers, allowing Chicago to take a 55-44 lead into halftime. But, the Bulls porous defense allowed the Knicks to get right back into it. Stoudemire fueled an early third-quarter rally with a driving dunk, followed by a block of Rose. Melo scored twice and fed center Tyson Chandler for an alley-oop dunk as New York gradually whittled the deficit from 12-points to 2. After Chicago pushed the lead back to 8 points, Anthony rallied the Knicks again, scoring 12 points in the period on 6-of-10 shots from the field, including hitting three consecutive jumpers to tie the score at 75 apiece. But on the next Bulls’ possession, the Knicks’ Jared Jefferies, who went scoreless, was called for a foul on Ronnie Brewer. When Chandler disputed the call to the refs, he received a technical and Kyle Korver hit the shot and Brewer split a pair of free throws, and New York never tied the score again, 77-75, to end the third.

The fourth quarter belonged to Rose. He had 15 of his points in the final period, scoring on three straight possession within a minute to extend the Bulls lead to 84-79. Stoudemire kept the Knicks in it as Anthony went cold. Amar’e made three consecutive baskets of his own narrowing the gap to 90-85, but then D. Rose took over. First, he hit a pull up jumper, then he split STAT and Melo and miraculously spun home a layup off the backboard and finally he hit a 25-foot 3-pointer to extend Chicago’s lead to 95-88 with 5:52 left. Leading 99-96, the Bulls’ Joakim Noah blocked Anthony’s shot and rookie Jimmy Butler, playing clutch minutes for Chicago, knocked down a jumper, off of Rose’s assists, with 1:07 remaining, 101-96. Still, the Knicks wouldn’t go away. New York pulled within one, 101-100, off an Anthony jumper and a Landry Fields baseline layup off an Stoudemire assists with 23.4 left. On the Bulls next possession, Knicks’ breakout rookie Iman Shumpert fouled Korver, and he knocked down both free throws to give Chicago a 103-100 advantage with 13.7 seconds to go. Off an inbounds play, Stoudemire received a pass at the top of the arc and quickly fired over Noah. The shot hit front rim and the Bulls’ Taj Gibson (three points) rebounded STAT’s missed 3-point attempt and split his free throws with 9.3 seconds left. Melo sank two free throws on a miscommunication foul by Brewer with 6.3 seconds remaining. Rose, who missed two clutch free throws in Miami on Sunday, missed another late-game free throw but made the second to extend the Bulls lead to 105-102 with 5.3 left, opening the door for a possible game-tying shot. But Anthony’s 30-foot heave at the buzzer caromed off the side of the rim and the Bulls escaped with the win.

The Knicks opened a three games in three nights stretch with their 10th loss in 12 games. Anthony finished with 10-for-26 for 26 points, but he was just 1-for-6 in the final period for just four points. The loss brought more distress to embattled Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni, who’s under the hot seat for New York’s dismal 8-14 record this season. Stoudemire finished with a game-high 34 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block to complete his best performance of the season. Chandler finished with nine points, eight rebounds and a block. Fields had 17 points and four assists and Shumpert 10 points and a career-high eight assists. New York will travel to Boston to play the Celtics on Friday and return home on Saturday to face the New Jersey Nets.

Chicago never trailed in the second half and push their Eastern Conference-leading record to 19-6. In the Bulls nine-game road trip they post a record of 2-2, but Thursday night’s win against the Knicks extended their league-leading road record to 10 wins. The Bulls got another active effort from Noah, who overcame foul trouble early in the third quarter to finish with 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Carlos Boozer and Korver each had 16 points and C.J. Watson contributed 12, Brewer had six and Butler had seven points off the bench. The Bulls will head to Milwaukee to face the Brandon Jennings and the Bucks on Saturday.

From dominoes to handmade bags inspired by fighter pilots,  Ghisò is in the business of slow luxury. The Italian manufacturer makes a sumptuous line of products tailored to the finer things using raw materials inspired by the designer who founded the company in the 1920s. Here, we speak with Gianluca Maina, the CEO who purchased the company four years ago and kept its legacy intact.

Life + Times: Your product range includes luggage, poker and dominoes sets, humidors, and writing boxes. How do you go about developing new products that fit within your design aesthetic?
Gianluca Maina: We have a wide range of products that all fit a very specific lifestyle. Our major source of inspiration relies on the beauty of materials we use, and on a very contemporary idea of design. Purity and essentiality of lines have to enhance the beauty of our materials, and our designers have well integrated this. Last but not least, we need to love the products we do.

L+T: When was your company formed? How has it changed and grown over the years?
GM: Ghisò has several decades of history. In the 1920’s Ghisò was a very active designer and we are still inspired by his work. I purchased the brand over four years ago and since then, our brand has gained maturity. Our structure as well as our product offering has been consolidated. Recent additions, such as leather accessories, have rapidly become solid elements of our collections. The experience our brand offers has gained in taste and consistency.

L+T: Wood is a big part of your products. Where do you source your wood?
GM: Sourcing is a very important part of our business. We source most of our materials from Italy —95% of our raw materials. When this is not possible, we make sure to buy certified products, from certified suppliers.
Concerning leather, we have an agreement with a consortium of tanneries in Tuscany that produce vegetable tanned leather according to the most sustainable and traditional techniques. This is very important as it allows us to produce a genuine 100% made-in Italy product, of the highest possible quality.

L+T: How do you execute “Slow Luxury?”
GM: “Slow Luxury” is our mantra. [It]expresses itself in all the aspects of our work. Sourcing has to be local and from small artisanal partners. We produce small quantities that are certified and individually controlled. Our production techniques have to integrate traditional artisanal techniques and modern knowledge. Hence we preserve a methodology of work and knowledge of product that is very strong in Italy. We create distinctive collections, often in limited quantities. We believe that our company has to grow organically, in partnership with our suppliers. Our products need to last a long life, and accompany its owner, evolving with him. To this extent, vegetable tanned leather is a great material to work with as it matures perfectly, ageing with character. Our products are thought for urban and sophisticated consumer, aware of fashion but not victim of it.

L+T: How does your bespoke process work?
GM: Since the beginning of our project we have created a team of craftsman that can work on bespoke products. The idea is to offer our customers a very personalized product, and whenever possible to create it with them. Currently, we offer this service from our showroom in Geneva, but we hope to be able to extend this to other partners worldwide.

L+T: Your products tell stories, what are your best stories?
GM: Our best stories have yet to be told. Personally I love our shoehorn, born from the hands of a master craftsman who has been with us since the beginning. The shoehorn has taken shape organically, carving the wood manually and the more we carved the more the object started to look perfect. Another story is the one of our Helmet Bag, a product that is inspired by fighter pilots’ nylon helmet bags, and that has been modified to suit every days needs for working men and women. Since our first test products, it has evolved and has gotten really great. The leather we have chosen for it is the best calf leather, hand brushed and tanned, to achieve a very sophisticated look.

L+T: What are new products for this season? What will see in the future?
GM: Our collection will grow to integrate a new range of briefcases and bags that add a small formality to the products. In addition, we have signed a great partnership with one of the most magical and prestigious luxury car manufacturers that will be unveiled in March. The future products will integrate more and more our customers’ requests, in order to become a stronger part of their life.

L+T: Your collection is not currently sold in stores in the U.S. Can customers order directly from you?
GM: It is currently possible, but our proper online store will be available only in February.

L+T: What’s your most popular game?
GM: Backgammon is definitely one of our best selling games, and since a couple of months Mahjong, which has become a fantastic seller. Finally, our domino games are very popular as well.

Andre Iguodala and the Philadelphia 76ers ran over the Chicago Bulls in 98-82 victory on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

With two starters out and the reigning MVP, Derrick Rose, under the weather, the Bulls were no match for the reemerging 76ers. The quick, athletic Sixers scored 29 points off of the Bulls 17 turnovers. Philadelphia piled up 21-fast-break points to Chicago’s four. They had more rebounds, more second-chance points and way more energy, particularly in a 26-11 third quarter. Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, who was named the Eastern Conference coach of the month for January, was forced to pull his starters in the fourth and played his reserves the entire period, as they cut a one-time 20-point deficit to 12.

Iguodala outplayed Rose and tortured the Chicago with highlight-after-highlight the entire night. His one-handed dunks, around-the-back passes, and big three’s helped the Sixers pull within one game of the Eastern Conference leading Bulls. Philadelphia confidence was almost blew the roof of the Wells Fargo Center. The sluggish Bulls closed a ragged second quarter in strong fashion to pull with 49-44. Then, they failed to score a field goal for the first 6:29 of the third and committed six turnovers in the period. Iguodala scored nine points in the third as D. Rose went 1-of-5 from the floor as the Chicago missed 13-of-16 shots, as the Sixers held the Bulls to 11 total quarter points. Iggy wowed the crowd on a fast-break when he took the ball behind his back, then tossed a scoop pass, in stride, to the Sixers starting point guard Jrue Holiday for a jumpers and a 58-46 lead. Iguodala’s performance stunned the Bulls as he was connecting from everywhere. Late in the third, the 76ers’ Lou Williams and rookie power forward Lavoy Allen hit consecutive jumpers, and Holiday finished with a 3-pointer to lift Philadelphia to a shocking 75-55 lead. It wasn’t much of a contest after that.

Sixers’ head coach Doug Collins scolded his team after Monday’s victory over the Orlando Magic. He demanded more from his squad after the let a big lead turn into a soft finish. On Wednesday, the 76ers rewarded their coach. The Bulls pulled within 12 points, behind strong play from C.J. Watson off the bench, but Thaddeus Young prevented Chicago’s late rally with two straight buckets and Philadelphia’s lead was back up to 15, 92-74. The Sixers never relinquish their lead and put the rest of the Eastern Conference on notice- they’re the real deal.

The 76ers (16-6) had used a soft schedule to race to their best start since the Allen Iverson era. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Philadelphia didn’t win their 16th game last season until Game 39. The Sixers won their fourth straight game and improved to 12-2 at home. Wins against the Magic and the Bulls should silence any detractors around the league who said Philly’s schedule was packed with lightweights from both conferences. Iguodala finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Holiday had 17 points and four rebounds, while Young scored 19, Allen had 15 and Williams 14, all made contributions off the bench for the Sixers. Second-year guard Evan Turner finished with two points, six rebounds and four assists. The 76ers beat Orlando on Monday, tamed the Bulls, and will go for the home-week sweep against the Heat on Friday.

The Bulls struggled without Richard Hamilton (right thigh) and Luol Deng (left wrist) in the starting lineup. Surprisingly, Watson led the Bulls with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench. D. Rose finished with 18 points and six assists, but committed four costly turnovers. Boozer was a non-factor with nine points and nine rebounds. Chicago will play their fourth game in as many nights in New York on Thursday night, when they travel to Madison Square Garden to face Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks.

Roots, reggae and the finest juices. Welcome to Miss Lily’s Variety.

The Los Angeles Clippers won their first game in Salt Lake City in more than nine years Wednesday night, as Chris Paul and Co. narrowly escaped the Utah Jazz, 107-105, at Energy Solutions Arena.

It was the Clippers first victory against the Jazz since January 22, 2003. CP3 ripped Utah for double-double, including a season-high 34 points on 15-of-24 shooting, to go along with 11 assists, ending the Clippers’ 16-game losing streak in Salt Lake City. Wednesday’s match up was a complete reversal from the teams’ first meeting last month, when the Jazz danced to a 108-97 win. Paul (strained left hamstring) and Mo’ Williams (sore right foot) didn’t play in the game. This time they did, and both delivered big plays for the Clippers. Paul orchestrated the win, Blake Griffin provided the power, and with Caron Butler sidelined due to a sore lower back, Williams filled the void by knocking down clutch shots and free throws in the end.

With L.A. coming off big wins against the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City, including Griffin’s posterizing dunk on Kendrick Perkins on Monday, it didn’t take the high-flying Clippers long to get their show on the road. It took Lob City just eight seconds to take flight in the opening quarter, as Griffin rolled towards the rim and Paul tossed up a lob that was immediately slammed home after the tip. The Clippers’ next four baskets came via dunks -courtesy of Griffin (3) and DeAndre Jordan’s monster one-hander in the paint- with the Jazz failing to rotate to protect the lane. CP3 and Griffin combined for 26 of L.A.’s 32 first quarter points. Williams connected on a four-point play for the Clippers late in the quarter after being fouled on a 3-point shot by the Jazz’s forward Josh Howard. The Clippers performance on Wednesday night was a stark contrast to that of Jan. 17th. But despite L.A.’s fast start, Utah came to play as well. Seven of the Jazz’s first 15 points came on fast breaks and a dunk by Gordon Hayward gave Utah an early four-point lead. But still, L.A. held the advantage after one, 32-29.

Both teams were hot in the first half, with the Jazz shooting 61 percent (27-of-44) and the Clippers shot 53 percent from the field (24-for-45). Utah’s second-year forward Derrick Favors started the game 4-of-4 from the floor for 10 points and sparked an 8-0 Jazz run that quickly ballooned up to 15-2 for a ten point Utah lead, 44-34, with 8:47 left in until half. Despite the margin, CP3 kept the Clippers in it, recording 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and dishing out eight assists before the break. Al Jefferson, who scored 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting, gave Utah a slim 58-56 lead into halftime. After combining for 114 points in the first half, both teams went cold and just recorded 32 in the third quarter. The game became chippy as both Williams and Hayward were hit with double-technical’s in the period. Yet, still, Utah clung 74-72 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The final period belonged to CP3. The four-time NBA All-Star put on a one-man show, torching Utah’s defense and burning down the nets at ESA. Paul scored 12 points in the fourth, with his 3-pointer with 6:08 remaining giving the Clippers an 86-84 lead and his reverse layup later extending their margin to 92-87. Despite Paul’s run, Utah was resilient. Behind a pair of 3-pointers by Paul Millsap, the Jazz narrowed the gap to two. Griffin picked up his fifth foul with 5:54 left on a reach-in defending Millsap. He redeemed his silly foul with a key stop. With the Clippers clinging to a 94-92 lead, Griffin took a charge against Millsap that gave L.A. the ball with 1:28 to play. Out of a Clippers timeout, Paul struck again, scoring on a straightaway jumper to push the lead to 96-92. After Jefferson made a pair of free throws and Paul missed a shot on the Clippers’ next possession, Williams outhustled everyone for the offensive rebound while getting fouled in the process. He sank both shots from the stripe for a 98-94 L.A. lead with 30.7 seconds left. Jefferson narrowed the gap for Utah, but made a weak foul attempt on the ensuing play, with Griffin scoring the And-1 on a two-on-one fast break. Griffin converted the free throw to complete the three-point play for a 101-96 Clippers advantage. Millsap knocked down another pair of 3-pointers to pull the Jazz within one, 103-102, but clutch free throws from Chauncey Billups and Williams –nine free throws in the final 30 seconds- allowed the Clippers to escape this one, 107-105.

The Clippers (13-6) have now won four games-in-a-row. The Pacific Division leaders “hell” week began with beating the Nuggets on Sunday, defeating a Thunder team with the best record in the NBA on Monday and edging out a Jazz team that is now 10-4 at home. Paul finished with 34 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and three steals. Griffin had 31 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Williams contribute 19 points off the bench and Billups, who was 1-of-8 from the field, finished with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists. Jordan added eight points and 11 rebounds for L.A. The Clippers will play their fourth game in as many nights as they host the Nuggets at Staples Center on Thursday night.

The Jazz (12-8) dropped another close game in the final seconds. Jefferson finished with a double-double of his own, with 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead Utah. Millsap’s 14 points and seven rebounds kept the Jazz in it towards the end. Starting point guard Devin Harris, who left the game in the third quarter with a sore left hamstring, but later returned, finished with eight points and four assists. Favors finished with only 14 points after his hot start. Former Butler University star Hayward finished with 12 points and three rebounds. Howard had four points and three rebounds. Jazz guard Raja Bell missed his second consecutive game with a strained right adductor. Utah will head to the Bay on Thursday to face the Golden State Warriors.

“Music is what I have to do, I only answer the questions so that I can do it.” – Jack White

In a barn-burner in Memphis, the Grizzles rallied from a double-digit deficit and snapped a four-game losing streak with a 100-97 overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.

The Grizzlies relentless defense and hustle on Tuesday at Fed Ex Forum was a complete reversal of their dismal performance in Monday’s loss against the San Antonio Spurs. Frustrated with their laissez-faire demeanor on the court, the Grizzlies held a players-only post-game meeting to refocus on the things that made them successful last season. And it worked. The Grizzles outhustled, outworked and outplayed the Nuggets down the stretch to force an overtime.

Memphis trailed by as many as 13 in the game, but Tony Allen’s defensive pressure in the second half inspired a Grizzlies rally. Despite their poor shooting in the first half –Memphis shot only 28 percent from the field- including another dismal half for their leading scorers Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol (Gay was 2-of-8 in the half, while Gasol was 2-of-6), the Grizzlies were only down 10 with just over six minutes to play in regulation, 83-73. Memphis then went on an 18-8 run, but was never able to take the lead, tying it twice late in the fourth quarter. The Griz pulled within one at 84-83 after two consecutive baskets by Allen. O.J. Mayo’s eight-foot floater evened the score at 89 with 33.6 seconds to go. Denver’s Al Harrington’s offensive rebound and put-back gave the Nuggets the lead at 91-89, but Allen answered with a dunk to tie it at 91 with 5 seconds remaining. But with a chance to win the game, the Nuggets’ Andre Miller’s runner at the horn spun out forcing OT.

Memphis was able to execute the little things that win games down the stretch on Tuesday. In perhaps the most important sequence of the night, the Grizzlies scrapped and clawed their way to victory. First, Allen emphatic block on Harrington’s jumper forced a 24-second shot clock violation late in the extra period. On the ensuing play, Memphis was able to grab two offensive rebounds on one possession that sent Denver’s head coach George Karl into a frenzy. Grizzlies’ guard Mike Conley chased down the offensive rebound and missed fired on a 3-pointer that was rebounded by Allen, who passed it back out to Conley, who found O.J. Mayo alone at the top of the key. Mayo’s 3-pointer gave the Grizzlies their first lead at 98-97 with 35.1 seconds left. Memphis forced the Nuggets’ Arron Afflalo (eight points) to turn over the ball on the next possession and Conley was able to convert a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to provide the final margin. Denver’s Rudy Fernandez’s, who went scoreless, potential tying 3-point attempt in the waning seconds bounced off the rim.

The loss was Denver’s second straight, following a frustrating Sunday defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers—another game in which the Nuggets’ offense floundered in the closing seconds. Denver’s loss has little to do with the fact that the franchise lack’s a closer, and everything to do with them not being able to execute down the stretch. If the Nuggets made their free throws, rebounded and limited their turnovers, they beat the Grizzles on Tuesday. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Memphis outrebounded Denver 48-42, including a 17-9 edge on the offensive boards, while forcing 25 Nuggets turnovers to help overcome their dismal 38 percent shooting for the game. Harrington led Denver with 23 points -21 after halftime- 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals off the bench. Danilo Gallinari, who is the Nuggets’ leading scorer with a 17.9 average, ended the night going 1-of-10 from the field, finishing with only eight points. Miller finished with 20 points on 8-of-13 from the field and Nene scored 14 points, while Ty Lawson contributed 12. Despite the loss, the Nuggets still have the second-best record in the West Conference, at 14-7. Heading into Thursday’s rematch with the Clippers all Denver has to do is grind it out down the stretch.

For Memphis, Gay and Gasol both overcame poor shooting nights to lead the Grizzlies with 20 points and 13 rebounds apiece. Mayo finished with 18 points, Allen with 17 points and four blocks, and Conley added 11 points, six assists and four steals. The Grizzlies will look to sustain their grit-and-grind play as they embark on a three game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics. No guts, no glory.

With his globally recognized vintage emporium, Decades’ founder Cameron Silver has built a business with customers needs at the pulse of the shop’s DNA. His vintage Mecca of designer goods from years past has been recognized as one of the most influential vintage designer shops around the world, and here, Silver breaks it down exclusively for Life+Times.

“Decades built our business in a very old-school retail approach by offering exemplary customer service in a friendly atmosphere filled with treasures you could only find at this single location. Through hand-written thank you notes, customer loyalty was achieved. When you enter Decades, you enter the ultimate closet and are served by my fashion-loving employees who treat everyone like a movie star!” – Cameron Silver