NEW YORK -- LA Clippers leading scorer Blake Griffin sat out his first game of the season, Tuesday nights 127-122 double-overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets, to rest.Coach Doc Rivers said the Clippers had identified the game in Brooklyn long ago as one Griffin would miss. It gives him a couple of extra days off before Los Angeles visits the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.The Clippers have increased their spending on biometrics this season, and Rivers was asked whether he relied on that to determine Griffin would sit.I clearly didnt; Im not smart enough to use biometrics, Rivers said. But the people we hired did, and they told me biometrically that this would be a good day for him to rest.Paul Pierce, who had appeared in just two games this season, started in place of Griffin, who averages 21.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.Pierce, 39, finished with five points, three rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes. He had played just 17 minutes all season, and Tuesday night was such an increase in workload that Chris Paul mimicked giving him CPR on the court at one point.The Associated Press contributed to this report. Wholesale Custom Basketball Jerseys Store . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Custom Atlanta Hawks Jerseys Cheap . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. http://www.basketballcustomjerseys.com/ . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. Custom Basketball Jerseys Online . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Discount Custom Basketball Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. OXNARD, Calif. -- Chris Maragos cant imagine an NFL without kickoffs.The Philadelphia special teams ace admits to sounding like a lobbyist when he said he never feels safer during a play that the league keeps altering in an effort to reduce high-speed collisions, backed by statistics that show most injuries occur on kickoffs.With competition committee member Stephen Jones of the Dallas Cowboys suggesting that safety is more important than players making a living covering kickoffs and punts, Maragos is quick on the counterpoint.Yeah, things are moving fast and youre running down the field. But I never feel like my safetys compromised, at all, said Maragos, who is going into his seventh year as mostly a special teams player. From what people look on the outside in, it looks like a chaotic play. But the guys who are really mastering it know what theyre doing. Its pretty under control.Five years after moving the kickoff to the 35-yard line from the 30 to reduce the number of returns, the NFL is trying something else to encourage more touchbacks by putting the ball on the 25 instead of the 20 on a one-year trial.There is still plenty of dialogue, too.Senior vice president of officiating Dean Blandino held a conference call with special teams coaches during the offseason.Among other ideas being discussed are eliminating the running start for the coverage team and pulling players on the receiving team closer to the kickoff line so that theyre moving more in the same direction as the kicking team, making it more like blocking for a punt return.Blandino said he doesnt think the kickoff will be eliminated.Its a big part of the game, he said. Its an exciting play.But the league increasingly sees it as a dangerous play, particularly with so much attention on concussions. And thats where Jones isnt swayed by the idea that it might mean fewer opportunities for players who arent good enough to be stars on offense or defense.At the end of the day the players health and safety is the No. 1 priority in this league, said Jones, the executive vice president of personnel for the Cowboys. If that comes at the expense of something else thats not as high a priority, then we certainly have to accept that.One of the most noteworthy plays of 2015 was actually a punt return, when Dallas safety Jeff Heath blocked Ricardo Lockette when the Seattle coverage man was in full stride and didnt see him. It was a legal play, but the resulting neck injury ended Lockettes career.ddddddddddddWhile Heath has twice as many tackles on defense as Maragos in half the number of years, he still fits the special teams profile: part-time defensive player, full-time chaser of opposing kick returners. And he believes there will always be a need for that.Youre covering a lot of ground and youve got to be fast, said Heath, who is going into his fourth season. Theres a lot of skill that comes into it as well. Those type of guys tend to do well wherever they play. Defense, offense or special teams.Maragos would argue that kickoffs and punts are gateways to stardom, too. Among his peers, he points to Tennessee tight end Delanie Walker, his teammate in San Francisco when Maragos was a rookie. He says special teams helped keep Walker on the roster, and now Walker is coming off a Pro Bowl season in Tennessee.Minnesota receiver Adam Thielen was undrafted out of Division II Minnesota State Mankato and spent a year on the practice squad before becoming a key special teams contributor for the Vikings. He blocked a punt for a touchdown in 2014 and last season ran a fake punt 41 yards in the NFC North-clinching season finale at Green Bay.Thielen said the key to safety in kick coverage comes on the practice field.Every day, its technique, technique, technique, he said. I really dont think its more dangerous than an offensive play. You could get hit on a crossing route over the middle a lot harder than on a kickoff.Maragos grew up in Wisconsin rooting for the Green Bay Packers, who beat New England 35-21 in the 1997 Super Bowl. The thing Maragos remembers most is the anticipation of the opening kickoff. And by the way, Desmond Howard had a 99-yard kickoff return and was the games MVP.You talk about speed down the field, athleticism to avoid blocks. You talk about a heart, a grit, a determination, an inner desire, Maragos said. To me, it embodies everything that an NFL football player should be. And really what the game is about.---AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell in Minneapolis and Stephen Hawkins in Dallas contributed to this report.---Online:AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Schuyler Dixon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apschuyler ' ' '