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ZAGREB, Croatia -- Croatia defender Josip Simunic lost his appeal at sports highest court on Monday, ruling him out of the World Cup for leading fans in a pro-Nazi chant after a playoff win. Announcing the ruling to uphold the 10-match ban, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said it unanimously rejected Simunics arguments and dismissed his appeal against the FIFA sanction. Simunics ban will start when Croatia opens the World Cup against host Brazil in Sao Paulo on June 12. Simunics lawyer, Davor Prtenjaca, slammed the ruling. "This was not the victory of justice, but the power of a big football association. FIFA had its ban based on political, not legal aspects," Prtenjaca said. Simunic invoked a World War II-era slogan used by Croatias then-puppet regime following a playoff victory against Iceland in Zagreb last November that qualified the Croatians for the tournament. After the match, Simunic took a microphone on the field and shouted to supporters: "To the battle, to the battle for the homeland!" The fans responded: "We are ready!" The slogan was used by Croatias Ustasha regime, which sent tens of thousands Jews, Serbs and Gypsies to death camps. "The expression used by Simunic was a clear and unequivocal reference to the call used by the (Ustasas)," CAS said. FIFAs disciplinary panel has said Simunics action was discriminatory and offensive. The sanction reflected its commitment to harsher sanctions for racism and discrimination at matches. "FIFA considers that CAS gives a clear and strong support to FIFAs efforts in stamping out racism in football," footballs governing body said in a statement. Simunic, who plays for Dinamo Zagreb, apologized after previously defending his action. After the initial reaction, he said: "Some people have to learn some history. Im not afraid. I did nothing wrong." The 36-year-old Australian-born Simunic, who has played 105 times for Croatia, was a probable selection for his third World Cup. At the 2006 tournament, he was sent off against Australia after being shown three yellow cards by the referee. His current ban is likely to mean the end of his international playing career. Simunic is also barred from stadiums where Croatia will play its next 10 official games. He was fined 30,000 Swiss francs (then $33,800) last December by FIFA. NBA Jerseys For Sale . In a matchup of teams battling head-to-head for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccers Western Conference, the Whitecaps run to the post-season took a hard hit when FC Dallas blew open a tie game with two goals in the final minutes for a 3-1 victory Saturday night. Nike NBA Jerseys . So much so that even a simple foul pop up to the first baseman turned into a run. 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HOUSTON -- The Los Angeles Clippers used a strong defensive effort and a spark from reserve Jamal Crawford at the just the right time to salvage a win on their three-game road trip. Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick scored 22 points, and the Clippers had an 18-0 run in the second half to rally for a 107-94 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Crawford had 16 points, Chris Paul added 14 points and 13 assists and DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 18 rebounds for the Clippers. Griffin also had seven rebounds and Redick shot 8 for 15 from the field. Darren Collison added 10 points off the bench. Los Angeles trailed 71-60 with about 5 minutes to go in the third quarter before its big run that lasted into the opening minutes of the fourth. "I kept telling them to hang in there," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "We hung around and got it going and our defence won the game. Houston had, I think five points in the last six minutes (of the third quarter), and 37 points in the whole second half for a good offensive team. I thought Darren Collison was fantastic and Jamal made big shots." Los Angeles shot 14 for 23 on free throws, but just 9 for 24 on 3-pointers. Dwight Howard had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, but was just 5 for 11 on free throws. Chandler Parsons added 23 points and eight rebounds, while Patrick Beverley scored 19 points. James Harden, who was a game-time decision with a bruised left foot, had 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting. Houston finished 17 of 27 from the free throw line. Trailing by 11, the Clippers scored the final 13 points of the third quarter to take a two-point lead on a tip-in by Crawford at the buzzer. "We were on the line trying to get it to 13, and then it just snowballed from there," Houston coach Kevin McHale said about the end of the third quarter. "We missed some shots, and we started doubting it and we stopped taking some shots that we needed to take. Then, we got a lot of turnovers and we just got really passive. We just got nothing going from that point on." Los Angeles kept the run going to start the fourth, with Crawford capping it with a three-point play with 10:21 remaining in the game to increase the lead to 78-71. Crawford had seven points and Jared Dudley added five points in the spurt that lasted nearly seven minutes. "Chris got it started being a spark plug for us," Crrawford said about what changed in the third.dddddddddddd. "I think it was kind of slow to start the game, and we just followed the lead and coach kept challenging us to get defensive stops because that breaks a teams spirits. Our offence was coming from our defence." Paul pointed to the Clippers defensive intensity as a reason for the run. "We knew that this was a team that made some runs, but at the same time, they will let you back into the game," Paul said. "Once we started the third quarter, we came out and played with a lot more purpose, more passion. That tip in by Jamal at the end of the third quarter was huge for us." Houston pulled to 84-80 on Hardens three-point play with 7:21 remaining, but that would be as close as they would get. Los Angeles had a 9-3 run over the next three minutes to increase the advantage to 92-83 on Griffins free throw with 4:15 to go. Houston tried a Hack a Jordan tactic with 3 minutes remaining, and despite Jordan missing both free throws, Los Angeles countered by fouling Howard and taking Jordan out of the game. Howard made a free throw to get the Rockets to 97-90, but Redick hit two free throws and Collison made a 3-pointer with 1:39 remaining to stretch the lead to 102-90. Los Angeles outscored the Rockets 27-16 in the third quarter and 61-39 in the second half. "We just stopped playing the way we had played to get the lead, and when you are playing against a team like the Clippers, theyve been together a couple of years and play well together," Howard said. "We had to continue to do things that got us the lead, and we didnt do that tonight and they capitalized on it. They got a good road win." The Clippers opened up an 18-8 lead midway through the first quarter as Redick scored eight of Los Angeles first 10 points. Houston finished the quarter on an 11-0 run over the final 3:40 of the period. Howard had 10 points in the first, including the first four of the run. Houston kept it up in the second quarter, extending the lead to 10 at 39-29 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Beverley with 7:26 left in the period. The Rockets led 55-46 at halftime. NOTES: Los Angeles F Matt Barnes missed his third straight game with a right thigh contusion. ... Beverley had a career-high four steals. ... The Sandau Trio Russian Bar, who were on "Americas Got Talent" performed at halftime. ' ' '