SCARs longest race. Gordon cut short his practice runs last week because of back

OAKLAND, Calif. Kerry Wood Jersey . - Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson sat on the scorers table at Oracle Arena on Wednesday morning. He gazed around the building and tried to envision what it will look and sound like when the Warriors host the Los Angeles Clippers for Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Thursday night. A gold-shirt wearing sellout crowd of 19,596. Roars so loud that, at times, they drown out whistles. The sights and sounds all embodying the spirit of the teams post-season motto: "Loud. Proud. Warriors." "Its going to be a great environment," Jackson said. "But with that being said, they wont get a stop, they wont get a score, they wont make a free throw. Weve got to do our part." The Warriors will indeed need to regain more than their homecourt prowess if they want to pull off another upset in the first round of the playoffs. They need to rediscover their game. Blake Griffin and the Clippers crushed Golden State 138-98 in Los Angeles on Monday night to even the best-of-seven series at a game apiece. The third-seeded Clippers showed just why most had picked them to beat the sixth-seeded Warriors, coming back from a foul-filled opener with an all-around game that wouldve worked in any venue. In Game 1, Griffin had 16 points and three rebounds in 19 minutes before he fouled out. The All-Star forward regrouped to score a career playoff-high 35 points in Game 2. He shot 13 of 17 from the floor, made 9 of 10 free throws and grabbed six rebounds — doing it all in just 30 minutes. The Clippers forced 26 turnovers, shutdown streaky shooting Stephen Curry most of the game and took advantage of the absence of Warriors centre Andrew Bogut — who is out indefinitely with a fractured right rib. "We realized that if we played our game and do the things that we worked on wed be successful," Griffin said. "We play well when were just playing free, so were just going to try and achieve that." Whether the Clippers can duplicate that performance on the road is another matter. For all the success Los Angeles has had in recent seasons, the twice-reigning Pacific Division champions have struggled at Oracle Arena. The Clippers have lost 15 of their last 17 games in Oakland, including the last five meetings. And they have never played at Golden State in the playoffs, when the crowd often reaches even higher decibels. "Its going to be loud. Its going to be exciting. I think every basketball player loves playing in an environment like that," Griffin said. "Weve played in places that are pretty loud before, especially in the playoffs. Ive heard good things about the crowd and were looking forward to it. Absolutely." Of course, home court has not always been an advantage for the Warriors this season. The Warriors went 27-14 at home, including 2-0 against the Clippers, but they had several head-scratching setbacks in Oakland. That included home losses to lesser teams such as Denver (twice), Cleveland, Minnesota, New York, Washington and Charlotte. Golden State has taken advantage of its home court its last two trips to the playoffs. The Warriors are a combined 6-0 at Oracle Arena in the first round in 2007 against Dallas and last season against Denver. "Hearing the roar of the crowd making a big play, it gets you hyped, it gets you feeling good," Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson said. "It definitely wont hurt being home." Game 4 and Game 6, if necessary, also will be in Oakland — where the Warriors promise to make things tougher for the Clippers than they ever did in Game 2. "Were not going to quit. Were not going to just lie down and allow a team to do what they want against us," Curry said. "Were going to be physical, come back and its about that competitive fire for Game 3 that were going to need to get it done to protect our home court." ___ Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP Sammy Sosa Jersey . The (35-35-10) Jets have 80 points and are also playing .500 hockey on home ice this season with a 17-17-6 record. Michael Hutchinson will start his second straight game in goal. Anthony Rizzo Jersey . He just didnt expect them to be this good. Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points to lead No. 6 Villanova to a dominating 77-59 victory over Georgetown on Saturday, preserving the Wildcats hopes of a No. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Billy-Williams-Kids-Jersey/ . Saltalamacchia has agreed to a $21 million, three-year deal with the Miami Marlins, two people familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday.DOVER, Del. - Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon said Friday he will have to retire if he continues to suffer the same, excruciating back pain that he did before last weekends Coca-Cola 600. The 42-year-old Gordon is in no hurry to slow down. But he said he hopes he has found some solutions to the back woes that nearly forced him out of NASCARs longest race. Gordon cut short his practice runs last week because of back spasms and there was some concern whether or not he would be able to race. Regan Smith was on standby and Gordon needed treatment after the practice session. But he wound up in his familiar seat behind the wheel of the No. 24 and finished seventh, his ninth top-10 finish in 12 races this season. Gordon knows consistent, shooting pain like he suffered at Charlotte Motor Speedway could drive him toward an early retirement. "I can tell you, if that happens many more times, I wont have a choice," Gordon said Friday at Dover Motor Speedway. Gordon had soreness Monday and Tuesday, though that didnt deviate too much from how he would feel after driving 600 grueling miles. He said his back is not at 100 per cent, and probably never will be behind the wheel. At Daytona this year, Gordon insisted he was serious about considering retirement should he win a fifth champioonship. Brandon Morrow Jersey. . He looks every bit a title contender — he has a win and holds the points lead — and gutting out Charlotte proved to his Hendrick Motorsports team "its going to take a lot to get us down." Gordon suffered serious issues years ago in his back, specifically his lower spine, and needed anti-inflammatory medication and workouts with a trainer to return to full strength. He drove in pain during a winless 2008 season and briefly contemplated retirement. For all his back woes, Gordon said he never felt the stabbing pain there like he did last weekend. Gordon said hell make adjustments to his race weekend routine to keep his back loose to withstand hours crunched in a stock car. He needs to stay active and not sit during lengthy breaks in practice and qualifying. Gordon sat more than three hours last week between practice and qualifying, a gap that left he believed led his creaky back to a breakdown. "Once that happened, there was nothing that was going to fix it until I had those injections on Saturday," he said. Gordon has no standby driver at Dover. He felt fine on Friday. But once inside the No. 24, all bets are off. "Its just something I continue to learn and push through," he said. "Its no big deal." 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