OAKLAND, Calif. Kareem Jackson Authentic Jersey . -- When Steve Blake checked in at the scorers table with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter, Stephen Curry shook his head and shouted across the court, asking Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson not to take him out. Jackson, a self-described "feel coach," changed his plan. He had Blake enter instead for Andre Iguodala, who looked over at Curry and laughed on the way to the bench. Curry keyed the deciding run later in the third quarter. He finished with 18 points and nine assists on a strained right quad, helping the Warriors hold off the Phoenix Suns 113-107 on Sunday night for their fourth straight win. "I always tell coach Im fine," Curry said. "He always asks me if somethings going on, whether it was my ankle back in the day or something small like this. Im surprised he still asked me because he already knows the answer." David Lee added 26 points and nine rebounds and Klay Thompson scored 22 points for the Warriors, who built an 18-point lead early in the fourth quarter before the Suns surged back. Golden State is 9-2 since the All-Star break and a season-high 16 games over .500. The Warriors are two games ahead of Dallas for sixth place in the crowded Western Conference standings. The Mavericks visit Golden State on Tuesday night. "The guys had a sense of urgency," Jackson said. "They understood how big this game was. They realized we had an opportunity to really take control." Gerald Green had 25 points and six rebounds, and Goran Dragic added 24 points and six assists for the Suns, who dropped into a tie with Memphis for eighth in the West. The Suns also missed a chance to take the four-game season series over the Warriors -- and the potential head-to-head tiebreaker for playoff seeding that comes with it. Each team won both meetings on its home floor. "Thats just the whole point about learning how to be a playoff team," Green said. "Certain things you can get away with on certain nights, but when youre playing a team like this -- a team thats been in the playoffs -- you have to be solid for 48 minutes." Neither team showed much playoff poise in the final minute. Greens layup cut Golden States lead to 111-107 with 38.1 seconds remaining. After Thompson missed a 3-pointer, Andre Iguodala came down with a rebound and the Suns were forced to foul. Phoenix caught a break when Iguodala missed both free throws. But then Green stepped out of bounds receiving a pass from Dragic on the sideline. Steve Blake missed two free throws to give the Suns yet another chance. Phoenix followed that up with Marcus Morris air-balling a 3-pointer, and Iguodala made two free throws to seal Golden States victory. The Warriors outshot Phoenix 52.9 per cent to 48 per cent. The Suns outrebounded Golden State 41 to 35 but committed 20 turnovers, while the Warriors only had 12. "I thought in that third quarter we really got outhustled," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "They were active. They were aggressive for the ball. They wanted it more than we did." With a nagging quad limiting his playing time, Curry shook off the pain and made sure Jackson kept him on the court longer than expected. Curry made a 3-pointer and handed out six assists during a 23-4 run in the third quarter, and the Warriors went ahead 96-78 early in the fourth. Curry shot 7 for 16 from the floor in 30 minutes. "He really took over," Jackson said. Before the game, Curry said that he injured his quad during Golden States win at Boston on Wednesday and began to feel pain again during Fridays victory over Atlanta. Both Jackson and Curry said they will communicate with each other during games to determine when -- and how much -- the All-Star point guard plays. While he looked a step slow in the first half defending Dragic, Curry came through when his team needed him most. After the Suns went ahead by 12 in the second quarter, Curry converted a reverse layup while getting fouled by Morris to start a three-point play that brought the Warriors within one. But back-to-back 3-pointers by Dragic helped Phoenix carry a 61-56 lead into intermission. The Warriors disrupted Phoenixs offence in the third quarter by trapping Dragic at half court. The swarming defence led to several fast-break opportunities, and Curry controlled the offence with near perfection to put the Warriors ahead for good. NOTES: Hornacek said G Eric Bledsoe, who has been out since Dec. 30 recovering from knee surgery, will likely return for Wednesdays home game against Cleveland. ... The Warriors recalled G Nemanja Nedovic from Santa Cruz of the NBA Development League. ... Suns C Miles Plumlee had two points and four rebounds in 11 minutes after missing the two previous games because of a sprained shoulder. J.J. Watt Jersey .J. -- The New York Giants are not only back in the playoff hunt with a four-game winning streak, theyre calling the plays that get them those wins. Andre Johnson Jersey . Nick Bonino and Matt Beleskey also scored in regulation and Frederik Andersen stopped 27 shots for the Ducks, who will face Dallas in the opening round of the post-season. Anze Kopitar had two goals, including the tying one with 3:12 left in the third period, and Dustin Brown also scored for Los Angeles.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Its Justin Verlander and Sonny Gray, the encore. These decisive Game 5s sure are becoming familiar for Verlander. Not so much for the Oakland rookie. Just like last October in Oakland, the Tigers have been pushed to a winner-take-all fifth game in their AL division series against the Athletics. And Detroit will have Verlander on the mound again Thursday night after he pitched a four-hit shutout in the 2012 clincher at the Oakland Coliseum. "Well, you dont pretend. Its not just another game," Verlander said after the Tigers evened the series with an 8-6 win Tuesday at Comerica Park. "The season is on the line. It was on the line for us tonight, too. This whole season, the way we battled and played as a team, comes down to one game, may the best team win. You cant treat it just like another game. Its a little bit different. There is more to it." The As will counter with Gray against Verlander a second time after these two put on a pitching show Saturday night at the Coliseum. "Hes a little bit of a bulldog, hes scared of nothing," manager Bob Melvin said, noting Grays experience on the big stage just last week. "Everything that went on in that game factored into it. ... When he came up, we were into the season and a pennant race already and we threw him right into the fire and right away he pitched very well with a lot of confidence and always has that mound presence." Melvin said he doesnt know how he might use, if at all, 18-game winner and Game 1 loser Bartolo Colon, who is "willing to do anything." He hasnt been ruled out as a reliever. "Obviously we had two great options," Melvin said. Verlander dominated in a thrilling pitchers duel with Gray, who matched the ace as each threw zeros but had nothing to show for it in a 1-0 As win. "Im not really sure we liked what we saw, it was pretty good," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said of Gray. "At least weve seen him now." Verlander is riding a 22-inning post-season scoreless streak against the As, and has 33 strikeouts over the past three playoff matchups with Oakland, 11 in each outing. Not that the As are counting. "Hes been beaten before, it can happen again," third baseman Josh Donaldson said. Verlander acknowledged it would have been great to pitch the playoff opener, while also noting 21-game winner Max Scherzer more than earned the nod. Now, Verlander gets the ball for his most meaningful start this year -- to extend the season Thursday night. "We all have a lot of confidence, were playing at home, we know what were up against in Verlander," As shortstop Jed Lowrie said. "Were all prepared for one, winner-take-all scenario." With Scherzer pitching in relief Tuesday, Verlander became the automatic Game 5 choice for manager Jim Leyland. "Thats kind of why we pitcheed him Game 2 so wed have an option," Leyland said. Randy Bullock Authentic Jersey. "We were in a pretty good comfort zone to pitch Verlander if necessary, and it was necessary because we had to win (Tuesday). Were comfortable any time Verlander goes out there." Both clubs chose to use Wednesday as a full day off without on-field workouts after two long flights in four days. Who to start was quite a choice for 2012 AL Manager of the Year Melvin, whose team is trying to avoid having the season end at the hands of Detroit for the third time in as many postseasons -- last year and also a four-game sweep by the Tigers in the 2006 AL championship series. The last time the As won a winner-take-all post-season game was in Game 7 of the 1973 World Series against the New York Mets. Oakland has lost its last five Game 5s in the AL division series since 2000. The AL West champion As know whats at stake -- and realize full well the challenge of facing Verlander again. Last falls frustrating finish is still fresh for everybody. "We feel like this time we have a better chance to turn the tide," Melvin said. "Its awfully tough to go out there each and every time and consistently beat a team in the fashion that he has with us." Verlander has hardly had the kind of dominant season like he had the past two years, including 2011 when he won both AL MVP and Cy Young Award honours. Yet that hardly affected Leylands decision-making as he insisted Verlanders 13-12 record was hardly indicative of how well he pitched much of the season aside from a couple of rough stretches. Oakland rookie Stephen Vogt delivered a walk-off single in Saturdays win once Verlander was out of the game. But he also had a wild 10-pitch at-bat with Verlander in which the left-handed hitting catcher fouled off the first five pitches and seven in all before striking out to end the seventh. "We can expect pretty much what we saw from him the other night. Hopefully he makes a couple mistakes and were able to capitalize," Vogt said. "Its a tough loss but were not done. We still got one more game. Were not done." Neither are those 48,000-plus fans with their swirling yellow rally towels packing the Coliseum. They are sure to be even more hyped up and fiery Thursday night after watching a disputed home run at Comerica Park in Tuesdays loss. On that play, a pair of fans reached out to grab the ball as right fielder Josh Reddick was leaping for it at the wall. The homer went to replay review and stood as a solo shot for Victor Martinez in the seventh. "We just do it like we have been doing it all season long, we end up winning a pretty good ballgame and its over, turn the page," Martinez said. "We go to Oakland now and play another game. We all know its a tough place to play ... we go to the next day and play a brand new ballgame and see what happens." wholesale jerseys ' ' '
