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LOS ANGELES -- On an exceptional, emotional night, the Los Angeles Clippers returned to their "safe haven" and moved to the brink of winning just their third playoff series since Donald Sterling bought the team in 1981. Sterling wasnt there to witness the 113-103 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, and he wont be at future games. The Clippers stirring victory at energized Staples Center came hours after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life, fined him $2.5 million and called on NBA owners to force him to sell the team for making racist comments. DeAndre Jordan had 25 points, a playoff career high, and 18 rebounds while Chris Paul scored 20 points as the Clippers took a 3-2 lead in the first-round series. "I think it put a lot of guys minds at ease," Paul said. "Its been tough the last few days, but weve been getting through it." Clippers coach Doc Rivers high-fived each of his players near the bench in an uncommon display of excitement as the final seconds ticked away. Guard Jamal Crawford hugged and slapped hands with fans at courtside on the way to the locker room. "I thought they were great," said Rivers, who before the game said he hoped Staples Center would be a "safe haven" full of adrenaline. "I thought they were tired a lot, and that was the result of the last few days. I just thought they had great mental toughness. They wanted to will this game, and Im just proud of them." Game 6 is Thursday night in Oakland. The Clippers were greeted with a standing ovation when they came out for pregame warmups. They kept on their Clippers warmup suits, unlike Sunday in Oakland, when, in a silent protest against Sterling, they tossed their sweatsuits bearing the team logo onto the court and went through their pregame routine with their red shirts on inside out. Players from both teams wore black socks. With so many sponsors bailing on the Clippers, there were few advertisements on the video boards. A few non-digital signs were covered over. The PA announcer constantly reminded the crowd, "We Are One." One fan wore a T-shirt that read: "Sterling Out Equality In." The distraction since the scandal broke Saturday was "monumental," said Crawford, who scored 19 points. "You couldnt shake it. Youd try to take a nap, youd wake up, and youd think its a bad dream. You couldnt shake it but it drains you, even mentally more than physically. Im glad we had the strength to get through it. With that cloud over you, you never know. This thing could have gone either way." Blake Griffin scored 18 points and Darren Collison had 15 for the Clippers. Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 21 points. David Lee and Andre Iguodala scored 18 apiece while Stephen Curry had a so-so game with 17 points, including four 3-pointers. "We had the momentum coming off the last game but we had too many turnovers and we were not consistent," Curry said. "Our defence didnt stick to its plan. "We have to figure out how to control the paint and cant let them get off to a big start," he said. "We knew they would come out with a lot of emotion but after the first quarter it felt like a regular playoff game." Curry stole the ball and hit a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 70-69 lead late in the third quarter. Paul answered with a 3-pointer to put the Clippers up 72-70. Crawford then poked the ball away from Curry, broke free, got the pass for a dunk and a four-point lead with 1:11 left. Paul hit another 3 with 1.1 seconds left in the third for a 77-72 lead. Griffin scored eight points in the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter. Jordan made six of eight free throws in the final period. With the Clippers leading by three points early in the fourth quarter, Griffin scored two quick baskets to make it 83-78. He made a turnaround jumper to push the lead to 90-81 with 7 minutes to go. Jordan had four blocks and Paul had five steals. "We knew it was going to be loud and thats what will be waiting for us on Thursday at home," Warriors guard Steve Blake said. "Weve got to believe and if we do that, we can come back and win two games." E.J. Ejiya Jersey . Al Harrington, another former Knicks forward, scored 22 of his 24 points after halftime for the Nuggets, allowing them to withstand Anthonys attempt to rally the Knicks after his poor shooting had them behind until the final minutes of regulation. Anthony finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, missing 20 of 30 shots in the Knicks sixth straight loss. Chris Moore Jersey .com) - Fair Grounds commences its road to the Kentucky Derby Saturday with the 71st running of the $200,000 Lecomte Stakes. http://www.cheapravensjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-tavon-young-jersey . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. Matthew Judon Jersey . -- The Washington Redskins coaching staff distanced itself from other coaches Thursday by siding with ownership -- and not the players -- in the NFLs labour dispute. Trace McSorley Jersey .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times.Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Nicklas Backstrom notched his first career hat trick to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Braden Holtby stopped 26 shots, Eric Fehr scored an empty-net goal and Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson each supplied two assists for the Capitals, who have won four of their last five games. You just have to put the puck on the net, Backstrom said. Some nights are just like this. Tyler Johnson and Matt Carle each scored late in the third period and Ben Bishop made 24 saves for Tampa Bay, which has dropped three of its last four. After a scoreless first, Tampa Bay was unable to take advantage of a 5-on-3 power play for a full two minutes after Mike Green went off for hooking and Ovechkin sat for roughing at 6:49 of the second. The Capitals gained momentum after the big penalty kill and got on the board a few minutes later when Backstrom cruised into the slot and lifted a backhander over Bishop at 10:33. Ovechkin slipped a pass back to Backstrom, who had initial shot turned aside, but tapped in the rebound for a 2-0 lead with 1:20 remaining in the middle stanza. Backstrom raced up the slot, took a dish from OOvechkin and tallied the hat trick after his wrister found twine 2:17 into the third.dddddddddddd The Lightning pulled within a goal late in regulation. Johnson scored on a wrister from the right circle with under five minutes remaining and Carle weaved around a defender before beating Holtby less than two minutes later. Tampa Bay pulled Bishop with over a minute to play, but Fehr fired a puck into the empty net to seal the win. Midway through the first, Valtteri Filppula skated around the back of the net and slipped a pass to Steven Stamkos, who deposited the puck into a wide-open net. The referees, however, conferred and waved off the goal, ruling that Ryan Callahan interfered with Holtby. Washington held a 12-2 shot advantage after the opening 20 minutes of play. Game Notes The Capitals have won 17 of their last 21 home games against Tampa Bay since the start of the 2007-08 season ... Ovechkin scored twice in Washingtons 5-3 win over the Lightning on Tuesday ... Tampa Bay defenseman Radko Gudas was a late scratch due to a stomach virus ... The Capitals