OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Clippers made a silent protest against owner Donald Sterling before Game 4 of their Western Conference playoff series against Golden State. The Warriors made a different kind of statement during the game. And just like that, a series pulled into a race-related scandal took another twist. Stephen Curry made a career playoff-high seven 3-pointers and scored 33 points, leading the Warriors past the Clippers 118-97 on Sunday to even their first-round series at two games apiece. "We wanted to come out and focus on all the work weve put in over the summer, throughout the course of the season to get ready for this moment in the playoffs and just have fun and enjoy it -- not let one person ruin it for everybody," Curry said. The game almost became an afterthought -- until tipoff anyway -- after an audio recording was posted Saturday online by TMZ purportedly of Sterling making comments urging a woman to not bring black people to his teams games. The alleged comments, which are under investigation by the NBA, have set off reactions of anger and calls for action through the league. Clippers players made a silent protest against Sterling by shedding their warm-up jerseys and going through the pregame routine with their red shirts on inside out. They also wore black bands on their wrists or arms and black socks in a show of solidarity. Clippers coach Doc Rivers said he knew what his players had planned but didnt voice his opinion. He said he wasnt thrilled about the demonstration, though he didnt elaborate why. Curry and company did a better job focusing from the start. The All-Star guard made his first five 3s to give Golden State a 20-point lead in the first quarter that held up most of the way. Curry shot 10 for 20 from the floor, including 7 of 14 from beyond the arc, and had seven assists and seven rebounds to help the Warriors snap a two-game losing skid. "I just thought they were the tougher team and it wasnt even close. Should have been a first round knockout," Rivers said. Golden State outshot Los Angeles 55.4 to 42.9 per cent. The Clippers had 19 turnovers, while the Warriors had a series-low 15 turnovers. Both coaches and players agreed that Sterlings purported comments affected their preparation, and neither side believed it was a determining factor in the outcome. "I think both teams were somewhat bothered by what has taken place the last 24 hours," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "But my guys just played with great energy, great effort." Rivers blamed himself for not getting his players ready. "Im not going to deny that we had other stuff," he said. "I just believe when the game starts, the game starts and nobody cares anymore. Golden State surely didnt care." Game 5 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Andre Iguodala added 22 points and nine assists, and David Lee, Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes each scored 15 as the Warriors went to a smaller lineup to regain their shooting touch in front of a roaring, gold-shirt wearing sellout crowd of 19,596 that stood after every swish. "It just all came together," said Iguodala, who also had nine assists and four rebounds. Jamal Crawford scored 26 points, and Blake Griffin had 21 points and six rebounds for a Clippers team wrapped up in the most talked-about topic in sports. "Maybe our focus wasnt in the right place would be the easiest way to say it," Clippers guard J.J. Redick said. New NBA Commissioner Adam Silver attended the game and met privately with former All-Star guard and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is advising the players union on the Sterling situation. Johnson even held a news conference during halftime that spilled well into the third quarter. Silver has said he hopes for a quick resolution after the league investigates, and that Sterling has already agreed not to attend Game 5. Johnson said the players trust Silver and are hoping for a quick resolution -- and the harshest penalty possible if the audio recording is authenticated. Once the ball was thrown up and the crowd roared, the Warriors quickly put the Clippers in a hole they could never recover from. Currys five 3-pointers in the first quarter tied a franchise-playoff record for a quarter, matching a mark he and Thompson set last year. Golden State led by 20 in the first quarter, 23 in the second quarter and 66-48 at the half. Jackson used a smaller lineup -- with power forward David Lee playing centre for long stretches instead of Jermaine ONeal, whom Jackson said requested the switch -- to spread the floor more than he had at any point in the series, which big man Andrew Bogut has missed with a fractured right rib. The Clippers never closed within single digits at any point in the second half. Curry kept on shooting -- and kept on hitting -- to send the series back to Los Angeles tied. And with so many in an uproar over Sterlings purported comments, theres no telling what the scene will be like at Staples Center. "Were going home now, and usually that would mean were going to our safe haven," Rivers said. "And I dont even know if thats true." NOTES: The Warriors have won 16 of their past 19 home games against the Clippers. ... Sterlings wife, Rochelle "Shelley" Sterling, sat in a courtside seat across from the Clippers bench. Darren Woodson Youth Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have fired receivers coach Ike Hilliard. Ezekiel Elliott Jersey . Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane came up big when it counted, tallying two goals and an assist. He scored the game-winner with 4:45 remaining in the third period, stopping on the right hashmarks, carrying the puck up through the top of the Kings zone, then firing a wrist shot from the top of the circles past Jonathan Quick, who had his view obstructed by Andrew Shaw. http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/El...Cowboys-Jersey/. -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Daryl Johnston Youth Jersey .Just like old times.Only this time, just one got to enjoy a victory.James return to Miami as an opponent was a success — for the Heat, that is. Wade scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half, Luol Deng had 25 points and dogged James defensively all night, and the Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91 in a hyped Christmas matchup Thursday. Tony Pollard Cowboys Jersey .Kessy tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action.On Boxing Day, the pursuit of Masahiro Tanaka finally begins. The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. So for the new capped fee of $20 million, any one of the 30 Major League teams can get in on the bidding and getting a deal done by 5pm on January 24. Tanaka was a spectacular 24-0 this season with a miniscule 1.27 ERA. He is the same age Yu Darvish was when he was posted two years ago and, like Darvish, wants the challenge of pitching in the Majors. The Blue Jays were in on the chase for Darvish, but to what extent we will never really know. There were rumblings at the time that the Blue Jays barely lost out to Texas and their winning bid of $51.7 million. But Alex Anthopoulos and the organization would never confirm or deny that and in the end, it was felt the Rangers were actually bidding against themselves just to be sure they got Darvish. Texas signed him to a six-year, $60 million deal but if certain conditions are met, the sixth year turns into a player option. So far its been a good investment by Texas. Darvish is 29-18 over two seasons with 401 innings, 498 strikeouts and 169 walks. He was added the American League All-Star roster his first year, and only missed last years mid-summer classic due to an injury. Most scouts believe Darvish to be a better pitcher than Tanaka, who projects by many to be a number 2 or 3 starter, rather than a staff ace. When Tanaka won the Sawamura Award as top pitcher in Japan in 2011, over Darvish, he conceded that although he had slightly better numbers than Darvish in a couple of categories, he said "as a pitcher, Im nowhere near his calibre". The Blue Jays self-imposed five-year limit on contracts is one thing working against them, although Anthopoulos conceded a couple of weeks ago that the Jays might go to six years for the right player. The biggest thing going against the Jays is the desperation of some of those big-name teams that figure to be in on the bidding and the marquee presence of others. The Yankees pitching staff needs an infussion of youth and talent. The Dodgers havent won a World Series since 1988 and Texas has never won one. Boston is in that year-by-year battle for bragging rights and nnow that theyve won three World Series titles this century to the Yankees two, they arent going to let up now.dddddddddddd The Blue Jays may make an offer just to say they did, but Id bet on Texas or the Yankees to be Tanakas ultimate landing spot. A couple of trivia points on Darvish. The first Major League hit he surrendered was to his countryman Ichiro Suzuki and the first home run he surrendered was to Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays on April 30, 2012. Darvish still won that game though, 4-1. Another Babe It was on December 26 of 1919 when the most infamous deal in Red Sox history went down. It was the day Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees. This is the story of another player who went by the nickname "Babe". Werner Birrer was a reliever and occassional spot starter for parts of three seasons in the 1950s with the Tigers, Orioles and Dodgers. Hes better known for his years pitching in the International League, in Buffalo, the city where he was born. He ultimately made it into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and was a valued member of the community as a teacher and a coach. Babe Birrer passed away back in November at age 85. He had one day in his career where it all came together and earned him the sobriquet "Babe". On July 19 of 1955, Birrer came on in relief in the sixth inning to try and protect a 5-4 Tigers lead over Baltimore. Not only did he pitch four shutout innings of relief to earn his second of four career saves, Birrer slugged a pair of three-run homers to propel the Tigers to a 12-4 victory over the 0s. What was so special about that? Well, those were the only two home runs and only six runs batted inn of Birrers entire career. As far as anyone knows, he is the only Major League player in history to cram all of his home runs and RBI production into just one game. For that one day, that one game, Werner Birrer was called "Babe" by his teammates for the rest of his career. Oddly enough, the two relievers who surrendered those home runs to Birrer, George Zuverink and Art Shallock, are both still alive and amongst the 100 oldest surviving Major Leaguers. Shallock is 89 and 245 days, Zuverink 89 and 128 days. Just a little known page in the book of Tigers history. ' ' '