If there are two bloodsport rivals in the Western Conference, it has to be the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors, powers of the Pacific Division, who meet at the Staples Center Saturday afternoon in Game 1 of the quarterfinals. Catch the game on TSN starting at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt. There have been fistfights, elbows to throats, ejections, claims of "cowardly basketball," and old-fashioned physical play. That was all just on Christmas night! Actually, three of the four regular-season meetings in 2013-14 featured some sort of physical altercation. "Not to hype it up at all, but there is no love lost between these two teams," Warriors forward David Lee said after a Golden State loss to the Clippers on March 12. But, behind all of the silly pushing and shoving, lies a rivalry predicated on two teams that are both offensively proficient and defensively underrated. The Clippers finished first in scoring this season, with the Warriors 10th. Golden State was also 10th in opponents scoring and LA came in 14th in that category. Los Angeles underwent significant changes in the offseason. Head coach Doc Rivers was acquired from the Boston Celtics for a first-round pick. He runs the basketball operations and brought in J.J. Redick, Jared Dudley, Danny Granger and Glen Davis. But the Clippers are run by Rivers newest incarnation of the Big Three. Blake Griffin will most likely finish third in MVP voting behind Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant and Miamis LeBron James. Guard Chris Paul might have come in third had he not missed significant time with a shoulder injury. And DeAndre Jordan led the NBA in rebounding and finished third in blocked shots. It all translated into a franchise-record 57 wins. The Warriors also brought in a new, impactful face in the form of defensive specialist Andre Iguodala. However, the Warriors are built on their backcourt of Klay Thompson and especially Steph Curry. The two went 484-for-1,150 from long distance for 42 percent. Curry improved dramatically as a facilitator, averaging 8.5 assists per game, which ranked fifth in the NBA. He made his first All-Star team and is among the games elite. Head coach Mark Jackson tried to infuse a defensive mindset into the group. It worked for the most part, but problem is, their top enforcer, starting center Andrew Bogut, is out indefinitely with a broken rib. He was at the heart of most of the problems between the two teams. And this is a huge series for Jackson. Reports indicate his job might be in jeopardy if the Warriors lose. Allegations are he and owner Joe Lacob are at odds and, despite leading Golden State to a first-round upset of the Denver Nuggets last season, Jackson might be on the unemployment line if the Warriors lose. The two teams dont like each other as Lee pointed out, and the series should be physical. Keeping out of the skirmishes could be an issue for the Clippers, who lost in the first round last season, despite having home-court advantage over the Memphis Grizzlies. "Like weve said all season long, its about us," Paul said. "Its not about them. We have to play our game and do what were supposed to do and well be just fine. We have to realize that each game takes on its own personality. Its one win at a time." The two sides split four meetings this season with the home team prevailing each time. The Warriors have dropped four of their last five as the visitor in this series. Authentic Willie Brown Jersey . But its also a smart game. Theres more to the Kings than banging bodies. They take a toll mentally on their opponents. Authentic Nick Nelson Jersey . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. http://www.cheapraidersjerseysauthentic....sistrunk-jersey. Bozak and Clarkson suffered the injuries in pre-training camp workouts, according to Carlyle, who said they made "small amounts of improvement" from Friday to Saturday. After the players were deemed less than 100 per cent by doctors after Thursdays medical testing, the Leafs held them out of on-ice testing and are being cautious. Authentic Dwayne Harris Jersey .com) - P.K. Subbans power-play goal 4:08 into overtime sent the Montreal Canadiens into the All-Star break with a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Authentic Tahir Whitehead Jersey . -- Wichita State is all alone in the record book.PORTLAND, Ore. - Gaston Fernandez scored on a header in the 85th minute to pull the Portland Timbers into a 3-3 draw with the Columbus Crew on Saturday night. There were a flurry of goals in the final 10 minutes. Portlands Will Johnson tied the match at 2-all in the 80th minute. Ethan Finlays shot deflected off a Portland player for an own goal for Columbus a minute later. The draw snapped a three-match losing streak for Columbus, but the Crew (3-4-4) remain winless in their last eight matches. Columbus hadnt scored a goal since April 26 in a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls. Federico Higuain had a pair of goals for the Crew and Maximiliano Urruti opened the scoring for Portland (1-3-7) in the fifth minute. Portland defender Alvas Powell was sent off with a red card for a foul on Chad Barson in the 34th minute, putting the Timbers down a man for the rest of the match. The Timbers finished atop the Western Conference standings last season, but have just one victory this year even though they havent dropped a match at Providence Park this season. The Timbers were coming off a 1-1 draw at home against the Los Angeles Galaxy last weekend, with both goals coming in stoppage time.dddddddddddd Columbus was without defender Michael Parkhurst, who is training with the U.S. national team in advance of the World Cup. Fellow defender Waylon Francis has been called up for duty with the Costa Rican national team. The Timbers were without midfielder Diego Chara and defender Michael Harrington because of injuries in last weeks draw with the Galaxy. Chara had surgery to stabilize a fractured bone in his left hand and will miss two weeks. After Urrutis goal from the corner of the box sailed past Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark in the fifth minute, Higuain evened it nine minutes later on a goal that sailed over goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts outstretched arms and into the back of the net. The match got contentious in stoppage time just before the break when Futty Danso was called for a foul in the penalty area and Higuain beat Ricketts. The Providence Park crowd loudly booed the refs, and Timbers coach Caleb Porter shouted at them as the team walked off the field. This is the only match between the teams this season. The last Portland meeting between the teams in 2012 ended with a scoreless draw. The Crew has won both previous meetings in Columbus, ' ' '