OAKLAND, Calif. -- 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. Cheap Old Skool Sale . Returning to Davis Cup tennis, Federer cruised past Ilija Bozoljac, winning 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in less than two hours. Federer faced little challenge from Bozoljac, who served well but still was no match for his Swiss opponent. Cheap Vans Old Skool . -- Its been 21 years since Joe Gibbs Racing celebrated its only Daytona 500 victory. http://www.cheapoldskool.com/. -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation. Cheap Old Skool Free Shipping . They all do actually — Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 22, 2014There is no confirmation that the date is actually happening, but that didnt stop Embiid from getting dressed up. Fresh cut..... Getting ready for dinner http://t.co/NNIfKyZQzx — Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 23, 2014 Almost 930.. Old Skool Outlet . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. Getting Creative The Pittsburgh Penguins will try their best to acquire Ryan Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks before the Trade Deadline.MADRID, Spain -- Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late equalizer as Real Madrid avoided a bruising derby defeat at Spanish title rival Atletico Madrid with a 2-2 draw on Sunday. Ronaldo pounced on a loose ball inside the area to net the 82nd-minute equalizer -- his 23rd goal of the season for the league leaders. Karim Benzema put Madrid ahead at the Vicente Calderon Stadium after three minutes but, instead of wilting, Atletico hit back with two goals to take the lead by halftime. Koke smashed a low shot beyond Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez, who then watched Gabi Fernandezs swerving effort from 30 metres (yards) fly past him just before the break. Madrid stayed three points ahead of Atletico, but Barcelona was able to cut its deficit to Madrid to one point after a laboured 4-1 win against Almeria at the Camp Nou. Barcelona led 2-0 by the 24th after Alexis Sanchez tapped a rebound into the empty goal before Lionel Messi curled an exquisite left-foot free kick around the defensive wall and into the top of the goal for his 15th league strike of the season. A rout looked in the cards until Angel Trujillo got free to head home a corner in the 27th, and the relegation-threatened club made Barcelona work for its points. Carles Puyol, who had made a rare start, scored an even rarer goal after Messis header came off the bar straight to him in the 83rd minute. Xavi Hernandez scored moments later as the Catalans bounced back from a 3-1 loss to Real Sociedad last weekend. Madrid leads with 64 points, Barcelona has 63, and Atletico is on 61 points. The fifth meeting between crosstown rivals Atletico and Madrid since last Mays Copa del Rey final kept its trademark liveliness and aggression, with Atletico knowing defeat would likely end its dreams of a first title since 1996. "Atletico tried to make the game violent," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We dont play that way, however. But they tried right to the end." Atleticos defence played Benzema onside for the France striker too score his 15th of the season, leaving him alone to guide Angel Di Marias cross into the box past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.dddddddddddd Ugly confrontations followed as both teams used gamesmanship to try and gain an edge, with Arda Turan booked for protesting in the 11th after Sergio Ramos tripped Diego Costa inside the area with no penalty awarded. But Atleticos pressure paid off in the 28th when Turan spotted Koke inside the area to smash past Lopez. Diego Costa, who will play at the Calderon for Spain on Wednesday, was a physical presence and troubled Madrid throughout. Atletico took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Gabis powerful drive beat the slow-footed Lopez for a deserved lead. In the second half, Lopez kept it close as Atletico found space on the counter with Madrid pressing for an equalizer. Despite being outplayed, Madrids attack finally connected when Gareth Bale failed to control a cross but the ball fell to Ronaldo to extend Madrids unbeaten run in all competitions to 28 games. "Atletico played a bruising style right to the end, when we finally got a chance to play and create opportunities," Ancelotti said. Madrid is unbeaten at the Calderon for 15 games, dating to June 1999. "The result is what it is," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "We had chances to win it. At least we showed we are still alive in the title race." Ruben Castros late goal gave bottom side Real Betis a 1-1 draw at 10-man Villarreal, which slipped six points from fourth and the final Champions League spot. Betis was left 11 points from safety. Real Sociedad fell seven points behind fourth-place Athletic Bilbao after Kevin Gameiro skipped through a pair of defenders and netted the rebound from his initial shot to lead Sevilla to a 1-0 victory. Joaquin Larrivey scored as Rayo Vallecano climbed within three points of 17th-place Almeria -- and safety from the drop -- with a 1-0 win over Valencia, which played the last 15 minutes with 10 men. ' ' '