PORTLAND, Ore. -- As the Golden State Warriors attempt to become the first team since the 1960s Boston Celtics to go to the NBA Finals for the fifth straight season, Warriors forward Draymond Green said the group is motivated to finish off the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals and take advantage of the nine days off before the Finals begin May 30.

"I think it's very motivating for us to try to sweep this series and have that time off," Green said on Sunday. "Obviously we're a little banged up, so nine days off would be great for us. Allow Andre [Iguodala] time to heal, Shaun [Livingston]'s old -- but also allow the possibility of Kevin [Durant] and DeMarcus [Cousins] to get healthy and come back as well. So I think it's very important for us to come out tomorrow with the right mindset. We didn't do that against the Clippers. We extended the series and all of a sudden Klay [Thompson] and Steph [Curry] was going into the Houston series questionable because of some ankle injuries they suffered in series that should have been over. And so we understand that. We got a great opportunity."

Despite the fact that the Warriors hold a 3-0 lead in the series, Green knows the Blazers aren't going to let Golden state roll over them in a potential closeout game. But after coming back from double-digit deficits in the second half of each of the past two games of this series, the Warriors enter Monday night's contest with more confidence than they've had all season.

"We know this team is, they're a very resilient group," Green said of the Blazers. "They're not going to lay down. They have great leadership in Dame [Damian Lillard] and C.J. [McCollum] and they're going to come out and continue to play, and play with the force that they can play with. It's on us to make sure we can play with the right mindset and focus, that we know what it takes to close out a series, especially on the road."

Green, who earned his seventh career postseason triple-double in Game 3 on Saturday night, has been dominant at times throughout the postseason, helping the Warriors come together after Durant suffered a calf injury in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets. Green opened up about just how much his mindset changes when the postseason begins.

"When I finish the playoffs every year I'm exhausted," Green said. "And more so mentally than physically because I view these games like life or death. Like I'll be stressed out the entire playoffs. It's like a life-or-death situation for me. That's how I view it. And so when you have that mindset and you're viewing it that way, it's easy to raise your game because it's bigger than just that particular game. And so there's been times when I'm like, 'Dude, I'm putting too much strain on myself. Too much stress on myself.' And I can't change it because this is the times I live for.

"This is what I enjoy most. This is what you play for, this is what you train for, to be at your best at this time of year, to try to win a championship. And so when you look at it from that standpoint, which is the way I look at it, it makes it a lot easier to step up to that challenge because you're playing for something so much bigger than to win that game."

Green has thrived in the postseason since entering the league in 2012, and like many on the Warriors' roster, he acknowledged the grind of an 82-game regular season is tougher to handle after years of long playoff runs and the stress that comes with them.

"For me personally I kind of view the season in three different parts," Green said. "You come into the season and you're ready to go. In the league, you kind of hit that point of where, 'All right, get me to the All-Star break.' And then you come out of the All-Star break and you're refreshed, and you're ready to go again. And that works and that happens for like two weeks and then it's like, 'Get me to the playoffs.' You feel like you're getting life at each one of those moments. And for me personally once you get that new life in the playoffs, it's the playoffs. If you got to find life again in the playoffs you're going home. And you should. It's the part of the year I love. It's the part where you're playing for all the marbles. If you can't get up for this, what can you get up for?"

Green relayed a conversation he had with official David Guthrie during Game 3 that underscored just how much different the intensity level is when the veteran forward plays for championships.

"I was talking to David Guthrie last night and I felt like he had missed two calls," Green said. "In the beginning of the game I said, 'All right David, you got to wake up.' And he said, 'Draymond, I'm woke. Who can't wake up for this?' I said, 'You're right, but you'd be surprised at how many guys can't. Don't not give yourself credit for big games because everybody can't.' So that's my mindset going into a game. It's like, it's the playoffs. If you can't raise the level now, why do you do this?"

Green also touched upon something he talked about in depth after Game 3: He was disgusted by some of his own actions during the year and has made it a point to be less confrontational after picking up four quick technicals in the postseason. Seven technicals in one postseason results in an automatic one-game suspension.

Green said one of the reasons he decided to tone down his behavior is to serve as a role model for younger kids watching the game, including his own young son. Green had reporters chuckling Sunday while discussing what it's been like to see how his son mimics parts of the game.

"He plays on his little hoop and then stomps around," Green said. "It's like I like the intensity, but slow down, young fella. I realize how impressionable the kids are at the ages they're at. Just really want to be a good example for them, show them the right thing. Like my son was playing, he was shooting and flopping. I said, 'Yeah, you got to stop watching the NBA.' He was shooting and falling on the floor like, 'Oh, Dada, help me up.'"

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard does not want to use his separated rib as an excuse for his struggles in the Western Conference finals.

Lillard confirmed on Sunday that he suffered the injury to his left side when Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney fell on him during a scramble for a loose ball during the third quarter of Game 2. However, Lillard downplayed the impact of the injury on his performance in the series, which Portland trails 3-0.

"I don't think it's something that's affecting my game," said Lillard, who is shooting 32.6 from the floor and has almost as many turnovers (14) as field goals (15) in the West finals. "It's there, but it's not something that's affecting anything that I'm doing. Obviously you feel it, but that's it."

Lillard has not been listed on the official injury report because there was never any doubt about his availability. Blazers coach Terry Stotts said he wasn't aware of the specifics of Lillard's injury until postgame reports Saturday night.

"I didn't really know much about it until it became public," Stotts said. "Generally when he has something going on, he kind of keeps it to himself, so I would say it's not surprising."

Lillard played with padding on his left side during in the Game 3 loss, when he scored 19 points on 5-of-18 shooting. He did not take any painkillers because he said they "mess with your stomach after the game."

Lillard credited the Warriors' defense for making it difficult for him to get in any rhythm as a scorer. Golden State is frequently double-teaming Lillard and blitzing him on pick-and-rolls, trying to force the ball out of his hands, and he acknowledged that he's been hesitant at times because of the Warriors' coverages.

"I'm seeing Draymond Green, and he's behind that kind of like tracking my movements, so it's like a next layer of defense that I'm paying attention to so whereas like I'm not, I guess, wanting to explode and get around that guy because I see what's waiting for me, and then just the crowd, and put myself in a tough position," Lillard said. "It's tough. They're doing a good job in their coverages."

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Golden State Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala is questionable for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night after an MRI on his left calf came back clean Sunday.

Iguodala initially left Game 3 in the first quarter and was checked out by team medical personnel after suffering the injury. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he isn't sure exactly when the injury occurred, but after Iguodala later returned to the game, he was taken out in the third quarter and did not return. If he can't play, backup swingman Alfonzo McKinnie is expected to get more minutes.

"We'll have to have more minutes from him," Kerr said of McKinnie. "But we're confident that he can do the job."

McKinnie finished with a plus-24 plus/minus in Game 3 and has been part of a trio of bench players, including Jonas Jerebko and Jordan Bell, who have picked up the slack in Kevin Durant's absence. Durant is suffering from his own calf injury and has not played since Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets.

Despite the lingering injuries, the Warriors, who hold a 3-0 series lead, remain confident they can close out the Blazers on Monday night and give their ailing teammates a little extra rest heading into the Finals at the end of the month.

"Injuries are a part of the game," Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. "But we have guys who are capable, can step up, and probably will require Alfonzo having a few more minutes. Jonas, JB playing solid basketball like he did last night. So we'll adapt if we need to. Tomorrow's a big opportunity for us to obviously close out the series, get back to the Finals, and take advantage of the little break to get healthy, get bodies refreshed, and understand how difficult it's going to be to win a championship."

WASHINGTON -- The Chicago Cubs have decided not to move forward with their protest of Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Nationals.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon had argued that Washington reliever Sean Doolittle used an illegal delivery in the ninth inning of the game and said that he was playing under protest. The Cubs then had 24 hours to submit an official grievance to the league, but they decided not to.

The double toe-tap Doolittle appeared to use as he delivered the ball to home plate has been deemed illegal in the past, but umpires on Saturday did not force the left-hander to alter his delivery, much to Maddon's dismay.

"You're trying to delineate what is right and what is wrong. In my mind it wasn't a judgment call. I thought it was black and white," Maddon said Sunday.

Maddon came out to argue after Doolittle's first pitch of the ninth inning -- a strike to pinch hitter Albert Almora Jr. Although the umpires huddled with each other, and then with Doolittle, they sided with the lefty while deeming his delivery OK.

"[Maddon] thought he was tapping his foot, which in itself is not illegal, and this all kind of stems from his pitcher being called on something that was a little bit different than what Doolittle was doing," crew chief Sam Holbrook said. "So in our judgment, Doolittle did nothing illegal at all."

Holbrook was referring to Cubs reliever Carl Edwards Jr., who was told in the second game of the season that he couldn't do his version of the double toe-tap. Recently, Mariners pitcher Cory Gearrin was also forced to change his delivery after warming up mid-inning. But after some deliberation the Cubs decided not to protest.

"I really didn't anticipate whole lot to be done with it even though I still don't agree with the conclusion because I think it's exactly what Carl did just a different version of it," Maddon said.

"I would not be a good parent had I not spoken up for my guy (Edwards)," Maddon added.

Maddon lodged his protest with one out in the ninth inning. If the Cubs had officially protested to the league and won, the teams would have picked up the game from that point, as Doolittle retired the next two batters to earn the save.

After the game, Doolittle was having none of what Maddon was trying to sell.

"In that moment, he's not doing anything other than rattle me," Doolittle told reporters, according to an mlb.com report. "It was kinda tired. Sometimes he has to remind people how smart he is."

Tom Bosworth leads senior men’s 20km race walk squad to silver in Lithuania

Great Britain took their first ever medals in the European Race Walking Cup when the men’s team claimed silver in the 20km event in hot conditions in Alytus, Lithuania, Ian Richards reports.

Tom Bosworth led the team home with a fourth-place finish, with Callum Wilkinson and Cameron Corbishley producing tremendous last laps to clinch the silver medal from Ukraine and Italy.

Bosworth moved ahead of Christopher Linke during the sixth 1km circuit and held a seven-second lead over the German. At the halfway mark Bosworth had a 13-second lead over the chase pack as he went through in 40:11. Wilkinson had moved up to 13th in 40:51 and Corbishley was in 26th in 42:16, with Dominic King clocking 44.10.

The chase pack had cut his lead to 10 seconds by 14km. Soon after this, Sweden’s Perseus Karlström and Diego García of Spain began to close down on Bosworth.

At the 18km point Russia’s Vasiliy Mizinov (ANA) had passed Bosworth and he was caught by Spanish duo Álvaro Martín and Miguel Ángel López. Bosworth repassed them on the 19th lap.

Karlström pulled away to take the victory in a European lead of 79:54 ahead of Mizinov with 80:18 and García with 80:23.

Bosworth matched his fourth-place finish of two years ago to clock 80:53 and move to the top of the UK rankings.

Wilkinson moved up to ninth, clocking 81:54, and Corbishley moved up to 25th place with a PB of 85:45 which moves him to 17th on the UK all-time list and inside the British qualifying time for the European U23 Championships (86.00). King was disqualified.

“I felt so good today I really thought I would win a medal,” said Bosworth. “I walked 3:57 for the lap they caught me. I rolled my ankle at the point when I was fighting for the bronze medal. I battled back on the last two laps.

“I am gutted to finish fourth again, but the team medal makes up for some of my personal disappointment.”

In the under-20 men’s 10km, Chris Snook was a brilliant fifth, clocking 43:45 for the highest ever finish by a British athlete in that event. The race was won by Italy’s Riccardo Orsoni in 42:43.

Snook said: “Despite being ill recently it is great to finish fifth in Europe. I am a bit disappointed not to walk faster and get the 43:00 qualifying time for the European Juniors.

“My plan was to go with the main pack, but unfortunately I couldn’t quite hold the pace in the second half.”

In the women’s 20km Heather Lewis and Bethan Davies both set of in search of the British standard for Doha of 93:30.

Lewis finished 21st in 97:43, Davies was 25th in 99:02 and Erika Kelly was 40th in 1:47:58 on her GB debut as the team closed in eighth place.

The home crowd went home happy as Živilė Vaiciukevičiūtė took victory in 89:48 ahead of Spanish duo Laura García-Caro in 89:55 and Raquel González in 90:17.

In the men’s 50km, France’s world champion Yohann Diniz led from gun to tape to take victory in a championship record of 3:37:43. He lapped every other competitor twice apart from silver medallist Dzmitry Dziubin of Belarus (3:45:51) and João Vieira of Portugal in 3:46:51.

In the first ever women’s 50km, Eleonora Giorgi won in a European record of 4:04:50.

Julia Takacs of Spain set a national record of 4:05:46 for silver, with former world record-holder Inês Henriques in bronze in 4:13:57.

The under-20 women’s 10km was won by Turkey’s Meryem Bekmez in 43:57 ahead of her compatriot Evin Demir in 46:49.

Great Britain’s team silver saw them finish ninth in the medal table overall.

CONCORD, N.C. — Bubba Wallace hasn’t been having a lot of fun in the last few months.

A difficult start to the season, combined with financial woes at Richard Petty Motorsports, left Wallace doubting himself and his ability. He desperately needed something good to happen to lift his spirts and those of his No. 43 team.

On Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, good things happened for Wallace and Richard Petty Motorsports.

Wallace, who admitted he “didn’t give a damn,” muscled his way into the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race for the first time with a determined drive during the Monster Energy Open.

It wasn’t easy, but nothing ever is for Wallace, who has had to fight and scrape for nearly every opportunity he has gotten in racing. On this particular Saturday night, Wallace simply refused to lose.

“We needed this, I needed this,” Wallace lamented after racing into the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race. “It’s been tough.”

Strategy was the name of the game for Wallace and his crew chief Derek Stamets. When a caution flag waved with only a few laps left in the first stage of the Monster Energy Open, Stamets called for Wallace to stay out.

He lined up in the second row and pushed Kyle Larson into the lead, but Wallace wasn’t about to let Larson drive away. A tap to Larson’s bumper gave Wallace a run on the inside and somehow Wallace managed to complete the pass.

Unfortunately racing hard with Larson opened the door for fast-closing William Byron, who got to Wallace’s inside and beat him to the finish line to win the first stage and advance into the All-Star Race.

“I was pissed off. I was really pissed off after that. I let that one go. I thought that was it,” Wallace admitted.

But it wasn’t. Somehow, as if by divine intervention, Wallace got another opportunity in the second stage when Daniel Hemric and Ryan Preece crashed racing for third with two laps left.

“The caution came back out again, same scenario. I was like alright, ‘I’m going to get it this time.’ You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Wallace said.

Most of the field pitted and Stamets called for Wallace to stay out, setting him up to restart second alongside Alex Bowman. This time Wallace wasn’t going to let anyone take victory away from him.

He got a push from Daniel Suarez behind him to get out front, but Suarez wanted to win, too. Two laps of intense racing followed, with Wallace managing to best Suarez to hang onto the lead. Suarez tried his best to take the lead from Wallace exiting turn four on the last lap, but Wallace blocked the move and sent Suarez spinning through the infield.

Wallace won and advanced to the All-Star Race.

“Damn it feels good to win something,” Wallace acknowledged.

The joy was evident. Tears flowed and Wallace got a hug from his best friend, fellow NASCAR star Ryan Blaney, in the garage. But perhaps the most important thing that happened in the moments after his triumph in the Monster Energy Open came in a conversation with his mother, Desiree.

“The first thing my mom says to me after the Open, she walks up on the grid here and she’s like, ‘You know who that was, ya know? That was God. He’s not giving up on you yet,’” Wallace said. “I’ve realized that. As many dark moments as I’ve had and telling myself to give up, I know it’s like a broken record, but man it’s been tough. It’s been really tough to keep climbing in and keep going.”

Wallace returned to the track for the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, joining the sports top stars in a battle for a $1 million payday.

The native of Mobile, Ala., backed up his stunning run in the Monster Energy Open with a fifth-place result in the All-Star Race. He didn’t win the $1 million, but he left Charlotte Motor Speedway with a smile on his face and that might have been worth more than the money.

“I honestly haven’t had this much fun in a long time,” Wallace said. “I guess dating back to the Bristol spring race last year. Since then it’s been a struggle. It’s a big night for us. A big night of momentum.

“I’m showing teeth in my smile, so it says a lot.”

SALISBURY, N.C. – Though Tanner Holmes is known in racing circles as “The YouTube Kid” due to his popular vlog series, lately he’s begun gaining respect in the dirt sprint car world as well.

Holmes, who has regularly competed in outlaw karts over the past few years, has already won two winged 360ci sprint car features this season – a feather in the cap of the Oregon teenager as he works to build his burgeoning racing career.

The 15-year-old is hoping to add another notch to his resume on Wednesday night when he returns to outlaw kart racing for the sixth-annual QRC Speed51 Open presented by HMS Motorsport at Millbridge Speedway.

Holmes has made the 51-lap, $5,151-to-win feature each of the last two years, but he’s yet to finish inside the top 10 during the biggest race of the year at the sixth-mile, North Carolina dirt oval.

That’s a mark he’d like to fix with a victory at a track he said he “really enjoys coming to.”

“Trying to tame the North Carolina dirt isn’t an easy task, by any means, but I really love coming out east and taking a shot at it every year,” said Holmes. “Last year, we passed a ton of cars on Tuesday during the two-stroke show and just couldn’t quite translate that same speed into the big race on Wednesday. We ran somewhat well every night, but we just couldn’t catch the right breaks.

“This time around, I am shooting for a little bit of redemption, because I know we’re capable of running up front in the right circumstances.”

Holmes was quick to note that he has learned a lot about improving his outlaw kart skills since he began running his sprint car last year, even though the bigger car doesn’t drive the same as his kart does.

“It’s a double-edged sword when it comes to things translating from one car to the other, but the confidence factor is always a big thing,” explained Holmes. “Of course, it takes two different driving styles to be successful in sprint cars compared to outlaw karts, but I firmly believe that running both cars can and does help, especially when you’re coming back down from the sprint car to the outlaw karts.

“There’s a lot to learn when it comes to hitting your marks in a sprint car, and I think the karts are just a little bit less line-sensitive in that you can sometimes search around a little bit more with them,” he added. “Right now I feel really confident no matter which car I’m driving, and I feel like I’m as on my A-game as I’ve ever been. Now it’s about being smooth and keeping the speed up over the whole week.”

Holmes raced during the winter with the Red Bluff Outlaws, proving he’s found his place within the ultra-competitive Open division by finishing as the runner-up in the championship and visiting victory lane several times during the 13-race schedule.

“All winter long, we ran Red Bluff, and we really came out with a great result. To finish second in points behind Tyler Seavey is nothing to hang your head over, because he’s one of the best there is right now in outlaw-kart racing,” noted Holmes. “What I was really proud of was that we won three A-mains during the winter season, which gives me a lot of confidence going into the summer and a big race like this.

“I figured out a lot of consistency over the past few months, which was something that maybe I didn’t have as much of in the past, and I’m hoping that’s something that can help me going into this week.”

In addition to both nights of the QRC Speed51 Open at Millbridge, Holmes will also tackle the second-annual Clash at the Creek on Sunday night at nearby Mountain Creek Speedway as well.

The young gun is seeking a marquee victory to add to his resume, and he’s hoping that he’ll be able to have that at some point over the next four days of competition.

“I think it would be a huge breakthrough for me if I could get to victory lane during this North Carolina swing, because that big-time win is definitely something that I feel like I do need,” Holmes said. “No matter what night it comes in, if I could get to victory lane … there’s so many eyes on this four-day stretch and so many good competitors in the field that we’ll be racing against this week.

“I think we’ve got the car to do it and the team to do it with, so now it’s up to the driver to put myself in a good spot, make the right moves and see how it all shakes out.”

Practice for the QRC Speed51 Open presented by HMS Motorsport at Millbridge Speedway begins on Monday, May 20.

Feature racing takes place on both Tuesday, May 21 and Wednesday, May 22.