OAKLAND, Calif. -- Blake Griffin buried bank shots, turnaround jumpers and spinning layups. DeAndre Jordan gobbled up rebounds and opposing shots, often flexing his muscles and letting out a roar. The high-flying finishers who spawned the nickname "Lob City" are doing far more than dunking in the playoffs. The frontcourt tandem has carried the Clippers to a 2-1 lead in their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors, who have found no answer for either with centre Andrew Bogut out with a fractured right rib. "Just two animals out there just beastin right now," Clippers guard Darren Collison said. And both are finally performing in places they havent always flourished -- on defence, in the playoffs and at the most pivotal points of games. Since losing Game 1 in Los Angeles, Griffin has dominated David Lee and every other defender the Warriors have thrown his way. And Jordan -- who tied a franchise playoff record with 22 rebounds and five blocks in the Clippers 98-96 win in Game 3 on Thursday night -- has been the kind of rim protector coach Doc Rivers had long believed he could become. The two big men, both just 25 years old, have caused so much disruption that Warriors coach Mark Jackson said Friday hes considering changing his starting lineup for Game 4 on Sunday. The most likely swap would insert Draymond Green at power forward and push Lee to centre for Jermaine ONeal in a smaller, quicker lineup. "Weve got to figure out a way to present some resistance. I think things are going a little too smoothly for Blake," Jackson said during a light shootaround at Golden States downtown Oakland headquarters. Griffin has scored 32 and 35 points the past two games, respectively. Hes shooting 64 per cent from the floor in the series and has been at his best in the biggest spots. The All-Star power forward made five straight baskets -- three bank shots, a mid-range jumper and a short turnaround -- against Lee to open the third quarter in Game 3, part of a run that put the Clippers ahead by 18 points. "Just continuing to believe," Griffin said, speaking to reporters at the teams downtown San Francisco hotel Friday. "My teammates give me the confidence to go out there and shoot every time Im open." Lee promised hed be better against Griffin in Game 4. He has mostly been tasked with guarding Griffin by himself, though Jackson hinted more double-teams might be on the horizon. "Hes playing at a high level right now," Jackson said. "We forced him to be a jump shooter, and hes making jump shots. On the block, hes aggressive. Hes having an outstanding series capping off an outstanding year." While Griffins star has shined brightest, Jordan has been the insult-to-injury figure. The Warriors tried to lure Jordan away from Los Angeles in the summer of 2011, signing him to a four-year, $43 million offer sheet as a restricted free agent. Instead, the Clippers matched the deal. Now the Warriors -- who waived Jeremy Lin and amnestied Charlie Bell to make room for the offer -- can only watch Jordan make a major difference on defence while Bogut -- acquired in a trade with Milwaukee in March 2012 to be Golden States franchise centre -- sits out with another injury. Three years ago, though, Jordans game was not nearly what it is now. Jordan fell out of favour at times under former coach Vinny Del Negro, who was let go after the Clippers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of last years playoffs. Jordans rising game speaks to the Clippers commitment on defence under Rivers, who challenged the young centre to focus on rebounding and protecting the rim this season. Jordan finished third in voting for the NBAs defensive player of the year award behind winner Joakim Noah of Chicago and runner-up Roy Hibbert of Indiana. "These guys really rely on me a lot defensively, and when Im out there, they have all the confidence in the world in me," Jordan said. "So its definitely a huge step for me in my career, but at the same time, its always something to build on and its more motivation for me. As long as Im my teams defensive MVP, thats all that matters to me." Twins Jerseys China . Mission accomplished. Now the Royals will take the field on Saturday with a World Series lead for the first time in team history when they play Game 4 of the Fall Classic against the Giants at AT&T Park. Rod Carew Twins Jersey .Y. - Geno Smith still thinks of himself as the New York Jets starting quarterback. https://www.cheaptwins.com/1992t-kohl-st...rsey-twins.html. Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also listen to all the action live on TSN 1050 at 7pm et. The Knicks are two games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference race. David Ortiz Jersey . Dancevic won his singles match on Friday, defeating Go Soeda 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-1, to even the best-of-five series at a game apiece. World No. 18 Kei Nishikori defeated Peter Polansky in the opening match, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Ryne Harper Jersey .Y. -- Nothing seems to phase No.EASTBOURNE, England -- Victoria Azarenka was reasonably satisfied after losing her first match in more than three months, a three-setter in the first round of the Aegon Championships on Tuesday. Azarenka, the former No. 1 recovered from a left foot injury, lost 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to Camila Giorgi of Italy after 2 hours, 46 minutes. "Thats exactly what I wanted," Azarenka said. "I wanted to have a competitive match. I wanted to test myself, to play for a long time, see how my body is going to react. "Im pretty pleased with what happened. Obviously the result is the result, but thats a beginning. Its a starting point. There are a lot of positive things that I can take from what happened today." Third seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia was also beaten, going down 6-3, 6-3 against American Madison Keys, and second seed Petra Kvitova also struggled before beating fellow Czech Lucie Safarova 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (4), winning the last five points to claim victory on her third match point. Giorgi had previously demonstrated her grass-court skills by reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon as a qualifier in 2012, aand she was a third-round finisher last year.dddddddddddd Azarenka won the first set from 4-2 down. Giorgi took a 5-0 lead in the second, saving five break points at 4-0. In the final set, Giorgi failed to serve out the match at 5-4, but broke again at 6-5 when Azarenka netted a backhand, and closed out the match at her second opportunity. Despite her defeat, Azarenka believed she was almost ready to compete again at the highest level. "I was really happy that I was there for every single moment, for every single ball," she said. "I felt that my level of concentration was really high. I just have to get into that rhythm." In other matches, former champion Ekaterina Makarova defeated Italian qualifier Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-3, and seventh-seeded Italian Sara Errani was beaten 7-6 (5), 6-2 by American qualifier Lauren Davis. There were also wins for sixth seed Flavia Pennetta, Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, Britains Johanna Konta and American Varvara Lepchenko. In the ATP event, seventh seed Santiago Giraldo of Colombia was beaten 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3 by Jarkko Nieminen of Finland. ' ' '