Al Horford and Jae Crowder are close to returning for the Boston Celtics. Whether those two starters get back in action on Saturday remains a major question mark.Both remained sidelined on Friday, when the Celtics were defeated at home by Golden State, 104-88. Horford missed his ninth consecutive game with a concussion, while Crowder sat out for the eighth straight contest with a sprained left ankle.The Celtics complete a back-to-back at the Detroit Pistons home venue, The Palace of Auburn HillsCoach Brad Stevens said Horford and Crowder, who comprise two-thirds of Bostons frontcourt, will accompany the team on its three-game road trip. Theyll also make stops in Minnesota (Monday) and Brooklyn (Wednesday).Al had by far his best day (Thursday), Stevens said. He did some three-on-three, some one-on-one, went up and down, and felt pretty good. Hopefully, barring no setbacks, were closer than further with him.Boston has another injury concern as guard Marcus Smart left Fridays game with a left ankle bruise. The Celtics (6-6) shot 37.3 percent from the field in the loss.Weve got 70 games left, Stevens said in his postgame press conference. We havent played a game yet without (at least) two of our top eight rotation guys (out).Golden State outscored Boston 31-9 in the third quarter.Theyre really good, and we all know that, but you just cant have droughts against them, Stevens said.Point guard Isaiah Thomas expressed irritation that he only played 28 minutes, scoring a team-high 18 points.We went into panic mode, he told the Boston Globe. We gave up.The Pistons (6-7) are the only unbeaten team at home this season at 5-0. Theyve won by double digits each time while holding every opponent under 90 points.Theyve been a completely different club on the road with a 1-7 mark. They were blown out 104-81 by the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.Detroit was held to 31.2 percent shooting by the Cavaliers and none of its starters reached double figures.We got crushed, coach Stan Van Gundy said with disgust. They played harder than us, they played better than us, they moved the ball better, they played better together, they defended better, they did everything better.Van Gundy indicated he would consider changing the starting lineup. The Pistons were down 30-19 after the first quarter.We didnt get enough good looks and they challenged everything around the rim, he said. I give them all the credit. They played a lot harder than we did. We were just awful.One silver lining for the Pistons -- they play their next four games at home after being on the road six of the last seven games. Their only home game during the past two weeks was a 104-88 victory over Oklahoma City on Monday.Boston and Detroit were evenly matched last season, splitting their four-game season series. Every game was decided by seven points or less. Thomas averaged 23.5 points and 8.3 assists in those games. Robin Ventura Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. Custom Chicago White Sox Jerseys . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. http://www.whitesoxteamshop.com/White-Sox-Joe-Crede-Kids-Jersey/ . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Yoan Moncada Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Jeff Keppinger Jersey . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. PITTSBURGH -- Francisco Liriano doesnt like to think about what might have been. At the moment, the present is so sweet theres no use focusing on the past. The veteran left-handers renaissance hit a new high in Pittsburghs 5-0 win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night. Liriano (9-3) scattered four hits over seven innings, striking out six and walking one to lower his ERA to a scant 2.00 as the Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak. The victory capped a remarkable first half for the former All-Star whose career hasnt been the same since reconstructive elbow surgery six years ago. At last, it seems, at age 29 he is all the way back. Not that he wants to talk about it. "I dont think about 06 at all," Liriano said. "I just try to learn how to pitch, how to move on." That includes trying to stay focused during a lengthy rain delay of nearly three hours. When Liriano finally took the mound at soggy PNC Park just before 10 p.m., he didnt waste time. Attacking the strike zone relentlessly, Liriano kept the AL West-leading As off-balance all night. "He set the tone, he dominated," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "He was just on top of his game." And the Pirates didnt let it go to waste. Pedro Alvarez went 2 for 4 and drove in two runs for Pittsburgh. Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Jose Tabata also had two hits each as the Pirates beat Oakland for the first time. Pittsburgh came in 0-11 against the As since interleague play began in 1997, but broke loose against Tommy Milone (8-8). The Pirates managed just six runs total during a four-game slide that dropped them behind St. Louis in the battle for first in the NL Central but nearly matched that total on a night they went 5 for 9 with runners in scoring position, heady territory for a team that came in hitting just .226 with runners on second or third this season. "I think we did a pretty good job of consistently pressing them and attacking them," Alvarez said. A little help is all baseballs top pitching staff needs these days. Pittsburghs 13th shutout lowered its team ERA to 3.09, easily the best in baseball. Lirianos perfformance marked the 24th time in 25 games a starter has allowed three earned runs or fewer.dddddddddddd "Im just trying to learn how to go out there every fifth day and make pitches," Liriano said. He made enough to cool off the surging As. Oakland had won 10 of 13 to vault over Texas and into the lead in the AL West but Milone struggled with his command. The left-hander was coming off a season-high 8 1-3 innings of work in a win over Kansas City last week. He didnt make it out of the third inning as Pittsburghs offence showed signs of life. Marte doubled leading off the third, and Tabata followed with an RBI double. McCutchen drove Tabata home with a single, and Alvarez followed two batters later with a single to centre that scored McCutchen. That was enough for Milone, who needed 80 pitches to get through 2 2-3 innings. "They were doing a good job of putting the ball in play and falling," Milone said. "And even though they werent hit very hard, you always give yourself a chance when you put the ball in play and thats what they were doing." He was replaced by Pat Neshek, who made his first appearance since June 29. The rust showed. Pittsburgh tacked on two more runs in the fourth to give Liriano all the cushion he would need to cap a remarkable first half for one of baseballs best comeback stories. "I like the way Ive been pitching and the way weve all been playing," Liriano said. "Right now, were in good position to make the playoffs and we want to continue playing like that in the second half and hopefully make the post-season." NOTES: Former Oakland first-round draft pick Sonny Gray made his major league debut in the fifth inning. The right-handed pitcher, called up from Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, tossed two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three. ... The Pirates begin a three-game series on Friday at home against the New York Mets. Charlie Morton (1-2, 3.38 ERA) starts for the Pirates against Jeremy Hefner (4-6, 3.39). ... Oakland ends the first half of the season at home against the Boston Red Sox. Jarrod Parker (6-6, 4.04) starts for the As. Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap NFL T-shirts Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys White Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo Wholesale Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Outlet Cheap Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Hoodies Camo China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo NFL Jerseys China ' ' '