OAKLAND, Calif. -- His spirits down, his left ankle limp and his teams season hanging in the balance, Stephen Curry wondered whether he could recover for the biggest game of his career until a text message popped up on his phone around 2 a.m. Saturday. Curry called back his mother, Sonya, and vented his frustrations about his latest -- and most inopportune -- injury setback. Finally, she spoke up to calm his concerns. "She just reminded me and battled tested me to rely on my teammates and support," Curry said. What followed was a Mothers Day masterpiece. Curry scored 22 points to go with six rebounds and four assists on a bum ankle, rallying the Golden State Warriors past the San Antonio Spurs 97-87 in overtime Sunday to even the Western Conference semifinal at two games apiece. "It seems like every time you get on a roll and feel somewhat healthy theres a setback," said Curry, who shot 7 of 15 from the floor, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range. "And it just tests you. It changes your routine. It changes your outlook on the game, your preparation. Youve got to deal with the injury and the adjustments your making as a team." Game 5 is Tuesday in San Antonio. Curry and the Warriors overcame the obstacles with contributions from all over. Rookie Harrison Barnes had a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds, Jarrett Jack added 24 points in reserve and Andrew Bogut grabbed 18 rebounds to help Golden State erase an eight-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation. The Warriors scored the first nine points of overtime to whip the yellow-shirt wearing crowd of 19,596 into a frenzy and give this topsy-turvy series yet another twist. Even Warriors coach Mark Jackson doubted whether Curry could play, especially after his star point guard took an anti-inflammatory injection in the morning to ease the soreness in his sprained ankle and still had trouble getting loose. Jackson cornered Curry outside the chapel service at the arena to see how he felt. "He said, Im going to give you what I got, coach, Thats not the language he speaks. I knew right away that he was not 100 per cent," said Jackson, who conferred with general manager Bob Myers in his office before letting Curry play. "Once again, its that same spirit flowing through that locker room that refuses to quit." Even for all of the theatre Curry provided, the Spurs seized control of a sloppy slugfest at the start until going cold shooting when it mattered most. Tony Parker, wearing a black sleeve around his bruised left calf, poured in 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting but never broke free the way he did in scoring 32 points the previous contest, saying the injury limited his ability to elevate. Manu Ginobili had 21 points and Tim Duncan added 19 points and 15 rebounds as the Spurs ran out of steam in the end. "We put ourselves in a position to win the game and its frustrating because we feel like we gave it away," Duncan said. Golden State outshot San Antonio 38 to 35.5 to per cent. The Warriors also outrebounded the Spurs 65-51. "They did a good job in overtime. Just as simple as that," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Ginobili hit a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer, and Kawhi Leonard put back a rebound for an easy layup to put the Spurs ahead 80-72 with 4:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. With the series slipping away from the Warriors, their home sellout crowd sat down and fell silent for one of the few times in the fourth quarter all post-season. Jack hit three jumpers and Klay Thompson added another to pull the Warriors even with less than a minute to play in regulation. After Parker provided a jumper to put the Spurs ahead 84-82, Thompson dribbled to his right and banked in the tying shot over Leonard with 30 seconds left. Both teams missed shots to win in regulation, and the Warriors turned the extra session into a runaway. Curry capped the overtime spurt with a floating layup, drawing a foul on Duncan to begin a three-point play that gave Golden State a 93-84 lead. San Antonio missed its first nine shots -- and two free throws by Danny Green -- to start overtime until Greens corner 3 with 1:29 remaining. By then, it was too late -- Curry had taken control again. "Hes a player that you may see him playing one leg, one arm, and you got to guard him," Ginobili said. "So you got to respect him. He can really go off at any time." The upstart Warriors are once again on the brink of something big. The franchise hadnt won two games beyond the first round since 1977, when it pulled even with the Lakers in the conference semifinals through four games before losing in seven. This time, all the odds seemed against them again. The tight turnaround from Friday nights game to the early afternoon start Sunday surely didnt help Currys cause. Curry clearly favoured his left ankle and never showed any burst off the dribble, often getting face-guarded by Spurs defenders and taken out of the offence. Some of his teammates even wondered whether hed respond. "Watching him warm up, I said, Man, theres no way this kid is playing," Jack said. "Then watching him run around on one leg, he looked like Isiah Thomas against the Lakers in the finals, man. The performance he put on down the stretch, making plays, making shots, defensively, I sat back and was honestly in awe." With Curry quieted on the perimeter early and Bogut benched in foul trouble most of the first half, the Warriors missed 13 straight shots and went scoreless for 7:10. The Spurs scored 14 unanswered points during that spurt, Ginobili made his first four 3s and the Spurs later took a 41-30 lead midway through the second quarter on Greens put-back dunk. The Warriors had been 0-3 when trailing after three quarters this post-season until Curry and company came back. Curry hadnt checked in with his family when he spoke to reporters while soaking his feet in a bucket of ice in the locker room afterward. But he knew they were all watching from North Carolina with his brother, Seth, who was graduating from Duke. "It was," he said, "a big day for the Currys." NOTES: The Warriors had never hosted an overtime playoff game in the Bay Area. ... It was the most points Ginobili had scored since he had 21 against New Orleans on Jan. 7. ... Game 6 is Thursday in Oakland and Game 7, if necessary, would be in San Antonio on Sunday. Kurt Warner White Jersey . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. Brandon Williams Color Rush Jersey . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. http://www.arizonacardinalsshoponline.com/ . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Christian Kirk Jersey Cardinals . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Arizona Cardinals Apparel Clearance . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. DALLAS -- Dede Westbrook had three touchdown catches longer than 40 yards while setting an Oklahoma single-game record with 232 yards receiving, and the No. 20 Sooners held on for a 45-40 victory over Texas in the Red River rivalry on Saturday.Samaje Perine added 214 yards and two touchdowns rushing on 35 carries for the Sooners (3-2, 2-0 Big 12), who rolled up 672 total yards against Longhorn coach Charlie Strongs beleaguered defense.Texas (2-3, 0-2) led after two long TD passes by freshman quarterback Shane Buechele in the first 4 1/2 minutes after halftime. But Oklahoma went ahead for good when Baker Mayfields 4-yard TD run, right after his 51-yard completion to Dahu Green, made it 28-27.Mayfield was 22-of-31 passing for 390 yards and easily made up for two early interceptions with the three TDs to Westbrook .Donta Foreman ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns for Texas.TAKEAWAYSOklahoma: While far from perfect (four turnovers that Texas turned into only 3 points), the Sooners are off to a good start in their pursuit of a 10th Big 12 title. The Sooners are also on the way to overcoming the disappointment of those two early non-conference losses that quickly eliminated any realistic chance of returning to the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row.dddddddddddd Mayfield and Westbrook have developed quite a connection (five touchdowns, all of at least 40 yards, in two Big 12 games).Texas: A loss increases the heat on Strong, who is now calling the defensive plays. The Longhorns have given up more than 40 points in four games this season, and now have allowed more than 500 yards in three consecutive games. But the Longhorns need to keep taking shots down the field with Buechele, who had TD passes of 63 yards (to Devin Duvernay) and 45 yards (to Dorian Leonard) in the second half.UP NEXTOklahoma: The Sooners are home next Saturday for another 11 a.m. kickoff, against Kansas State.Texas: The Longhorns are home for the first time since Sept. 10 when they host Iowa State next Saturday. ' ' '