said. "I tried to chase him and make it tough on him all

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- It had been 13 years since Jeff Gordons last victory at Michigan -- which came during the same season as his most recent championship on NASCARs top series. One of those droughts is finally over. Can the 43-year-old driver end the other as well? "Certainly things are going well -- theres no doubt about that," Gordon said. "Im as shocked as anybody else." Gordon raced to his third Sprint Cup victory of the year, holding off Kevin Harvick on Sunday for his first win at Michigan International Speedway since 2001. Gordon broke the track qualifying record Friday when he took the pole at 206.558 mph. He followed that up with his third Cup victory at MIS -- and took over the points lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. After a series of cautions, Gordon came off the final restart well and led with 16 laps remaining. He fought off a challenge from Joey Logano and maintained a comfortable margin over Harvick, winning the 400-mile race by 1.412 seconds in his No. 24 Chevrolet. "Joey, as we rolled up to some of the restarts -- not that last one, but some of the other ones -- as guys were starting to sort of anticipate it, he was slowing down, and when he slowed down, everybody got bottled up, and then hed take off," Gordon said. "That last one, I thought he had a good start, but I had a good one, too." Harvick was second, followed by Logano, Paul Menard and Earnhardt. Gordon completed a sweep at MIS for Hendrick. Jimmie Johnson won the June race on the two-mile oval. "I think all of our teams are running well, but this is a big, big win," owner Rick Hendrick said. "Its great to see Jeff so happy. Hes like a little kid again, so I think its going to be really, really important for the momentum hes carrying right now into the Chase." Logano was second to Gordon in qualifying. He led 86 laps and Gordon was in front for 68. "We can win a championship. I really feel we can do that. Thats the message I want to put out there," Logano said. "Weve got to find a little bit more speed to keep up with one car today -- 24 car was the best, only because he was good on the long run. We werent as good on the long run. There were eight cautions, including a fairly early one when Danica Patricks car spun and Justin Allgaier crashed into her. Nine cars were caught up in that incident, including Matt Kenseths No. 20 Toyota. Kenseth never really recovered, finishing 38th. Brad Keselowski rubbed against the wall with about 32 laps remaining and finished eighth, remaining winless at this track in his home state. Johnson overcame some problems of his own to finish ninth, his first top-10 showing in six races. Jeff Burton was 37th after replacing Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car. Stewart skipped his second straight Cup race after he struck and killed a driver at a dirt-track race in New York last weekend. Hendrick and Stewart-Haas Racing are alliance teams. Hendrick said he hasnt talked to Stewart, but hes been in touch with Eddie Jarvis, Stewarts longtime business manager. "I think theyre making the best of the situation that theyre in," Hendrick said. "Tonys got a lot of good folks around him." Gordon won for the 91st time on the Cup circuit, and this is his first three-win season since 2011. He took over the lead in the standings by three points over Earnhardt. Gordon also won this season at Kansas and Indianapolis. "As a driver, especially somebody thats been getting beat up over the years about restarts, its pretty nice to have the last two wins come down to restarts." Assuming they attempt to qualify for the final three races of the regular-season, the 12 drivers with victories this season have all wrapped up spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Kenseth remains the top driver without a victory in the standings, but he dropped to fifth place. If the regular season ended now, the last four drivers in the Chase would be Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle. Bowyer and Biffle both moved ahead of rookie Kyle Larson, whose car caught fire against the wall just before the halfway point. Larson ended up 43rd. Bowyer finished sixth but sounded concerned about his situation. "Were behind, theres no question. We just did what we needed to do today," he said. "Right now, everything has to be perfect to get a decent finish and today everything was perfect. This is a tricky part of the season. Everybody is pushing hard." Jesper Fast Rangers Jersey . Bryant underwent an operation in December to correct an irregular heartbeat. His season ended with four games left because of a rapid heartbeat, a condition he has known about for several years and had been treated for in the past. Brett Howden Jersey . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. http://www.rangershockeyonlineshop.com/mark-messier-hockey-jersey/ . He had even more fun Friday. Coming off a sensational rookie season, Spieth opened the new year by never coming close to bogey and making a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 7-under 66. Jeff Beukeboom Rangers Jersey .J. -- Kyle Palmieri thrilled his personal rooting section with an overtime winner that sent the Anaheim Ducks to their seventh straight win. Tie Domi Jersey . Clevelands manager had just watched his team lose 5-3 to Kansas City, which completed a 2-6 homestand and dropped the Indians 2 1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central. ATLANTA -- Kyle Korver said Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer "laid into us" at halftime. The response from Korver and the Hawks, especially in the third quarter, earned postgame praise from the first-year coach. Korver scored 24 points, including a trio of 3-pointers in a third-quarter stretch that gave Atlanta the lead, and the Hawks overcame Kevin Loves 43 points to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-113 on Saturday night. Korver hit each of his four shots and had 12 points in the third, when the Hawks outscored the Timberwolves 38-21. "I thought the guys responded," Korver said. "Obviously, it was a great third quarter for us. Hopefully he doesnt have to talk to us like that all the time. It worked tonight." Budenholzer said defence sparked Atlantas comeback from an 11-point deficit in the second period. "I think the third quarter tonight was something we can reference going forward on how we want to play, particularly defensively, to hold them to 21 points in a quarter with the way they can score," Budenholzer said. Budenholzer said guard DeMarre Carroll, who had 19 points, "set a defensive tone for us and I think everybody else follows that." Paul Millsap, guarded by Love much of the night in a matchup of All-Stars, had 20 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Even with the dominant third quarter, the Hawks had to hold on late. A jam by Minnesotas Corey Brewer with 2:55 remaining cut Atlantas lead to 107-104. Jeff Teague, who had 19 points, drove for a layup and Carrolls free throws pushed the lead to seven points. Loves 3-pointer again trimmed the margin to three before Atlantas Gustavo Ayon banked in an unlikely scoop shot to thwart the comeback attempt. Love, who grabbed 19 rebounds while playing with a sore left ankle, had 21 points in the final period and finished two points shy of his season high. "I didnt even know I had (43) to be honest," Love said. "I think (Kevin Martin) told me after the game. I was just trying to get us back in the game by any means. My teammates set me up with a lot of good shots but, yeah, a loss right now, its just tough.dddddddddddd" Love said the Timberwolves missed centre Nikola Pekovic, who sat out his third straight game with bursitis in his right ankle. Pekovic could have been especially important against the undersized Hawks. "To not have Peck in a game like this, really the last (three) games, its really tough, just because he takes up so much space," Love said. "Youre having to make up for 20 points and 10 rebounds." Martin had 17 points for the Timberwolves (23-24), who fell under .500 with their second straight loss. Korver, guarded closely by Brewer much of the game, missed his only 3-point attempt in the first half. Korver finally broke free to sink his first 3 with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter for a 60-all tie, extending his NBA record to 115 consecutive games with a 3. Korver added another 3-pointer about a minute later and sank his third with 4:20 remaining in the quarter, giving Atlanta a 73-62 lead. "Once he got one, its tough," Brewer said. "I tried to chase him and make it tough on him all night. ... But hes a great shooter. He has the record for a reason." Minnesota opened the final period with quick 3s by J.J. Barea and Alexey Shved to trim Atlantas lead to 86-81. Barea was ejected with 6:43 remaining. He was called for a technical foul on Minnesotas end of the court and argued his case at the other end, stepping inside the 3-point arc before finally being tossed as Korver was setting up for a free throw. NOTES: Millsap fouled out with 4:19 remaining. ... Ricky Rubio had 11 assists for Minnesota. ... The Hawks signed F Cartier Martin to a 10-day contract and he was active to start his second stint with the team. He appeared in 25 games with the Hawks before he was waived on Jan. 7 and then signed two 10-day contracts with the Bulls. ... The Hawks played their first home game since Wednesday nights game against Detroit was postponed until April 8 due to the winter storm that paralyzed the city. ' ' '