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L.A. Clippers?forward Paul Pierce announced Monday via The Players Tribune that he will return for his 19th season, then retire.This is it, my final season, Pierce said. Its time to move on from the game of basketball. Just like any difficult decision, I think youve got to be at peace with yourself. Im at peace with retiring, but Ive got one more ride left. One more season. One more opportunity.Pierce, who turns 39 in October, said he felt uncertainty about coming back for 2016-17 because of the grind of another NBA offseason. But upon contemplating the Clippers first-round playoff loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, he said unfinished business pulled him back to Los Angeles for another title run.I think why not give it one more shot, especially the way we went out of the playoffs, the injuries, Pierce said at Clippers media day Monday. Obviously, youve got to be good, youve got to be lucky, but I just want to just give it one more shot.Like I said, to win a championship here for the Los Angeles Clippers would be monumental, and if I can be a part of that, thats something I thought about, and thats something that drove me from August, starting in August on.Clippers coach Doc Rivers addressed Pierces decision to make this season his last as an NBA player.Paul has meant a lot to me, obviously, said Rivers, who won an NBA title with Pierce in Boston in 2008. When you win a title with someone, just like him and KG [Kevin Garnett] and the whole group, youre connected with that person, those people for the rest of your lives, and you should be.Earlier this month, Rivers said Pierce was on the fence about returning for another season but that he believed Pierce has something left in the tank.Pierce played the first 15 seasons of his career in Boston, nine of them for Rivers.Rivers recruited Pierce to Los Angeles last season as a veteran presence with knowledge of how to win an NBA championship, hoping he would be the final piece to push the Clippers over the top. But injuries to All-Stars?Blake Griffin and Chris Paul led to a first-round postseason exit.Paul is not going to be in a lot of highlights, but when you watch how he played, and fundamentally how well he played, I think thats actually what kids should really watch, is how he did it without using his athleticism that he actually has, Rivers said.Pierce has averaged 20.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in his career. After his Boston tenure, he spent one season with the Brooklyn Nets, another with the Washington Wizards and last year with the Clippers. He averaged 6.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last season.With the Clippers, in the city where I grew up, I feel like I have that opportunity on a great team,?Pierce wrote Monday. Were hungry. We want to win a championship.After 18 NBA years, its hard to believe Ill be playing in each arena for the last time. So Im going to enjoy every practice, every bus ride, every team dinner, every time running out through the tunnel. Im going to do my part to give us a shot at the ultimate goal.Pierce was the No. 10 pick out of Kansas in the 1998 NBA draft. The 10-time All-Star is currently 16th on the NBA all-time scoring list with 26,316 points.Ive been in the NBA 18 years, but Ive been playing basketball, like, 30 years, Pierce said Monday. Its hard to walk away from that, but like most homes, you get that 30-year mortgage. Ive paid it off, so its time to ride off into the sunset. Cheap Steph Curry Shoes . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Steph Curry Shoes For Sale . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. https://www.stephencurryshoescheap.com/ . 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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Andy Reid has been around long enough to know that focusing on the playoffs with three games left in the regular season is foolish, a trap that can derail a team capable of much bigger things.He also knows something about human nature.So, try as he might to stop his Chiefs from pondering what the future could hold on Sunday, the old coach reluctantly acknowledged that everybody on his sideline will be well aware of the stakes.Probably everyone on the Tennessee sideline, too.I know its an important time of the year. I know that. And if youre in the hunt, every game becomes an important game, right? Reid asked. If you can just keep it that simple from a coach and player standpoint, youre doing OK. Its going to get blown up around you, but we dont talk about it.The Chiefs (10-3), tied atop the AFC West after last weeks win over Oakland, are among three teams that can clinch a playoff spot this week. Beating the Titans is the easiest way, but they could back into a playoff spot if things break their way in games involving Denver, Pittsburgh and Miami.But there is more at stake than just the playoffs, which is why Reid and Co. are focused solely on beating the red-hot Titans. They still believe they can earn a first-round bye and the AFCs No. 2 seed.Theres a lot of incentives to put on this game, Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said. You want a ticket to the dance. You cant win it unless you get in, so you want to clinch it, for sure.There are nearly as many incentives for the Titans (7-6), who are tied with Houston atop the AFC South. But while the Chiefs are almost certain to make the playoffs as a wild-card if they cant hold off Oakland in the division, the Titans only hope for the postseason may be as a division champ.I know they know the big picture, Titans coach Mike Mularkey said, echoing his counterpart, but Im going to keep them on the same picture weve been on that weve got to win this game. We have to win. We have to go to a tough environment in Kansas City, a team thats playing extremely well, and weve got to win this game or everything else is irrelevant.As two playoff contenders prepare to tangle at Arrowhead Stadium, here are some key story lines:BUNDLE UP: The Chiefs-Raiders game Thursday night ended with temperatures in the low-20s, and thats going too feel balmy.dddddddddddd Snow is in the forecast on Saturday with temps at kickoff Sunday in the low-teens.Probably one of my last college games at Oregon, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota said, it got down into the high-20s. So this will be the coldest game Ive played, for sure.RUN, RUN, RUN: The Titans roll into the game with the leagues third-best rushing offense, buoyed by DeMarco Murrays resurgent season and Derrick Henrys increased role in the offense. And theyll be facing a Chiefs defense missing linebacker Derrick Johnson, who ruptured his Achilles tendon last week.Next man up. Thats what happened with me, Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston said. They played the first eight games this season without me and they did a great job. So its next man up. Im going to pray for him and hope he stays strong. I know hell stay strong. But the next man needs to be prepared.SPEAKING OF RUNNING: The Chiefs have struggled to run the ball for weeks, and much of the shine has worn off Spencer Ware, who was a fantasy football darling through the first six weeks.Its not one person, one scheme. Its been hit or miss on all the different schemes, Reid said. We can tighten it up, and we can give the players some things that might be a little better for what they do.TYREEK THE FREAK: Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill was the AFC special teams player of the week after his punt return touchdown against Oakland. He also caught a TD pass in the game. And with a kick return TD and a TD run, hes the first rookie since Gale Sayers to score each of those ways.I have to give a shoutout to my brothers out there on the field fighting for me, doing everything that theyre supposed to do, Hill said. Without those guys, I wouldnt be standing here in front of you.RED ZONE EFFICIENCY: The Titans are among the best in the NFL at scoring touchdowns in the red zone, while the Chiefs are among the worst. Mariota has thrown 32 TD passes without a pick in those spots.He has a very quick release and theres not a lot of room for error down there, a lot of tight windows, Mularkey said, and I think hes been very good with that.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '