Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon has agreed to a three-year, $54.5 million contract extension that will take him through the 2022-23 season, league sources told ESPN on Friday night.

Gordon's deal -- which starts with the 2020-21 season -- includes a $20.9 million season in 2023-24 that would become guaranteed if Gordon makes an All-Star team or if the Rockets win an NBA championship during the course of the deal, league sources said.

The Houston Chronicle first reported an extension had been reached.

Gordon, 30, was entering the final year of his contract in 2019-20, which is worth $14 million.

Gordon has averaged nearly 17 points in his three seasons with the Rockets, including an NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.

Gordon is part of a nucleus that includes James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Clint Capela that's expected to compete with the elite in the Western Conference.

DARLINGTON, S.C. – One of the more iconic throwback paint schemes in this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series field came courtesy of a driver who didn’t necessarily expect to be running the livery at Darlington Raceway.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones rolled out a Gray Ghost-themed No. 19 Mojo Outdoor/iK9 Toyota Supra for practice on Friday at the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval, paying homage to the late Buddy Baker’s 1980 Daytona 500-winning Oldsmobile that terrorized the competition during that time.

Baker drove that machine for Ranier Racing, while Jones is in his second season with JGR in the Xfinity Series. Sponsor iK9 actually brought the idea to run Baker’s Gray Ghost throwback to driver and team.

“Man, this thing looks pretty cool,” Jones told SPEED SPORT. “I didn’t question it at all whenever they (the iK9 representatives) mentioned that (as a throwback). We had a few ideas, but that was the one they liked. … Going back and looking at some of the cars of the past, not many of them had a name, you know? There were very few that gained a name and a reputation like that Gray Ghost of Buddy’s did. It’s a pretty cool, iconic car that we get to race in honor of Buddy and I’m excited to be able to do that here this weekend.”

A fairly-avid history buff when it comes to auto racing, Jones couldn’t hold back a grin when asked what Darlington means to him as a younger driver.

“I’m a guy who loves Westerns and I love back in the day, old timey stuff,” he said. “So it’s cool to see the throwback stuff and how into it the fans get. You know, I love the big trucker hats everybody shows up with, and it honestly educates me as a younger driver. I didn’t grow up in this era, so I’ve had to kind of go back and research some of these cars … and I’ve actually started finding out a bunch of stuff.

“This type of thing does push you towards that a little bit, and it’s sometimes pretty cool to find out some stuff that maybe you didn’t know or didn’t realize before. But this place is special, no doubt.”

Jones was a disappointing 16th in the opening hour of practice on Friday, but rose up the order to eighth in final practice and picked up a tenth of a second in the process, despite a track-temperature increase.

“Gray Ghost was not too bad on the track this afternoon, even though we did a few more laps than we wanted to (in) that first practice,” Jones noted. “You know, there’s only so much you can learn on a set of tires here; it obviously chews them up really bad. It gets really slick, and we had really hot temperatures today as well, which was pretty difficult to grasp the handle of the track during.

“I’m looking forward to the weekend, though,” he continued. “This is always a tough track that we come to on the schedule, but one that’s way different and fun as well. I enjoy racing here.”

Though he started to get things clicking with his team, Jones admitted that Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts/VFW 200 will pose plenty of unknowns, and he isn’t sure just yet what the key to victory will be.

“Darlington … it’s a weird track,” said Jones. “I mentioned that it tears tires up so much, but at the same time, you don’t want to give up any track position and you really want to have to run the tires off of it every stage and chance that you get. It’s a fine line between success and failure. You know, you go out there and you look like Superman for a while and then, there comes somebody that passes you who saved their tires some.”

So who has Jones leaned on to figure things out as he chases his first Darlington victory?

“I’ve been watching Kevin Harvick’s onboard (footage) some from last year,” he tipped. “I think that was a help. We’ll see how much I learned when it comes down to race time, but I think we’ll be in the mix.”

If he is, his throwback paint scheme might just evoke memories of the old days that Jones is so fond of, when Baker would stealthily sneak up on the competition thanks to a car that was said to blend into the asphalt at full speed.

“Hopefully they won’t see us coming and we can take a trophy back home with us,” Jones smiled.

Jones’ Gray Ghost throwback is not the first car in recent years that has nodded to Baker’s iconic color scheme.

After Dale Earnhardt Jr. was forced to sit out the second half of the 2016 season with a concussion, Jeff Gordon drove Earnhardt’s Baker-inspired No. 88 Chevrolet during Darlington’s throwback weekend on Labor Day weekend in 2016.

Earnhardt then brought the livery back in October of 2017 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

INDIANAPOLIS – Brittany Force powered her way to the provisional No. 1 spot in Top Fuel on Friday during the 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the final regular-season race of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

Force, who is seeking her first Indy win, ran 3.670 seconds at 327.27 mph in her Advance Auto Parts dragster to take the top spot. If the run, which was just off the track record at Indy, holds, it would give Force her sixth No. 1 qualifier of 2019 and 16th in her career. Defending world champion and points leader Steve Torrence was the only other driver to reach the 3.60 second bracket, going 3.688 seconds at 323.81 mph to sit second. His father, Billy, is third as he tries to break into the top 10 this weekend.

“It definitely felt fast,” Force said. “We went right down the track and put an awesome number on the board. It was a pretty awesome run, but the next two days are going to be the important ones setting us up for Monday. We’re really looking for consistency because that’s where we’ve been struggling, so this is a good start to the weekend and we’re very happy with that. I want to win here. I’ve been coming here since I was a baby and it’s on my bucket list.”

Funny Car’s Beckman, who is after his first win of the year, drove his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to an impressive 3.875-second pass at 328.46 mph. It would give Beckman, the 2015 Indy winner, his first No. 1 qualifier this year and 25th in his career if it holds.

His Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps, who won the most recent race in Brainerd, is second, while J.R. Todd, the defending and back-to-back Indy winner, sits third.

In Pro Stock, Line went 6.570 seconds at 209.62 mph to take the No. 1 spot in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro. Line, who won the most recent event in Brainerd, is aiming for his second-straight and third overall top qualifier of the season, and 56th in his career. Erica Enders, the runner-up at Brainerd, is second after Friday, while points leader Bo Butner is third.

Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Hines raced to the top spot on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson, going 6.864 seconds at 194.63 mph. It would give Hines, a seven-time winner this year, his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and 45th in his career. Defending world champion Matt Smith is currently second and Jerry Savoie sits third.

In the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service, three-time world champ Rickie Smith took the top spot on Friday with a run of 5.746 seconds at 251.95 mph in his Camaro.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Championship hopeful Dalton Gauthier scored a critical victory in Friday night’s Springfield Short Track to claim sole possession of the Roof Systems AFT Singles presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys points lead.

The action at the Illinois State Fairgrounds was every bit as tense and frenetic as one would expect an Roof Systems AFT Singles Short Track showdown to be. In the midst of a tight title fight with three races remaining on the American Flat Track calendar, and serving as a microcosm of the season to date, while a handful of riders enjoyed their moments in the spotlight. Ultimately it all came down to Gauthier and reigning class champion Dan Bromley.

Former AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines standout Chad Cose stormed to the holeshot and threatened to break free of the chaos before anyone else had an opportunity to react. However, Gauthier rolled forward on the momentum he had built up all day long when he ran quickest in both qualifying sessions and ripped to heat and semi victories.

Gauthier first slashed ahead of Spanish dirt track hero Ferran Cardús to move into third and then ran up the inside of Bromley to take over second on lap seven. By lap 10, he was hounding Cose inside and outside, applying heavy pressure wherever possible in hopes of prompting a mistake.

That mistake came on lap 13. Gauthier squared up Cose and the two very nearly came together on the short straight as Gauthier slid ahead into first. Once clear, the new leader was able to call on his superior pace to pull open just enough of a gap to negate the possibility of a potential last-lap Hail Mary.

Title rival Bromley was going in the opposite direction, dropping down to fourth after he was also overhauled by Peoria TT winner Dallas Daniels.

Sixteen-year-old prodigy Daniels had earned the pole but was shuffled back to seventh early. Undeterred, he clawed his way through the fray, not only edging ahead of Bromley but lining up Cose for the runner-up position.

Desperate to minimize the championship damage done by another Gauthier victory, Bromley turned in a clutch sequence of his own. With time running out, the defending champ dove up the inside of Daniels and Cose in two consecutive corners to leap up from fourth to second in one short lap. From there he held on to the checkered flag to remain within five points of Gauthier for the Roof Systems AFT Singles championship lead (241-236).

The victory was Gauthier’s third of the season.

“It’s huge. Coming into these last few races, it’s anyone’s game,” said Gauthier. I’m trying to get in front of Dan as much as I can, but he’s running strong. We’re having fun.

“Chad rode a really great race. It took me a few laps to catch him, but he was riding defensively. I just waited. I knew I had a few laps to go so I just waited for the mistake. He made one, and we got pretty close, but it was clean racing.”

Daniels secured his second consecutive podium, in third, in what was just his sixth-career AFT outing, while Cose ended up one spot off the box after leading the majority of the laps.

Meanwhile, Mikey Rush kept his championship aspirations alive in fifth. While the bulk of the focus is understandably on Gauthier and Bromley, Rush remains very much in contention. He’s within striking distance — 25 points back of the lead (216) — with a Half-Mile and two Miles left to decide the 2019 crown.

Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini will have surgery for a torn right ACL he suffered during training on Friday, the club have announced.

No timetable has been given for a return to action for the 35-year-old defender, whose contract expires next summer.

"During today's training, the captain reported distortion of his right knee and a lesion of the anterior cruciate ligament," Juventus said in a statement.

"The diagnostic tests performed at JMedical showed the lesion of the anterior cruciate ligament.

"It will be necessary to have surgery in the coming days."

The Italy international has made 507 appearances for the Bianconeri since joining from Fiorentina in 2005 and has been capped 103 times for his country.

Sydney Sixers have signed fast bowler Jackson Bird for a second stint at the BBL club after helping the Melbourne Stars to the final last season.

Bird, 32, who has played nine Tests for Australia and was part of Australia A's tour of England this winter, has alternated between the Stars and Sixers across all nine seasons of the BBL.

He was with the Stars in the first four seasons of the BBL before joining the Sixers in BBL 05. He is originally from Sydney but plays his first-class cricket in Tasmania. He played three seasons with the Sixers but was starved of opportunities in BBL 07 playing just one game and was coaxed back to the Stars last year. He had an excellent season in Melbourne despite only playing nine games. He took seven wickets at economy rate of just 6.70 including two key wickets in the thrilling final.

But with the Stars signing Australia ODI and T20 fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile, the Sixers saw the opportunity to bolster their fast bowling stocks ahead of a season where the schedule will be far more compacted and the fast bowlers may need to be rested and rotated.

"With this season's tightened schedule, quick turnarounds and multiple flights across the country, the depth and durability of your attack will surely be tested," Sixers coach Greg Shipperd said. "So the addition of a player like Jackson is timely and welcomed."

"Jackson continues to be one of Australia's very best and respected all form bowlers and we know he will play an integral role in our chase for a title.

"Jackson's skill with the new ball and experience will complement our emerging young pace attack in a format that demands flexible and multiple role playing."

Bird said he was keen to head back to Sydney and contribute more meaningfully than he did in his previous three seasons there.

"I am really excited about coming back to the Sixers," Bird said. "I've had three years at the Sixers in the past and didn't play well so I want to come back and really contribute. Getting back with the guys I have played with before and returning to the SCG is awesome and I am grateful for the opportunity."

The Sixers made it to the semi-final last season only to be beaten in a nail-biter by the eventual champions Melbourne Renegades.

NEW YORK -- Daniil Medvedev angrily snatched a towel from a ball person's hands, threw his racket toward the chair umpire and was captured on the big screens giving a middle finger.

All that in the first set of the fifth-seeded Medvedev's third-round US Open match against Feliciano Lopez on Friday night turned the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd against him, resulting in a cascade of boos and then thunderous cheers every time he lost a point.

The drama midway through the first set began when a frustrated Medvedev snatched the towel from a ball person and was given a code violation by umpire Damien Dumusois. Medvedev then threw his racket in the direction of Dumusois, barked something at him and later flashed a middle finger next to his forehead as he walked past the umpire's chair.

Even in the midst of that turmoil, Medvedev went on to win that drama-filled set in a tiebreaker, 7-1, before Lopez won the second set 6-4. At one point in that set, the anti-Medvedev crowd began chanting "Lopez! Lopez!"

Medvedev won a third-set tiebreaker to take a two-sets-to-one lead.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.