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SPORTS THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON NBA Blazers fall in home fi nale Portland fi nishes regular season .500 By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press Photo courtesy of Kari Christiansen The Hermiston lacrosse team piles up after beating Selah 21-2 on Tuesday at Kennison Field in Hermiston. Bulldogs lacrosse wins 2nd straight East Oregonian The Hermiston Bulldogs lacrosse team hosted Selah (WA) on Tuesday evening, and made Selah’s 222-mile round trip a disappointing one as Hermiston pummeled the Vikings by a score of 21-2 at Kennison Field. It’s the second straight victory for Hermiston (2-5), who has found its scoring touch with a combined 35 goals in both wins. Herm- iston beat Cleveland 14-4 on Saturday for its fi rst win of the season. 103 100 Bradlee Giusti, Luke Walchli, Tucker Salinas and Calvin Giesen each tallied hat tricks in the game for Hermiston, while Brady Christiansen scored two goals. Arden Calderon, Hunter Thompson, Elias Sandoval, Ian Bush, Ryan Arnold, Omar Garcia and Kaden Smith each scored one goal in the game. Hermiston will next travel to a pair of High Desert League schools, fi rst at Ridgeview (4-1) on Friday night and then at Sisters (2-3) on Saturday. Hermiston goalie Josh Hasty brings the ball out during a la- crosse game against Selah on Tuesday at Kennison Field in Hermiston. PORTLAND — Jordan Crawford had 15 points and the New Orleans Pelicans snapped a fi ve-game losing streak with a 103-100 victory over the play- off-bound Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. Cheick Diallo had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Pelicans, who fi nished 34-48 and out of the playoffs for the New Orleans second straight season. Shabazz Napier had 25 points for Port- land in the loss, Portland which snapped a three-game winning streak. The Blazers, who will face Golden State in the opening round of the playoffs, rested starters Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. The Pelicans pulled ahead 94-93 on Diallo’s layup with 4:01 left, then stretched the lead on Crawford’s jumper and a 3-pointer. Meyers Leonard closed the gap to 99-95 for the Blazers with a long jumper. Following free throws, Noah Vonleh’s hook shot got the Blazers within 101-100. Quinn Cook made a pair of free throws for New Orleans before Tim Quarterman missed a pair for Portland on the other end to end it. Portland clinched the eighth AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer New Orleans Pelicans center Alexis Ajinca, left, looks for a shot as Portland Trail Blazers forward Meyers Leonard defends during the fi rst half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, April 12, 2017. See BLAZERS/2B Bulls, Pacers grab last 2 playoff spots Contributed photo courtesy of Kari Christiansen NBA playoffs set to start on Saturday By TIM REYNOLDS Associated Press Dwyane Wade is going back to the playoffs. The Miami Heat aren’t going with him. The fi eld for the NBA postseason is set, with Wade and the Chicago Bulls claiming one of the last two available spots on the fi nal night of the regular season. The other went to the Indiana Pacers, who downed the Atlanta Hawks. The Bulls and Pacers winning eliminated the Heat, who fi nished 41-41 after beating Washington. Miami was 11-30 in the fi rst half of the season, then 30-11 in the second half of the season. And Wade, in his fi rst season with the Bulls, is going to the playoffs for the 12th time. “Now the fun begins,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. So now the matchups are set. Boston wrapped up the No. 1 seed with a win over Milwaukee. The Celtics are the sixth different franchise to grab the No. 1 seed in the East in the past six seasons See NBA/2B MLB Mariners pitching struggles as Astros run away with victory Seattle’s 5-0 lead evaporates as Astros rally By JIM HOEHN Associated Press SEATTLE — Jose Altuve hit three singles and drew two walks, helping the Houston Astros overcome an early fi ve-run defi cit and rally past the Seattle Mariners 10-5 on Wednesday night. Four Houston relievers combined for fi ve scoreless innings after starter Mike Fiers got knocked around. Tony Sipp, Brad Peacock (2-0), Luke Gregerson and Jandel Houston Gustave allowed just three hits. Carlos Beltran drove in three runs for Houston, which trailed 5-0 after three innings. The Astros scored three times in the seventh off Dan Altavilla (1-1) for a 6-5 lead, with Alex Bregman’s RBI double putting them ahead. Carlos Correa capped the comeback by scoring on a wild pitch. Houston added three more in the eighth on a sacrifi ce fl y by Josh Reddick and two-run 10 Seattle 5 double by Beltran. F i e r s lasted just four innings, allowing fi ve runs and six hits. The Mariners scored twice in the fi rst and then made it 3-0 when Mike Freeman, called up from Triple-A on Tuesday, opened the second with his fi rst homer. Seattle extended the lead to 5-0 in the third on Taylor Motter’s fi rst homer, a two-run shot. Mariners starter Yovani Gallardo walked three in the fourth to begin Houston’s rally. Reddick and Altuve opened with walks and Correa singled to load the bases. Gallardo struck out Beltran and Bregman before walking Brian McCann to force in a run. Yuli Gurriel followed with an RBI single up the middle, but second baseman Robinson Cano made a diving stop on the grass and fl ipped the ball home, catching Correa off third, and he was tagged out in a rundown to end the inning. UP NEXT Mariners: Felix Hernandez makes his third start of the season on Friday tagainst Texas. Houston’s Carlos Correa (1) runs toward the tag on him at home by Seattle pitcher Yovani Gallardo to end a rundown during the fourth inning of Wednes- day’s game in Seattle. AP Photo/Elaine Thompson Sports shorts Oregon’s Brooks declares for NBA EUGENE (AP) — Oregon junior forward Dillon Brooks says he is entering the NBA draft. Brooks announced his decision, which was widely anticipated, in a video posted on www. positionless.com . Brooks praised Oregon’s coaches in the video, saying, “I was not highly recruited and they believed in me from the jump.” The Pac-12’s Player of the Year has hired an agent, which ends his eligibility with the Ducks. Brooks Brooks averaged 16.1 points per game this season for Oregon, which went to the Final Four. Known as clutch performer, he scored game-winners against Tennessee, UCLA and Cal this season. Brooks is the second Oregon player to say he will leave school for the NBA after sophomore Tyler Dorsey declared on Monday. City of St. Louis sues NFL over loss of Rams to Los Angeles “People are looking to move up and we’re listening.“ — Ruth Riley San Antonio Stars general man- ager as the WNBA prepares to hold its draft. The Stars hold the No. 1 and No. 5 picks in tonight’s draft. Washington’s Kelsey Plum is considered the consensus choice for the No. 1 pick. ST. LOUIS (AP) The city of St. Louis and that region’s sports authority are suing the National Football League over the Rams’ relocation to Los Angeles. The lawsuit fi led Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court also names the NFL’s 32 teams as defendants and seeks unspeci- fi ed damages and restitution. The lawsuit alleges the Rams failed to meet league relocation rules when leaving for Los Angeles before last season, constituting a contractual breach with St. Louis. The lawsuit alleges that St. Louis has lost an estimated $1.85 million to $3.5 million each year in amusement and ticket tax collections, as well as roughly $7.5 million in property taxes. In total, the city will have lost more than $100 million in net proceeds. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1957 — The Boston Celtics capture their fi rst NBA cham- pionship as rookie Tommy Heinsohn scores 37 points and grabs 23 rebounds in a 125-123 double OT victory over the St. Louis Hawks in Game 7. 1984 — Pete Rose of the Montreal Expos collects the 4,000th hit of his career with a double in the fourth inning. 1997 — Tiger Woods wins the Masters by a record 12 strokes at Augusta National. Closing with a 69, Woods fi nished at 18-under 270, the lowest score in the Masters and matching the most under par by anyone in any of the four Grand Slam events. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com