SPORTS
Saturday, May 13, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3B
NHL
Neal’s OT goal downs Ducks
By GREG BEACHAM
Associated Press
ANAHEIM, Calif. — James
Neal scored 9:24 into overtime,
and the Nashville Predators kicked
off their first appearance in the
Western Conference finals with
a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim
Ducks on Friday night.
Pekka Rinne made 27 saves
for the Predators, who continued
their dominant surge through
these Stanley Cup playoffs with a
strong start and a gritty overtime
effort after Hampus Lindholm’s
first playoff goal in two years tied
it for the Ducks.
Filip Forsberg and Austin Watson
scored in regulation for Nashville,
Nashville
Anaheim
3
2
which improved to 9-2 in the post-
season.
Jakob Silfverberg scored on the
Ducks’ first shot, and John Gibson
stopped 43 shots. Just two days
after finishing off Edmonton in the
second round, Anaheim struggled
to keep up at times with the more-
rested Predators.
Game 2 is Sunday night.
Neal put a long shot past a
sprawled Gibson after a prolonged
threat by the Predators that left
Anaheim’s defense in disarray. The
goal was the veteran forward’s third
in four games.
Although this conference final
matches two Sun Belt clubs 2,000
miles apart, they have a feisty history.
Anaheim and Nashville are meeting
in the postseason for the third time,
including the past two seasons.
Nashville twice won Game 1
and went on to claim the previous
two series with major help from
Rinne, who usually has been at his
inimitable best when facing the
Ducks’ scorers. Rinne picked up
right where he left off last season
when Nashville eliminated Anaheim
from the first round in seven games,
but Gibson responded with a second
straight superb playoff performance.
AP Photo/Chris Carlson
Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson, right, and right wing Corey Per-
ry fail to stop the game-winning goal by Nashville Predators left wing
James Neal in overtime of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup West-
ern Conference finals, Friday, May 12, 2017, in Anaheim, Calif. The Pred-
ators won 3-2.
NBA
Wall’s late 3 lifts Wizards, forces Game 7
By HOWARD FENDRICH
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — John Wall
stood atop the scorer’s table, popping
his jersey, yelling and celebrating his
3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left for the
go-ahead basket that put his Wash-
ington Wizards into a Game 7 against
the Boston Celtics.
After Washington’s 92-91 victory
extended the Eastern Conference semi-
final, Wall offered his
thoughts on Boston’s
failure to back up its
fashion
statement
Boston
of wearing all black
clothing to the arena
Friday night.
“It was just funny
to me. It was kind of
copy-catting what we
did,” said Wall, whose Washington
Wizards
donned
dark outfits before a
regular-season game
between these teams that are building a
rivalry. “It was in my mind throughout
the game that I didn’t want them to
come here, wear all black, and basi-
cally call it a funeral.”
Thanks to him and backcourt mate
Bradley Beal, Washington’s season
will last at least one more game. Wall
finished with 26 points, Beal scored a
game-high 33, and they combined for
23 of Washington’s 26 points in the
back-and-forth fourth quarter.
“All we asked for was one more
game,” Wall said, “and we got it.”
Game 7 is at Boston on Monday
night. The winner will face LeBron
James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in
the East finals starting Wednesday.
The host has won all 10 games
between the Wizards and Celtics this
season — four in the regular season
and six in the playoffs.
“Two best words in playoffs is
‘Game 7,”’ Wizards coach Scott
Brooks said. “Seems like it was meant
to be.”
Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley
each scored 27 points for Boston, the
conference’s No. 1 seed.
But Bradley could do nothing
defensively to stop Wall on the winning
shot, coming off an inbound play that
was designed to get Beal the ball. And
Thomas’ heave at the buzzer clanked
off the rim.
“I thought it was going in,” Thomas
said. “Honestly I did.”
Like the rest of his teammates,
he was left to get back into his dark
outfit afterward. Wearing a black
shirt, he scoffed at the idea Wall and
the Wizards derived some boost from
Washington
Wizards
guard John
Wall (2)
shoots the
game-win-
ning 3-point
shot over
Boston
Celtics
guard Avery
Bradley
(0) during
Game 6
of an NBA
basket-
ball sec-
ond-round
playoff
series
Friday, May
12, 2017, in
Washing-
ton. The
Wizards
won 92-91.
91
92
AP Photo/Alex
Brandon
knowing about the Celtics’ choice of
attire.
“Their season was on the line,” he
said. “They should have been moti-
vated by everything else.”
Boston, which won Game 5 at
home by 22 points, led Game 6 by
69-66 entering the fourth quarter, when
a relatively blah game became much
more compelling. The final period was
tight throughout, featuring six ties and
nine lead changes.
Boston was up 87-82, but did not
hold on.
“We put ourselves in position to
win the game,” said Al Horford, whose
16-foot baseline bank shot with 7.7
seconds left gave Boston its last lead at
91-89. “Couldn’t finish it. ... We can’t
dwell on this.”
Wall and Beal both shook off slow
starts.
Beal was 0 for 7 on 3s before
making his only one of the game with
69 seconds left. The Wizards as a
whole started 1 for 15 from beyond the
arc. And Wall started 1 for 12 overall
before closing by making 8 of 13.
“If I go 1 for 30,” he shrugged,
“that’s the way I go out.”
Not since 1979 have the Wizards
reached the conference finals, and
Wall has made clear he’ll consider this
season — Brooks’ first as the team’s
coach — a waste of time if they don’t
get there this time.
“We don’t win Game 7,” Wall said,
“we feel like it was a failure.”
TIP-INS
Celtics: Their 42-41 halftime lead
was the visitors’ first since edge since
2-0 on Horford’s basket. ... Trying to
reach the East finals for the first time
since 2012.
Wizards: Had lost seven consecu-
tive elimination games at home. ... Last
reached the Eastern Conference finals
in 1979. ... This was the first win by a
home team facing elimination on its
court in these NBA playoffs; hosts had
been 0-10 in that situation until Friday.
... F Otto Porter Jr. had zero points.
BACK IN BLACK
Some Celtics said it was purely
coincidence that they showed up
wearing black, the way the Wizards
did for what became known as the
“Funeral Game,” won by Washington
in January. Joked Brooks: “I’m going
to talk to my lawyers. I think we have
that trademarked, right? That’s our
thing.”
No Love lost: Cavs
star accepts reduced
role as champs roll
By TOM WITHERS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND — Kevin
Love doesn’t mind being a
third wheel or a fourth or even
a fifth.
His scoring average has
dipped and he’s taking fewer
shots. And he’s OK with that.
He has not been a major part
of Cleveland coach Tyronn
Lue’s plans in the playoffs so
far. And he’s not complaining
about that, either.
In short, Love isn’t
demanding more, well, love.
“I told him (Lue), ‘We’re
8-0. I don’t mind it,’” he said
Thursday following practice.
“If I get five or six shots, if I
get 15 shots, it doesn’t matter
to me, as long as we win. I’ve
been in this position before.
We’re having success so I’m
happy. Feel good.”
As the Cavaliers wait
for the winner of the
Boston-Washington series as
their opponent in the Eastern
Conference finals, Love’s
reduced role in his third
postseason for Cleveland has
become a topic for discussion.
And while the All-Star
forward has found himself at
the center of previous contro-
versies during his time with
the Cavs, there are no hidden
meanings or subliminal
messages at work this time.
Love was once something
of an outsider in Cleveland,
but those days are long gone
and he’s now a pivotal part of
everything for the defending
champions, who are unde-
feated through two rounds.
But don’t be fooled by his
statistical slide to this point of
the playoffs. That could soon
change as well.
When the Cavs resume
their march toward a possible
second title next week, Lue
hinted that Love, who has
even sat out the entire fourth
quarter in two victories, could
be a bigger factor.
“Some of it’s my fault
because we haven’t really
featured him a lot because of
the matchups we had on other
teams,” Lue said. “He has
been great. His whole mindset
is winning and that’s what it’s
all about in the playoffs. In
this next series, we have some
matchups he can definitely
take advantage of and it’s on
me to make sure we do that.”
During Cleveland’s sweep
of Toronto, Love averaged
just 12 points — he averaged
19 during the regular season
— and he scored just 5 in
Game 4 on 2-of-7 shooting.
One of the reasons for
Love’s drop-off against
Toronto is that he was often
guarded by Serge Ibaka, a
defensive specialist acquired
in part to take away one of
Cleveland’s most potent
weapons. Also, with the way
LeBron James and Kyrie
Irving are playing, the Cavs
didn’t need as much from
Love.
Their “Big 3” has been
reduced to a “Terrific 2” but
things could be much different
in the conference final, where
matchups could dictate more
minutes for Love.
Love’s ability to post up
and pop outside for 3-pointers
makes him challenging to
cover. Lue knows there may be
a chance to get the 6-foot-10
big man more involved.
“The playoffs is a game of
matchups,” he said. “That’s
why Toronto went out and got
Ibaka, to try and slow Kevin
down. Maybe we didn’t
feature Kevin enough against
Toronto, maybe we showed
‘em too much respect and
that’s on me. But next round
I’ve got to do a better job of
really getting Kevin involved
and
really
establishing
Kevin.”
Love’s willingness to
accept a lesser role in the
postseason is not only a sign
of his comfort in Cleveland,
but also his willingness to put
the team first.
“It’s just growth,” Lue said.
“Growth for Kevin, growth
for this team and it’s all about
winning. When you come
here it’s all about one thing,
and that’s just trying to win a
championship. However you
gotta do it, you gotta do it.”
SCOREBOARD
Local Slate
PREP BASEBALL
Saturday
Weston-McEwen at Grant Union (2), 11
a.m.
PREP SOFTBALL
Saturday
Culver at Heppner (2), 11 a.m./1 p.m.
Tuesday
Weston-McEwen at Union, 5 p.m.
PREP TRACK & FIELD
Saturday
Heppner, Stanfield, Pilot Rock,
Weston-McEwen at CBC District Champi-
onships (Prineville), TBD
Umatilla, Irrigon, Riverside at EOL District
Championships (Nyssa), TBD
Mac-Hi at GOL District Championships
(Baker), 10 a.m.
Helix, Echo, Arlington, Condon/Wheeler,
Ione at District 3 Championships (Moro),
10:30 a.m.
PREP GOLF
Monday
Heppner (girls) at 4A/3A/2A/1A state
championships (Corvallis), 7:30 a.m.
Heppner (boys) at 3A/2A/1A state champi-
onships (Redmond), 8 a.m.
Pendleton, Hermiston (girls) at 5A state
championships (Creswell), 12:30 p.m.
Pendleton (boys) at 5A state champion-
ships (Banks), 12:30 p.m.
Mac-Hi (boys) at 4A state championships
(Corvallis), 12:15 p.m.
PREP TENNIS
Saturday
Hermiston, Pendleton (boys) at District
Championships (Sunriver), TBD
Hermiston, Pendleton (girls) at District
Championships (Hermiston), TBD
Mac-Hi, Umatilla, Riverside, Weston-McE-
wen, Helix, Ione at Disctrict Champion-
ships (Kennewick, Wash.), TBD
PREP LACROSSE
Saturday
Hermiston vs West Albany (at Summit),
TBD
Sunday
Hermiston vs TBD (at Sisters), TBD
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Saturday
Blue Mountain at Big Bend (2), 1 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Sunday
Big Bend at Blue Mountain (2), Noon
Prep Standings
BASEBALL
5A Columbia River Conference
Lg. Ovr. RS RA
Hood River
10-2 18-7 166 102
Pendleton
6-6 10-15 150 179
The Dalles
4-8 10-15 150 214
Hermiston
4-8 10-16 122 184
4A Greater Oregon League
Lg. Ovr. RS
La Grande
11-1 17-3 177
Ontario
8-4 16-7 194
Baker
5-7 9-15 170
Mac-Hi
0-12 4-16 102
RA
50
112
197
225
3A Eastern Oregon League
Lg. Ovr. RS
Stanfield
14-0 21-1 298
Irrigon
10-4 17-4 219
Nyssa
9-5 11-11 166
Joseph
7-7 10-9 156
Vale
6-8 8-13 188
Burns
5-9 7-16 153
Riverside
4-10 4-19 132
Umatilla
1-13 2-17 96
RA
49
110
161
137
236
207
311
248
2A/1A Special District 6
Lg. Ovr.
Dufur
15-1 21-1
Sherman
12-4 15-5
Pilot Rock
12-4 14-8
Culver
10-6 13-8
Weston-M.
8-6 10-9
Elgin
7-9 7-9
Grant Union
4-10 7-14
Heppner
1-15 2-20
Union
1-15 1-17
RA
76
102
93
126
137
104
161
264
221
RS
224
187
156
171
143
80
122
100
56
SOFTBALL
5A Columbia River Conference
Lg. Ovr. RS
Pendleton
10-2 22-4 206
Hood River
9-3 15-10 148
Hermiston
3-9 9-16 96
The Dalles
2-10 3-21 107
RA
48
103
151
213
4A Greater Oregon League
Lg. Ovr. RS RA
La Grande
10-2 19-4 199 49
Mac-Hi
10-2 17-5 204 99
Ontario
4-8 16-9 201 148
Baker
0-12 4-18 94 220
3A Special District 1
Lg. Ovr.
Weston-M.
9-3 12-7
Echo
8-4 12-10
Irrigon
7-5 15-9
Riverside
6-6 16-8
Umatilla
0-12 1-18
2A/1A Special District 6
RS
205
196
221
315
58
RA
111
110
153
141
429
Pilot Rock
Union
Heppner
Culver
Lg.
10-2
10-2
2-8
0-10
Ovr.
21-4
16-4
8-12
1-18
RS RA
255 66
216 72
191 167
81 364
Basketball
NBA
Playoff glance
SECOND ROUND
(Best-of-7)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Cleveland 4, Toronto 0
May 1: Cleveland 116, Toronto 105
May 3: Cleveland 125, Toronto 103
May 5: Cleveland 115, Toronto 94
May 7: Cleveland 109, Toronto 102
Boston 3, Washington 3
April 30: Boston 123, Washington 111
May 2: Boston 129, Washington 119, OT
May 4: Washington 116, Boston 89
May 7: Washington 121, Boston 102
Wednesday: Boston 123, Washington 101
Friday: Washington 92, Boston 91
Monday: Washington at Boston, 5 p.m.
(TNT)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
San Antonio 4, Houston 2
May 1: Houston 126, San Antonio 99
May 3: San Antonio 121, Houston 96
May 5: San Antonio 103, Houston 92
May 7: Houston 125, San Antonio 104
May 9: San Antonio 110, Houston 107, OT
Thursday: San Antonio 114, Houston 75
Golden State 4, Utah 0
May 2: Golden State 106, Utah 94
May 4: Golden State 115, Utah 104
May 6: Golden State 102, Utah 91
May 8: Golden State 121, Utah 95
CONFERENCE FINALS
(Best-of-7)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Golden State vs. San Antonio
Sunday: San Antonio at Golden State,
12:30 p.m. (ABC)
Hockey
NHL
Playoff glance
CONFERENCE FINALS
(Best-of-7)
Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh
Saturday: Ottawa at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m.
Monday: Ottawa at Pittsburgh, 5 p.m.
May 17: Pittsburgh at Ottawa, 5 p.m.
May 19: Pittsburgh at Ottawa, 5 p.m.
Nashville 1, Anaheim 0
Friday: Nashville 3, Anaheim 2
Sunday: Nashville at Anaheim, 4:30 p.m.
May 16: Anaheim at Nashville, 5 p.m.
May 18: Anaheim at Nashville, 5 p.m.
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Baltimore
22 12 .647 —
New York
21 12 .636 ½
Boston
18 17 .514 4½
Tampa Bay
18 20 .474
6
Toronto
15 21 .417
8
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Minnesota
18 14 .563 —
Cleveland
18 16 .529
1
Detroit
17 17 .500
2
Chicago
15 18 .455 3½
Kansas City
14 21 .400 5½
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Houston
25 11 .694 —
Los Angeles
18 20 .474
8
Seattle
17 19 .472
8
Texas
17 20 .459 8½
Oakland
16 19 .457 8½
———
Friday’s Games
Houston 5, N.Y. Yankees 1
Toronto 4, Seattle 0
Minnesota 1, Cleveland 0
Tampa Bay 5, Boston 4
Texas 5, Oakland 2
San Diego 6, Chicago White Sox 3
Kansas City 3, Baltimore 2
L.A. Angels 7, Detroit 0
Saturday’s Games
Houston (Fiers 1-1) at N.Y. Yankees (Seve-
rino 2-2), 10:05 a.m.
Tampa Bay (Snell 0-3) at Boston (Sale
3-2), 10:05 a.m.
Seattle (TBD) at Toronto (Stroman 3-2),
10:07 a.m.
Minnesota (Berrios 0-0) at Cleveland
(Clevinger 1-0), 1:10 p.m.
San Diego (Cahill 3-2) at Chicago White
Sox (Covey 0-3), 4:10 p.m.
Baltimore (Tillman 1-0) at Kansas City
(Karns 2-2), 4:15 p.m.
Oakland (Gray 0-1) at Texas (Martinez 0-2),
5:05 p.m.
Detroit (Norris 2-2) at L.A. Angels (Nolas-
co 2-2), 6:07 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W
Washington
22
New York
16
Philadelphia
13
Miami
13
Atlanta
12
Central Division
Cincinnati
St. Louis
Milwaukee
Chicago
Pittsburgh
West Division
W
19
19
19
18
14
L
15
15
17
17
22
Pct GB
.559 —
.559 —
.528
1
.514 1½
.389
6
W
L Pct GB
Colorado
23 14 .622 —
Los Angeles
21 15 .583 1½
Arizona
21 16 .568
2
San Diego
14 23 .378
9
San Francisco
12 24 .333 10½
———
Friday’s Games
Philadelphia at Washington, ppd.
Atlanta 8, Miami 4
Milwaukee 7, N.Y. Mets 4
San Diego 6, Chicago White Sox 3
Chicago Cubs 3, St. Louis 2
L.A. Dodgers 6, Colorado 2
Arizona 11, Pittsburgh 4
Cincinnati at San Francisco, late finish
Saturday’s Games
Chicago Cubs (Lester 1-1) at St. Louis
(Martinez 2-3), 1:05 p.m.
Cincinnati (Bonilla 0-0) at San Francisco
(Moore 1-4), 1:05 p.m.
Philadelphia (Velasquez 2-3) at Washing-
ton (Gonzalez 3-1), 4:05 p.m.
Atlanta (Teheran 2-3) at Miami (Volquez
0-4), 4:10 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Gsellman 2-2) at Milwaukee
(Davies 3-2), 4:10 p.m.
San Diego (Cahill 3-2) at Chicago White
Sox (Covey 0-3), 4:10 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Wood 3-0) at Colorado
(Anderson 2-3), 5:10 p.m.
Pittsburgh (Williams 1-2) at Arizona (Walk-
er 3-2), 5:10 p.m.
Soccer
MLS
Friday’s Game
Houston 2, Vancouver 1
Saturday’s Games
Minnesota United at Toronto FC, Noon
San Jose at Colorado, 1 p.m.
Columbus at Montreal, 2 p.m.
Philadelphia at D.C. United, 4 p.m.
Sporting K.C. at Orlando City, 4 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at New England, 4:30 p.m.
Seattle at Chicago, 6 p.m.
Golf
L
12
18
19
21
20
Pct GB
.647 —
.471
6
.406
8
.382
9
.375
9
PGA Tour
Players Championship
Thursday
Friday
At TPC Sawgrass, Players Stadium
Course
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Purse: $10.5 million
Yardage: 7,189; Par: 72
Second Round
Louis Oosthuizen 69-66—135
Kyle Stanley
69-66—135
J.B. Holmes
68-69—137
Vijay Singh
70-68—138
David Hearn
70-69—139
Rafa Cabrera Bello 69-70—139
Patrick Cantlay 69-70—139
Alex Noren
68-71—139
Ian Poulter
72-67—139
Chez Reavie
68-72—140
Jon Rahm
68-72—140
-9
-9
-7
-6
-5
-5
-5
-5
-5
-4
-4
Motorsports
NASCAR
Monster Energy Cup Series
Go Bowling 400 Lineup
Race Saturday, 4:30 p.m. (TV: FS1)
At Kansas Speedway
Kansas City, Kan.
(Car number in parentheses)
1. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford
2. (22) Joey Logano, Ford
3. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
4. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford
5. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota
6. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford
7. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
8. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford
9. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
10. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
11. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
12. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet
13. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford
14. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota
15. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota
16. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford
17. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford
18. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet
19. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet
20. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet
21. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
22. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
23. (32) Matt DIBenedetto, Ford
24. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford
25. (23) Gray Gaulding, Toyota
26. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet
27. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet
28. (55) Derrike Cope, Toyota
29. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
30. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford
31. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet
32. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota
33. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet
34. (38) David Ragan, Ford
35. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
36. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford
37. (15) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet
38. (83) Corey LaJoie, Toyota
39. (51) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet
40. (66) Carl Long, Chevrolet