Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
James, Cavs sweep Raptors
to make conference finals
By TOM WITHERS
Associated Press
CLEVELAND — Order has
been restored for the Cleveland
Cavaliers.
Four games with Toronto
straightened them out.
LeBron James sent the Rap-
tors into summer vacation for
the third straight season as the
Cavs completed another series
sweep over the East’s top team
with a 128-93 win in Game 4
on Monday night to advance
to the conference finals for the
fourth consecutive year.
James finished with 29
points, 11 assists and spent
some of the final 7:38 dancing
near the bench during Cleve-
land’s 10th straight playoff win
over Toronto, which changed
its system, its roster and its
approach but still can’t beat the
game’s best player.
Pushed to the max for seven
games by Indiana in the first
round, the Cavs took care of
Toronto quickly.
“It was a great series for
us,” James said. “We had a lot
of challenges to start the series
knowing the domination they
had in the regular season. We
had a great game plan and we
just tried to execute it.”
Kevin Love added 23 points
and J.R. Smith 15 for the Cavs,
who can now rest while wait-
ing for the Boston-Philadel-
phia semifinal series to end.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 18
and Kyle Lowry had 10 assists
to lead the exasperated Rap-
tors. Toronto’s frustration hit
its peak late in the third when
All-Star DeMar DeRozan was
ejected for a flagrant foul.
Cleveland will be appearing
in its fourth straight conference
final despite a turbulent regular
season and a bumpy start to the
playoffs.
The Cavs didn’t stumble
and had one of their best all-
around games of these play-
offs after so many tight ones.
Caps drop
Penguins in
OT, conference
finals are next
By WILL GRAVES
Associated Press
AP Photo/Tony Dejak
Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James (23) strips the ball from Toronto Raptors’ Serge Ibaka in
the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Monday, May 7,
2018, in Cleveland.
They won Games 1 and 3 over
Toronto by a combined three
points, needing a buzzer-beater
to outlast the Raptors on Satur-
day night.
There was no need for
such heroics and for a change,
James, who came in averag-
ing 41.7 minutes per game in
the postseason, had plenty of
help. All five Cleveland start-
ers scored in double figures
and Love continued his spring
rebirth after struggling against
the physical Pacers.
The contributions from
Cleveland’s supporting cast
came two days after “Satur-
day Night Live” poked fun at
the team in a skit entitled “The
Other Cavaliers,” which didn’t
air but went viral on social
media.
“From Game 1, they were
wonderful,” James said of his
teammates. “I was horrible in
Game 1 and they picked it up
for me. So I tried to follow their
lead going into Game 2 and all
the way through Game 4.”
Cleveland took control with
a 12-0 run over the final 2:12 of
the first half. The Cavs didn’t
let up, pushing their lead to
30 as their fans finally got a
chance to relax and start mak-
ing plans for the next round.
It’s back to the drawing
board for Toronto. The Raptors
had the league’s second-best
record, the No. 1 seed in the
playoffs, a deeper bench and in
Lowry and DeRozan enough
firepower to offset James.
But after blowing a big lead
and giving away Game 1 on
their home floor, the Raptors
never recovered and now face
an offseason full of questions
and second-guessing.
“We had a heck of a sea-
son,” said Raptors coach
Dwane Casey. “But there’s a
different level and you saw
it tonight. Everybody called
Cleveland out. But as long as
they have him (James) they
have a chance.”
PHILADELPHIA
103,
BOSTON 92
PHILADELPHIA (AP) —
T.J. McConnell turned a sur-
prise start into the save of the
season and Dario Saric scored
25 points to help the Philadel-
phia 76ers stave off elimina-
tion in a 103-92 win over the
Boston Celtics in Game 4 on
Monday night.
The Sixers still face daunt-
ing odds headed into Game 5
and trailing 3-1 in the East-
ern Conference semifinals:
No NBA team has ever won a
series down 3-0.
McConnell had a career-
high 19 points, seven rebounds
and five assists in only his
second start of the season
and meshed well in the back-
court with Ben Simmons. Joel
Embiid had 15 points and 13
rebounds and Simmons had 19
points and 13 boards.
Jayson Tatum led the Celt-
ics with 20 points and Marcus
Morris had 17.
Game 5 is Wednesday at
Boston.
PITTSBURGH — A cathartic celebration
20 years in the making began with a poke of
Evgeny Kuznetsov’s stick. It built as the puck
that Kuznetsov tapped away from Sidney
Crosby made its way to Washington Capitals
teammate Alexander Ovechkin.
It neared its crescendo as Ovechkin flipped
it back to Kuznetsov, who at this point had
split two Penguins and was streaking toward
the Pittsburgh net. And it culminated jubi-
lantly and unexpectedly in the corner moments
later, with the puck in the net and Kuznetsov’s
teammates mobbing him after he ended two
decades of frustration with a flick of the Rus-
sian’s wrist.
The ghosts of past playoff failures, many
of them at the hands of the Penguins, were
gone. Dispatched over the course of six games
of grit and guile, the last a 2-1 overtime win in
Game 6 on Monday night that gave Washing-
ton a 4-2 series victory and a spot in the East-
ern Conference finals against Tampa Bay.
“It’s pretty emotional,” Kuznetsov said
after his seventh goal of the playoffs 5:27 into
overtime pushed the Capitals into the NHL’s
final four for just the third time in franchise
history. “I don’t really have a word for it.”
Maybe because there aren’t many that can
accurately describe the anguish Washington
has felt during much of the Ovechkin Era, one
filled with postseason failure after postseason
failure, many of them coming with the team
on the precipice of a breakthrough.
Only this time they didn’t crumble. Even
with Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson and
Andre Burakovsky out. Even with a hand-
ful of rookies — including Australian Nate
Walker — thrust into the lineup. Even on the
road against a two-time defending champion
with a special knack for torment.
“Again, it doesn’t matter what happened
(before),” Ovechkin said. “We have to stick
together. We knew it was there we just had to
battle and we just had to fight through it.”
Alex Chiasson scored Washington’s only
goal of regulation, a shot from the right circle
that gave the Capitals the lead in the second
period. Braden Holtby, benched at the start
of the playoffs, stopped 21 of the 22 shots he
faced and received a dash of luck when Pitts-
burgh’s Tom Kuhnhackl hit the far post early
in the extra period.
RACETRACK:Races held every other Saturday night now instead of weekly
Continued from 1B
start in the sport in the late
1970s when he started driv-
ing at the age of 16. Over the
course of his career, which he
ended in 2006, Walden raced
at Hermiston several times.
He got into the sport through
his father Wayne Walden,
who also drove race cars at
an early age.
Wayne was a businessman
that “was always looking for
ways to make money,” Greg
said, and partnered with three
other individuals to take on
their hometown Tri-City
Raceway when it became
available in 1982. Within
three years, Wayne became
the sole operator of the track.
And along with business acu-
men and a passion for rac-
ing, he developed a knack for
promotion and grew the fast
half-mile track into a popular
one in the Northwest.
Greg was in line to take
over what had become the
family business until the
track was sold in 1998. Greg
and his family then started a
screenprinting and embroi-
dery business in Kenne-
wick that year, and he used
his business as a reason to
remain involved at race-
tracks in the region, selling
souvenir T-shirts at many of
them. Being around the track
each summer while hold-
ing onto his passion for the
sport, Greg knew he wanted
to get back into track opera-
tions. He just had to wait for
an opportunity.
In only four months oper-
ating the Hermiston Race-
way, Walden has already
made plenty of upgrades to
the track that benefit both
drivers and fans. Most sig-
nificantly, more than $12,000
was spent on fixing the
wooden grandstands and
making them safe for spec-
tators. Upgrades were also
made to lighting on the con-
course and in the pits, to
make the experience better
for race teams.
Walden has also revamped
the racing schedule at the
track. Races are held every
other Saturday night now
instead of weekly, in hopes
of attracting more cars each
night to create a better prod-
uct. He also aims to keep the
races moving quickly, limit-
ing the downtime and creat-
ing constant action. Pre-race
qualifying was eliminated,
and the races will line up
based on points stand-
ings. And trophy dashes are
replaced with heat races prior
to the main events.
“As long as it’s enter-
taining and fast-paced,”
Walden said. “We’re a form
of entertainment, and if we
think we’re just in the rac-
ing business, then it doesn’t
work. We’re in the entertain-
ment business, it’s got to be
exciting. We want to deliver
a good program for the fans
and racers, and with that
we’re able to sell it to busi-
nesses to bring their people
out.”
Hermiston Raceway has
been open for two races now
following Saturday’s West
Coast Late Model Series
headliner, and Walden is
impressed with the early
results. The attendance has
been solid, with the grand-
stands being nearly at capac-
ity on Saturday. And the few
dozen cars competing has
made for good entertainment
for the fans.
Walden also credits
numerous track employ-
ees — from pit crew to the
flagger to the scorers —
that remained from previous
regimes as a big part of the
early success, too.
“The team I inherited
want to see it thrive,” Walden
said. “They want to be proud
of the place where they
spend their time and that’s
important.”
Racing returns to Herm-
iston on May 19 with North-
west Pro 4 Alliance stock
cars, as well as the typical
late models, street stocks,
super mini and mini stocks,
legends, bombers and hornet
classes.
“I’m just excited there’s
hope,” Walden said. “Last
night we camped in Herm-
iston, in my motorhome at
(former) Umatilla Speedway
and I told my wife, ‘How in
the world did I end up here
running this race track?’ I
never thought that, but it
came available and some-
body had to so why not me?”
Sunday’s Games
Seattle at Portland, 1 p.m.
Atlanta United FC at Orlando City, 3 p.m.
New York City FC at Los Angeles FC,
5:30 p.m.
20. (16) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 398.
21. (28) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 397.
22. (29) Michael McDowell, Ford, 397.
23. (15) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 397.
24. (30) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 396.
25. (26) Darrell Wallace Jr., Chevrolet, 396.
26. (27) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 395.
27. (32) David Ragan, Ford, 395.
28. (31) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 393.
29. (24) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 392.
30. (35) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, 386.
31. (33) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 385.
32. (34) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 382.
33. (21) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 377.
34. (20) Paul Menard, Ford, 354.
35. (4) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Drivetrain, 271.
36. (37) Cody Ware, Chevy, Accident, 244.
37. (36) Derrike Cope, Chevy, Accident, 144.
38. (38) Corey LaJoie, Chevy, Engine, 20.
SCOREBOARD
Local slate
PREP BASEBALL
Tuesday
Pilot Rock at Elgin (DH), 1 p.m.
Union at Weston-McEwen (DH), 1 p.m.
Irrigon at Mac-Hi, 4 p.m.
Riverside at Dufur, 4 p.m.
Hood River at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m.
Hermiston at The Dalles, 4:30 p.m.
Friday
Stanfield at Vale (DH), 1 p.m.
Irrigon at Riverside (DH), 1 p.m.
Pendleton at Hermiston, 4:30 p.m.
PREP SOFTBALL
Tuesday
Irrigon at Heppner, 4 p.m.
Riverside at Weston-McEwen, 4 p.m.
Hood River at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m.
Hermiston at The Dalles, 4:30 p.m.
Thursday
Weston-McEwen at Echo (DH), 3 p.m.
Riverside at Hermiston JV, 4:30 p.m.
Friday
Irrigon at Umatilla (DH), 1 p.m.
Pendleton at Hermiston, 4:30 p.m.
PREP TRACK & FIELD
Wednesday
Pendleton, Hermiston at CRC Districts
(Hermiston), 4 p.m.
Thursday
Pendleton, Hermiston at CRC Districts
(Hermiston), 4 p.m.
Friday
Weston-McEwen, Stanfield, Pilot Rock,
Heppner at Districts (Athena), 11 a.m.
Umatilla, Irrigon, Riverside at EOL Dis-
tricts (Umatilla)
PREP GOLF
Tuesday
Heppner, Nixyaawii at districts (Pendleton
CC), 8 a.m.
Pendleton, Hermiston (girls) at Districts
(Sunriver), all day
Pendleton, Hermiston (boys) at Districts
(Emerald Valley GC), all day
Mac-Hi at districts, 10 a.m.
PREP TENNIS
Friday
Hermiston, Pendleton (boys) at districts
(Hermiston), 8 a.m.
Mac-Hi, Umatilla, Riverside, Weston-McE-
wen, Stanfield, Ione, Helix at districts
(Kennewick), 9 a.m.
Hermiston, Pendleton (girls) at districts
(Bend), 10 a.m.
Saturday
Hermiston, Pendleton (boys) at districts
(Hermiston), 8 a.m.
Mac-Hi, Umatilla, Riverside, Weston-McE-
wen, Stanfield, Ione, Helix at districts
(Kennewick), 9 a.m.
Hermiston, Pendleton (girls) at districts
(Bend), 10 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Wednesday
BMCC at Treasure Valley CC (DH), 1 p.m.
Saturday
Big Bend at BMCC (DH), 1 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Friday
BMCC at Columbia Basin (DH), 2 p.m.
Prep Standings
Through May 2
PREP BASEBALL
5A COLUMBIA RIVER CONFERENCE
LG Ovr RS RA Rnk
Pendleton 8-2 14-8 164 110
5
Hood River 7-3 13-10 134 110 11
Hermiston 3-7 7-15 92 151 21
The Dalles 2-8 5-16 72 179 24
4A GREATER OREGON LEAGUE
Lg Ovr RS RA Rnk
La Grande 10-0 16-2 164 46
3
Ontario
6-4 13-9 174 98 10
Baker
4-6 9-12 112 146 26
Mac-Hi
0-10 6-14 87 180 32
3A EASTERN OREGON LEAGUE
Lg Ovr RS RA Rnk
Stanfield
11-1 18-5 273 150
3
Vale
9-2 13-7 190 113
8
Joseph
7-3 14-5 173 84
5
Irrigon
7-5 12-8 151 137 13
Burns
5-5 7-12 135 162 15
Umatilla
3-9 7-10 126 135 27
Riverside 2-10 6-15 133 220 28
Nyssa
1-10 1-22 50 320 32
2A/1A SPECIAL DISTRICT 6
Lg Ovr RS RA Rnk
Sherman
9-0 14-2 175 62
6
Pilot Rock 9-1 14-2 154 39
5
Grant Union 7-5 12-11 158 108 18
Culver
6-3 10-7 122 88 10
Elgin
6-4 6-5 55 47 26
Heppner
3-6 8-12 191 223 27
W-McEwen 2-8 4-16 112 191 32
Union
2-8 3-13 70 170 35
Dufur
0-9 2-15 53 211 38
PREP SOFTBALL
5A COLUMBIA RIVER CONFERENCE
Lg Ovr RS RA Rnk
Pendleton 10-0 22-1 245 45
1
Hood River 6-4 18-4 189 69
5
Hermiston 4-6 13-9 161 145
8
The Dalles 0-10 7-16-1 132 210 18
4A GREATER OREGON LEAGUE
Lg Ovr RS RA Rnk
La Grande 10-0 17-4 193 55
3
Mac-Hi
8-2 16-7 180 120
4
Ontario
1-9 11-11 189 110 21
Baker
1-9 6-17 151 257 27
3A SPECIAL DISTRICT 1
Lg Ovr RS RA Rnk
Echo
8-2 17-4 255 68 11
Irrigon
6-4 10-12 142 174 15
Riverside
5-4 8-8 100 95 13
W-McEwen 4-5 5-12 158 193 25
Umatilla
0-8 0-12 59 231 36
2A/1A SPECIAL DISTRICT 6
Lg Ovr RS RA Rnk
Pilot Rock 9-1 17-2 242 52
4
Union
9-1 17-3 210 95
5
Heppner
2-8 7-11 94 171 16
Culver
0-10 0-21 64 322 28
Basketball
NBA PLAYOFFS
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
Monday’s Games
Philadelphia 103, Boston 92 (BOS leads
3-1)
Cleveland 128, Toronto 93 (CLE wins
series 4-0)
Tuesday’s Games
Utah at Houston, 5 p.m. (HOU leads 3-1)
New Orleans at Golden State, 7:30 p.m.
(GS leads 3-1)
Wednesday’s Game
Philadelphia at Boston, 5 p.m. (BOS
leads 3-1)
Hockey
NHL PLAYOFFS
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
Sunday’s Games
Tampa Bay 3, Boston 1 (TB wins series
4-1)
Vegas 3, San Jose 0 (VGK wins series 4-2)
Monday’s Games
Washington 2, Pittsburgh 1, OT (WAS
wins series 4-2)
Nashville 4, Winnipeg 0 (Series tied 3-3)
Wednesday’s Game
Winnipeg at Nashville, TBD (NBCSN)
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Monday’s Games
Texas 7, Detroit 6
Minnesota 6, St. Louis 0
Houston at Oakland, 10:05 p.m.
Tuesday’s Games
Minnesota (Odorizzi 2-2) at St. Louis (Mar-
tinez 3-1), 10:15 a.m.
Boston (Pomeranz 1-1) at N.Y. Yankees
(Severino 5-1), 4:05 p.m.
Kansas City (Duffy 0-4) at Baltimore
(Bundy 1-4), 4:05 p.m.
Seattle (Paxton 1-1) at Toronto (Stroman
0-4), 4:07 p.m.
Atlanta (Newcomb 2-1) at Tampa Bay
(Snell 4-1), 4:10 p.m.
Cleveland (Kluber 5-1) at Milwaukee
(Miley 1-0), 4:40 p.m.
Detroit (Fiers 2-2) at Texas (Minor 3-1),
5:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh (Nova 2-2) at Chicago White
Sox (Giolito 1-4), 5:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Heaney 1-1) at Colorado
(Gray 3-4), 5:40 p.m.
Houston (McCullers 4-1) at Oakland
(Manaea 4-3), 7:05 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Monday’s Games
Philadelphia 11, San Francisco 0
N.Y. Mets 7, Cincinnati 6
Chicago Cubs 14, Miami 2
Minnesota 6, St. Louis 0
Washington at San Diego, 10:10 p.m.
Tuesday’s Games
Minnesota (Odorizzi 2-2) at St. Louis (Mar-
tinez 3-1), 10:15 a.m.
San Francisco (Holland 1-3) at Philadelphia
(Nola 4-1), 4:05 p.m.
Atlanta (Newcomb 2-1) at Tampa Bay
(Snell 4-1), 4:10 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Vargas 0-2) at Cincinnati
(Castillo 1-4), 4:10 p.m.
Cleveland (Kluber 5-1) at Milwaukee
(Miley 1-0), 4:40 p.m.
Miami (Urena 0-5) at Chicago Cubs (Dar-
vish 0-3), 5:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh (Nova 2-2) at Chicago White
Sox (Giolito 1-4), 5:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Heaney 1-1) at Colorado
(Gray 3-4), 5:40 p.m.
Arizona (Godley 4-2) at L.A. Dodgers (Hill
1-1), 7:10 p.m.
Washington (Hellickson 0-0) at San Diego
(Richard 1-4), 7:10 p.m.
Soccer
MLS
Wednesday’s Games
Philadelphia at Columbus, 4:30 p.m.
Seattle at Toronto FC, 4:30 p.m.
Sporting Kansas City at Atlanta United
FC, 4:30 p.m.
Montreal at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.
Minnesota United at Los Angeles FC,
7 p.m.
Friday’s Game
Houston at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
San Jose at Minnesota United, 11 a.m.
Philadelphia at Montreal, 12 p.m.
LA Galaxy at FC Dallas, 12:30 p.m.
Chicago at Columbus, 4:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at New England, 4:30 p.m.
D.C. United at Real Salt Lake, 6 p.m.
New York at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Golf
PGA Tour
WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday
At Quail Hollow Club
Charlotte, N.C.
Purse: $7.7 million
Yardage: 7,554; Par: 71
Final Leaderboard
Jason Day
69-67-67-69—272
Nick Watney
72-67-66-69—274
Aaron Wise
68-68-70-68—274
Bryson DeChambeau 75-65-66-70—276
Paul Casey
69-68-69-71—277
Phil Mickelson
72-72-64-69—277
Peter Uihlein
72-72-62-71—277
Patrick Reed
71-71-67-69—278
Emiliano Grillo
68-71-71-69—279
Luke List
70-72-67-70—279
Sam Saunders 70-69-68-72—279
Charl Schwartzel 70-67-70-72—279
Talor Gooch
71-72-66-71—280
Kyle Stanley
67-72-71-70—280
Notables
Rory McIlroy
68-76-66-71—281
Rickie Fowler
72-69-68-73—282
Justin Thomas
73-69-70-70—282
Tiger Woods
71-73-68-74—286
-12
-10
-10
-8
-7
-7
-7
-6
-5
-5
-5
-5
-4
-4
-3
-2
-2
+2
Auto Racing
NASCAR CUP SERIES
AAA 400 Drive for Autism Results
Sunday
At Dover International Speedway
Dover, Del.
Lap length: 1 mile
(Starting position in parentheses)
1. (2) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 400.
2. (12) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 400.
3. (7) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 400.
4. (3) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 400.
5. (9) Kurt Busch, Ford, 400.
6. (8) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400.
7. (10) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400.
8. (14) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 400.
9. (19) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 400.
10. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 400.
11. (13) Aric Almirola, Ford, 400.
12. (6) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 400.
13. (18) Joey Logano, Ford, 400.
14. (17) William Byron, Chevrolet, 399.
15. (5) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 399.
16. (23) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 399.
17. (25) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 399.
18. (11) Erik Jones, Toyota, 399.
19. (22) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 398.
HERMISTON RACEWAY
Saturday Results
Top Five Finishers
(Car number in parentheses)
Hornets Main Event
1. (77) Devin Taylor
2. (11) Joe Dunn
3. (77X) David Knowles
4. (7R) Ryan Rodabaugh
5. (23) Steve Owen
Street Stocks Main
1. (18) Adam Baker
2. (68) Bart Hector Sr.
3. (75) Terry Lydell
4. (19) Mikey Denton
5. (55) Justin Gage
Bombers Main
1. (123) Jeremy Erb
2. (2) Arlen Calley
3. (55) Justin Gage
4. (N21K) Carlton Leggett
5. (17) Kedric Preston
Mini Stock Main
1. (49) Angel Oseguera
2. (60) Jeff Mullins
3. (29) Andy Pierce
4. (43) Joe Blackburn
Super Mini Main
1. (8) Bradd Arneson
2. (27) Ron Wilbur
3. (11) Chris Kohler
Legends Main
1. (24z) Jose Zumudio
2. (13) Donnie “Rabbit”
3. (3) Neena Kirk
4. (34) Shane Page
5. (54) Trace Thompson
West Coast Late Models Main
1. (42) G. Huffines
2. (12) R. Girard
3. (15) Dan Nelson
4. (72) B. Tidrick Sr.
5. (3) A. Beanman