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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Thursday, June 7, 2018 Dynasty’s doorstep: Warriors take 3-0 lead over Cavs in Finals By TOM WITHERS Associated Press Mark Ylen/Albany Democrat-Herald via AP, File Oregon State pitcher Luke Heimlich throws during an NCAA college baseball game against UC Davis in Corvallis, Ore. Oregon State pitcher Luke Heim- lich, who as a teenager pleaded guilty to molesting a 6-year-old relative, was not selected in the Major League Baseball draft for the second straight year, Wednesday, June 6, 2018. OSU’s Heimlich goes undrafted again as teams pass on troubled past By DENNIS WASZAK JR. Associated Press NEW YORK — Oregon State pitcher Luke Heim- lich, who as a teenager pleaded guilty to molesting a 6-year-old relative, was not selected in the Major League Baseball draft for the second straight year. Heimlich is a two-time Pac-12 pitcher of the year and is regarded as one of college baseball’s top play- ers, but his troubled past has given big league teams pause. The 22-year-old left- hander was expected to be drafted in the early rounds last year until The Orego- nian reported last June that Heimlich admitted to the crime when he was 15. He did not play for Oregon State last year in the sec- ond round of the NCAA Tournament or the College World Series. Heimlich recently insisted in stories by Sports Illustrated and The New York Times he was actu- ally innocent and said he pleaded guilty because of poor legal advice — to avoid the possibility of jail time and prevent further stress for the girl. “Nothing ever hap- pened,” he told the Times, “so there is no incident to look back on.” In an interview with the Times, the girl’s mother said “there is no way he didn’t do it.” The three-day draft con- cluded Wednesday night, with 1,214 players selected — but not Heimlich. The Oregon State star is 15-1 with a 2.42 ERA and 142 strikeouts against just 25 walks in 111 2/3 innings this season. The Beavers are hosting Minnesota in the super regionals start- ing Friday, with the winner of the best-of-three series advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Heimlich, who is 26-2 over the last two seasons, is expected to pitch against the Golden Gophers. SIGNINGS: Luna made decision to stay close to family Continued from 1B munity College into play- ing not only basketball at the collegiate level, but also softball. While joining the Storm’s softball team is still in the works, it’s what factored into the late deci- sion to commit to the col- lege nestled in Hayesville, just outside of Salem. “I already had my plans (to go to Pacific),” Burns said. “Then, the coach con- tacted (girls basketball head coach Mike) Royer, and I was kind of like, ‘Ehhh,’ because it was just for basketball and then Royer mentioned to him I was really into softball too.” Athletically, the choice was made and on top of that Chemeketa offered Burns a scholarship that would cover two terms, which was something she could not pass up. Burns plans on major- ing in exercise science and later becoming a physical therapist. The two-year com- munity college will give Burns a start at her future career goals, but also help with the indecision of pick- ing between basketball and softball. The time spent in the South Region of the North- west Athletic Conference should ease that choice later down the road, Burns added. Burns is joined by Olivia Luna and Adrian Roa on the list of athletes from the Class of 2018 to further their athletic careers. Both Luna and Roa already signed their Letters of Intent, and Luna was also in attendance Tuesday to support team- mate Burns, and share her excitement in taking the next step — a dream that wasn’t realized until just her junior year. “I love the sport, so I just want to play,” Luna said. Luna has been playing soccer ever since she was young girl growing up in Mexico, and after moving to Oregon just five years ago, she found solace in the sport she loved. “I felt more involved and everything,” Luna said. Added football and soft- ball coach Steve Sheller, who has seen her transfor- mation in the classroom as well: “The growth of Olivia Luna from fresh- man year to senior year is incredible. She is a walk- ing example of the good stuff going on at Irrigon High School.” Luna contacted Blue Mountain Community College first, went to try- outs and made the deci- sion to stay close to fam- ily to continue her soccer career. She will be joining the Timberwolves wom- en’s soccer team with the likes of Hermiston’s Heidi Fuentes and BMCC first- year head coach Jordan Hillmick. ——— Contact Alexis at aman- sanarez@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4542. Follow her on Twitter @ almansanarez. CLEVELAND — Kevin Durant pushed the Golden State Warriors to dynasty’s doorstep. LeBron James may be at the door. Durant scored 43 points, draining a long 3-pointer in the final minute to cap his magnificent performance, and the Golden State War- riors defeated James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-102 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night to move within a victory of a sweep, their second straight title and third championship in four years. No team has ever over- come a 3-0 deficit in the NBA playoffs. It might be time to order some champagne from Napa Valley. With the Cavs within 103- 100, Durant stood motionless after dropping his 33-footer, which effectively ended the fourth straight finals matchup between two teams who have gotten to know each other well since 2015. “That was amazing what he did out there tonight,” War- riors coach Steve Kerr said. “Some of those shots, I don’t think anybody in the world can hit those but him. He was incredible.” Golden State will now have four chances to wrap up its title starting with Game 4 on Friday night. James scored 33 points and Kevin Love added 20 for the Cavs, who have fallen into a hole in which no team has ever emerged. Cleveland came back from a 3-1 defi- cit to stun the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, but that was when Durant was in Okla- homa City and James had a different supporting cast. The Warriors won despite a 3-of-16 shooting performance from Stephen Curry, who did come up big down the stretch as the Cavs were trying to sal- vage their season. Now Cleveland could be down to one final game with James. The three-time cham- pion can opt out of his $35.6 million contract and test free agency this summer, and it may be time for the 33-year- old to find a team capable of beating the Warriors. Durant, who tilted this AP Photo/Carlos Osorio Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant is defended by Cleveland Cavaliers’ George Hill during the second half of Game 3 of basketball’s NBA Finals. rivalry toward the West Coast when he signed with the War- riors as a free agent before last season, was brilliant from the start. He helped offset a rough night for Curry, who made a finals-record nine 3-point- ers in Game 2, but was just 1 of 10 from behind the arc and didn’t score his second field goal until there were under three minutes left. Curry’s scoop shot put the Warriors up 98-97 and defen- sive specialist Andre Iguodala, who didn’t play in Games 1 or 2 because of a knee injury, came up with a steal under the basket. Curry finally buried a 3 and after James matched him with a long shot, Iguodala drove the lane for a thundering dunk. Moments later, Durant delivered his dagger to silence Cleveland’s crowd. “The shot clock was run- ning down, I was pretty far out, I just wanted to get a look,” Durant said. “I didn’t want to run there and shoot a bad shot, fall on the ground and they got numbers going the other way so I decided to pull up.” James made a layup to pull the Cavs within four, it was too little too late as the Warriors closed it out and beat Cleve- land for the fourth straight time in finals games. With JaVale McGee get- ting three point-blank shots at the rim, the Warriors opened the third quarter with a 9-3 spurt and it wasn’t long before they took their first lead on Curry’s two free throws. Durant scored 24 in the first half, when the Warriors attempted 13 free throws to zero for the Cavs, a disparity that induced further wrath on the officials from Cleveland fans still stinging from the now infamous reversed call in Game 1. The Cavs needed a strong start, and they got it helped by a playground move from James. Dribbling near the foul lane, he used a head fake on McGee before stepping past the Warriors center. James then threw the ball off the back- board to himself and crushed a two-handed dunk — he pulled off a similar stunt in last year’s Finals — that sent Cleveland’s bench and fans into a frenzy. As coach Tyronn Lue had hoped, Cleveland was more physical and won several 50-50 balls while outrebound- ing and outworking the War- riors, who spent much of the first half barking about the officiating. The problem, though, was that the Cavs couldn’t stop Durant. He wouldn’t allow Cleveland to pull too far ahead and the superstar made up for an ineffective Curry. James arrived at 6 p.m. dressed more casually — cam- ouflage pants, purple hoodie, “Billionaire Boys Club” base- ball cap — than on the road where he and the Cavs have been wearing suits during the postseason. Everything is more relaxed and familiar at home for James and his teammates, who were counting on a return to their own noisy building, where they play better and shoot bet- ter, to get them back into the series. The Warriors had other plans. TIP-INS Warriors: Draymond Green passed Wilt Chamberlain (922) for the most rebounds in Warriors playoff history. ... Thompson played in his NBA-high 390th game over the last four seasons. Green is second with 387, while James is third at 381. ... Green and Thompson, who have tangled all series, were both slapped with technical following an exchange in the first quarter. ... Cavaliers: James (238) broke a tie with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and moved into fourth place for the most play- off games. Only Derek Fisher (259), Tim Duncan (251) and Robert Horry (244) have made most postseason appearances. ... Abdul-Jabbar attended the game and got a rousing ova- tion when introduced in the third quarter. .... There was an awkward moment at the start of Lue’s pregame news con- ference when he was asked by a foreign reporter who he expected to be the key player in Game 3. “LeBron James, I guess,” he said with a laugh. UP NEXT Game 4 is Friday night. SCOREBOARD Basketball NBA FINALS Golden State 3, Cleveland 0 (Best-of-7; x-if necessary) Thursday, May 31: Golden State 124, Cleveland 114 Sunday, June 3: Golden State 122, Cleveland 103 Wednesday: Golden State 110, Cleveland 102 Friday: Golden State at Cleveland, 6 p.m. x-Monday, June 11: Cleveland at Golden State winner, 6 p.m. x-Thursday, June 14: Golden State winner at Cleveland, 6 p.m. x-Sunday, June 17: Cleveland at Golden State winner, 5 p.m. WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB Connecticut 5 1 .833 — Washington 5 3 .625 1 Atlanta 3 3 .500 2 Chicago 3 3 .500 2 New York 2 3 .400 2½ Indiana 0 6 .000 5 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB Los Angeles 4 1 .800 — Seattle 5 2 .714 — Phoenix 5 3 .625 ½ Dallas 3 3 .500 1½ Minnesota 2 5 .286 3 Las Vegas 1 5 .167 3½ ——— Wednesday’s Games No games scheduled. Thursday’s Games Minnesota at Washington, 1 p.m. Connecticut at New York, 4 p.m. Seattle at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Hockey NHL STANLEY CUP (Best-of-7; x-if necessary) Washington 3, Vegas 1 Monday, May 28: Vegas 6, Washington 4 Wednesday, May 30: Washington 3, Vegas 2 Saturday, June 2: Washington 3, Vegas 1 Monday: Washington 6, Vegas 2 Thursday, June 7: Washington at Vegas, 5 p.m. x-Sunday, June 10: Vegas at Washington, 5 p.m. x-Wednesday, June 13: Washington at Vegas, 5 p.m. Baseball MLB AMERICAN LEAGUE East Division W L Boston 43 19 New York 40 18 Tampa Bay 28 32 Toronto 26 35 Baltimore 19 41 Central Division W L Cleveland 32 28 Detroit 29 34 Minnesota 26 32 Chicago 20 39 Kansas City 21 41 West Division W L Seattle 38 23 Houston 38 25 Los Angeles 35 28 Oakland 31 31 Texas 27 37 Pct GB .694 — .690 1 .467 14 .426 16½ .317 23 Pct GB .533 — .460 4½ .448 5 .339 11½ .339 12 Pct GB .623 — .603 1 .556 4 .500 7½ .422 12½ ——— Wednesday’s Games Washington 11, Tampa Bay 2 Baltimore 1, N.Y. Mets 0 Cleveland 3, Milwaukee 1 N.Y. Yankees 3, Toronto 0, 13 innings Boston 7, Detroit 1 Texas 8, Oakland 2 Chicago White Sox 5, Minnesota 2 Houston 7, Seattle 5 L.A. Angels 4, Kansas City 3 Thursday’s Games Chicago White Sox (Shields 1-6) at Minne- sota (Berrios 6-5), 10:10 a.m. Baltimore (Hess 2-2) at Toronto (Garcia 2-4), 4:07 p.m. Detroit (Boyd 3-4) at Boston (Beeks 0-0), 4:10 p.m. Seattle (Leake 5-3) at Tampa Bay (Stanek 1-1), 4:10 p.m. Houston (Cole 6-1) at Texas (Hamels 3-5), 5:05 p.m. Kansas City (Hammel 2-5) at Oakland (Montas 2-0), 7:05 p.m. NATIONAL LEAGUE East Division W L Pct GB Washington 35 25 .583 — Atlanta 36 26 .581 — Philadelphia 32 27 .542 2½ New York 27 32 .458 7½ Miami 22 39 .361 13½ Central Division W L Pct GB Milwaukee 37 25 .597 — Chicago 34 24 .586 1 St. Louis 32 27 .542 3½ Pittsburgh 31 30 .508 5½ Cincinnati 21 41 .339 16 West Division W L Pct GB Arizona 32 29 .525 — Colorado 32 29 .525 — San Francisco 31 31 .500 1½ Los Angeles 30 31 .492 2 San Diego 29 35 .453 4½ ——— Wednesday’s Games Washington 11, Tampa Bay 2 Baltimore 1, N.Y. Mets 0 Cleveland 3, Milwaukee 1 San Diego 3, Atlanta 1 San Francisco 5, Arizona 4, 10 innings Pittsburgh 11, L.A. Dodgers 9 Colorado 6, Cincinnati 3 Chicago Cubs 7, Philadelphia 5 Miami 11, St. Louis 3 Thursday’s Games Colorado (Anderson 3-1) at Cincinnati (Mahle 4-6), 9:35 a.m. L.A. Dodgers (Santana 1-0) at Pittsburgh (Taillon 3-4), 9:35 a.m. Miami (Richards 0-2) at St. Louis (Mikolas 6-1), 10:15 a.m. Philadelphia (Pivetta 4-4) at Chicago Cubs (Chatwood 3-4), 11:20 a.m. NCAA Men’s Baseball Tournament Super Regionals Best-of-3; x-if necessary Host school is home team for Game 1; visiting school is home team for Game 2; coin flip determines home team for Game 3 CHAPEL HILL SUPER REGIONAL Friday, June 8: North Carolina (41-18) vs. Stetson (48-11), 8 a.m. Saturday, June 9: North Carolina vs. Stetson, 9 a.m. x-Sunday, June 10: North Carolina vs. Stetson, 9 a.m. NASHVILLE SUPER REGIONAL Friday, June 8: Vanderbilt (34-25) vs. Mississippi State (35-26), 5 p.m. Saturday, June 9: Vanderbilt vs. Mississip- pi State, 6:30 p.m. x-Sunday, June 10: Vanderbilt vs. Missis- sippi State, 3 p.m. CORVALLIS SUPER REGIONAL Friday, June 8: Oregon State (47-10-1) vs. Minnesota (44-13), 2 p.m. Saturday, June 9: Oregon State vs. Min- nesota, 6:30 p.m. x-Sunday, June 10: Oregon State vs. Minnesota, 6 p.m. FULLERTON SUPER REGIONAL Friday, June 8: Cal State Fullerton (35-23) vs. Washington (33-23), 11 a.m. Saturday, June 9: Cal State Fullerton vs. Washington, 3:30 p.m. x-Sunday, June 10: Cal State Fullerton vs. Washington, 6 p.m. GAINESVILLE SUPER REGIONAL Saturday, June 9: Florida (45-18) vs. Auburn (42-21), 9 a.m. Sunday, June 10: Florida vs. Auburn, 9 a.m. x-Monday, June 11: Florida vs. Auburn, 5:30 p.m. FAYETTEVILLE SUPER REGIONAL Saturday, June 9: Arkansas (42-18) vs. South Carolina (36-24), 3:30 p.m. Sunday, June 10: Arkansas vs. South Carolina, 12 p.m. x-Monday, June 11: Arkansas vs. South Carolina, 4 p.m. LUBBOCK SUPER REGIONAL Saturday, June 9: Texas Tech (42-17) vs. Duke (44-16), 12 p.m. Sunday, June 10: Texas Tech vs. Duke, 3 p.m. x-Monday, June 11: Texas Tech vs. Duke, 1 p.m. AUSTIN SUPER REGIONAL Saturday, June 9: Texas (40-20) vs. Ten- nessee Tech (52-10), 12 p.m. Sunday, June 10: Texas vs. Tennessee Tech, 12 p.m. x-Monday, June 11: Texas vs. Tennessee Tech, 10 a.m. Soccer MLS EASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA Atlanta United FC 9 3 2 29 30 18 New York City FC 8 3 3 27 29 19 Columbus 7 3 5 26 21 13 New York 7 4 1 22 27 14 New England 6 4 4 22 24 20 Orlando City 6 6 1 19 22 23 Philadelphia 5 6 3 18 16 19 Chicago 5 7 2 17 20 25 Montreal 4 10 0 12 15 29 Toronto FC 3 7 2 11 17 23 D.C. United 2 5 3 9 14 18 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA Sporting K.C. 8 2 4 28 28 14 FC Dallas 7 1 5 26 22 14 Real Salt Lake 7 6 1 22 19 26 Los Angeles FC 6 4 3 21 25 21 Portland 6 3 3 21 20 18 Vancouver 5 5 5 20 21 28 Houston 5 5 3 18 27 21 LA Galaxy 5 7 2 17 19 23 Minnesota United 5 8 1 16 17 26 San Jose 2 8 3 9 19 25 Seattle 2 7 2 8 7 14 Colorado 2 8 2 8 14 22 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Monday-Thursday’s Games No games scheduled. Friday’s Games Toronto FC at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. Tennis FRENCH OPEN Wednesday’s Results Men’s Singles Quarterfinals Diego Schwartzman (11), Argentina, leads Rafael Nadal (1), Spain, 6-4, 3-5 (30-15), susp., rain. Marin Cilic (3), Croatia, and Juan Martin del Potro (5), Argentina, 6-6 (5-5), susp., rain. Women’s Singles Quarterfinals Simona Halep (1), Romania, def. Angeli- que Kerber (12), Germany, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2. Garbine Muguruza (3), Spain, def. Maria Sharapova (28), Russia, 6-2, 6-1. Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals Nicolas Mahut, France and Pierre-Hugues Herbert (6), France, def. Maximo Gonzalez, Argentina and Nicolas Jarry, Chile, 6-4, 7-6 (8). Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals Makoto Ninomiya, Japan and Eri Hozumi, Japan, def. Kristina Mladenovic, France and Timea Babos (1), Hungary, 7-6 (4), 6-3. Barbora Strycova, Czech Republic and An- drea Sestini Hlavackova (2), Czech Republic, def. Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenia and Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, Spain, 6-3, 6-1. Mixed Doubles Semifinals Ivan Dodig, Croatia and Latisha Chan (2), Taiwan, def. Robert Farah, Colombia and Anna-Lena Groenefeld (8), Germany, 4-6, 7-5, 10-8. Golf PGA Tour FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC Site: Memphis, Tenn. Course: TPC Southwind. Yardage: 7,244. Par: 70. Purse: $6.6 million. Winner’s share: $1,188,000. Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (Golf Channel); 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Defending champion: Daniel Berger. Last week: Bryson DeChambeau won the Memorial. FedEx Cup leader: Justin Thomas. LPGA Tour SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC Site: Galloway, N.J. Course: Stockton Seaview Hotel and GC (Bay Course). Yardage: 6,177. Par: 71. Purse: $1.75 million. Winner’s share: $262,500. Television: Friday, 1:30-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 3-5 p.m. (Golf Channel). Defending champion: I.K. Kim. Last week: Ariya Jutanugarn won the U.S. Women’s Open. Race to CME Globe leader: Ariya Jutanugarn. Auto Racing NASCAR FIREKEEPS CASINO 400 Site: Brooklyn, Michigan. Schedule: Friday, practice, 11:30 a.m. (FS2), qualifying, 4:10 p.m. (FS2); Saturday, practice, 9 a.m. (FS1), practice 12 p.m. (FS2); Sunday, race, 2 p.m., FOX. Track: Michigan International Speedway (oval, 2 miles). Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps. Last year: Kyle Larson won his second race of 2017. Last race: Defending champion Martin Truex Jr. picked up his second victory of the season.
