SPORTS Saturday, January 5, 2019 East Oregonian B3 COWBOYS, PRESCOTT VS WILSON, SEAHAWKS “We’re feeling great,” Elliott said. “I believe we have the best defense in foot- ball and a pretty good offense, a lot of weapons. I think we have the right rec- ipe to make some noise.” By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer A RLINGTON, Texas — Russell Wilson won a wild-card game with Seattle as a rookie, a Super Bowl in his second season and another NFC championship the third time around. The best Dak Prescott can hope for with the Dallas Cowboys is to join Wil- son on that list of title winners in his third year, a quest that will start with the fi rst playoff meeting of quarterbacks with quite a bit in common. Both were mid-round draft picks who became instant NFL success stories. The difference is that Prescott lost his fi rst playoff game after guiding the Cowboys to the top seed in the NFC two years ago, then had to wait two years for his second chance. It comes in a home wild- card game Saturday night. “When you say success of a quarter- back or a quarterback’s success depend- ing on what they do in the playoffs, I think that’s where the checks are written and they make their money,” Prescott said. “Our job is to win no matter what happens, no matter how you played indi- vidually. At the end of the day, it’s to get the job done.” When Wilson fi nally missed the play- offs in his sixth season last year, the Seahawks were eliminated on the fi nal weekend — after they bounced Prescott and the Cowboys from contention with a road win in Week 16. Seattle was 0-2 this year when the season turned on a 24-13 win over the visiting Cowboys (10-6), with the Sea- hawks following a familiar formula from their Super Bowl days: an effi cient Wilson, strong running game and play- making defense. The Seahawks (10-6) kept it up despite overhauling the roster, mostly Wild-card streak DAK PRESCOTT RUSSELL WILSON Original line AP Photos/File notably dismantling key pieces of the “Legion of Boom” defense. An import- ant exception has been linebacker Bobby Wagner, who was just selected an All- Pro for the fourth time in fi ve seasons. “The great thing about this team is the fact that everybody was telling us we couldn’t,” Wilson said. “It shows the heart of this team and it shows the mindset of this team to be able to think the way that you want to think and the places that you want to go. To think big, to believe big.” Wilson was a third-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2012 and won the job in his fi rst training camp. Prescott was drafted in the fourth round out of Missis- sippi State four years later and became the starter after preseason injuries to Tony Romo and backup Kellen Moore. In his fi rst three years, Wilson won more games than any other NFL quarter- back with 36. Prescott just fi nished tied for fi fth on that list with 32. Two quar- terbacks have an NFL-leading 24 games with at least a 100 passer rating in their fi rst three seasons: Wilson and Prescott. Now it’s time for their third — and most meaningful — meeting, with Prescott looking to beat Wilson for the fi rst time. “Dak had a phenomenal year to get started and get rolling and has just been solid since,” Seahawks coach Pete Car- roll said. “I think it’s the dynamics of the mobility that when you add that together, and of course they can both throw the ball way down the fi eld. You’ve got the same kind of problems.” Run fi rst Both teams fi gure to try to control the pace with their running games. Ezekiel Elliott just won the NFL rushing title for the second time in his three seasons, and Chris Carson heads a group of Seattle backs that led the NFL in rushing. The Cowboys were 10th, fueled by Elliott, and have had a top-10 defense most of the season led by pass rusher DeMar- cus Lawrence and young playmaking linebackers Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch. Dallas was fi fth against the run. George has 37 and Thunder hold off Blazers 111-109 Associated Press PORTLAND — Paul George scored 37 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped a six-game losing streak to the Portland Trail Blazers with a 111-109 vic- tory on Friday night. Russell Westbrook added 31 points for the Thun- der, who had also lost eight straight games at the Moda Center dating to February 2014. Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 23 points and eight assists. The Thunder trailed by as many as 11 points in the fi rst half but pulled in front late in the third quarter and pushed the lead to 107-97 with just over 4 minutes to go on a basket by West- brook, who scored 20 points came in the second half. CJ McCollum’s jumper got Portland within 109- 105 and Lillard made two of three free throws to cut the defi cit with 42.8 seconds left. George made free throws with 4.3 seconds left and the Blazers fell short on Al-Fa- rouq Aminu’s basket at the buzzer. Oklahoma City, sitting in second place in the Western Conference behind the Nug- gets, has won three straight, including a 107-100 vic- tory over the Lakers on Wednesday. The Blazers had won two straight overall and were coming off a 113-108 over- time victory in Sacramento on New Year’s Day. The game against the Thunder was the fi rst of a fi ve-game homestand. George got off to a fast start with 13 points in the opening quarter, including a pair of free throws that pulled the Thunder into a 28-all tie. The Blazers went up 47-39 after Jake Layman’s 3-pointer, and extended the lead to 58-47 after Maurice Harkless’ 3. Jusuf Nurkic had 16 fi rst- half points and Portland went into the break with a 62-57 lead. The Thunder closed within 80-78 on Steven Adams’ layup then took an 83-82 lead on George’s 3-pointer. Aminu answered with a 3 for the Blazers but George made another 3 and the Thunder went into the fi nal period with a 93-87 lead. Nurkic fi nished with 22 points and eight rebounds. SCOREBOARD LOCAL SLATE SATURDAY, JAN. 5 Boys Basketball Mac-Hi at Baker, 3 p.m. Stanfi eld at Knappa, 3:30 p.m. Heppner at Weston-McEwen, 4 p.m. Enterprise at Pilot Rock, 4 p.m. Columbia Basin at Blue Mountain, 4 p.m. Ione at Echo, 5:30 p.m. Helix at Elgin, 5:30 p.m. Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 5:30 p.m. Hermiston at Kamiakin, 7:30 p.m. Girls Basketball Stanfi eld at Knappa, 2 p.m. Columbia Basin at Blue Mountain, 2 p.m. Ione at Echo, 4 p.m. Helix at Elgin, 4 p.m. Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 4 p.m. Baker at Mac-Hi, 4:30 p.m. Enterprise at Pilot Rock, 5:30 p.m. Heppner at Weston-McEwen, 5:30 p.m. Hermiston at Kamiakin, 5:45 p.m. Boys Wrestling Hermiston at Gut Check Invite (Seattle) TUESDAY, JAN. 8 Boys Basketball La Grande at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m. White Swan (WA) at Nixyaawii, 7 p.m. Arlington at Ione, 7:30 p.m. Irrigon at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m. Walla Walla at Hermiston, 7:30 p.m. Girls Basketball Walla Walla at Hermiston, 5:45 p.m. White Swan (WA) at Nixyaawii, 5 p.m. Arlington at Ione, 6 p.m. Irrigon at Umatilla, 6 p.m. Pendleton at La Grande, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9 Boys Basketball Blue Mountain at Treasure Valley, 6:30 p.m. Mac-Hi at Hood River Valley, 6:30 p.m. Girls Basketball Blue Mountain at Treasure Valley, 4:30 p.m. THURSDAY, JAN. 10 Boys Basketball Riverside at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m. Girls Basketball Riverside at Irrigon, 6 p.m. Boys Wrestling Hermiston at Hanford, 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11 Boys Basketball Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m. Enterprise at Heppner, 6 p.m. Stanfi eld at Union, 6 p.m. La Grande at Mac-Hi, 6 p.m. Umatilla at Burns, 6:30 p.m. Pendleton at Hood River Valley, 6:30 p.m. Ione at Mitchell/Spray, 7:30 p.m. Echo at South Wasco County, 7:30 p.m. Imbler at Helix, 7:30 p.m. Nixyaawii at Cove, 7:30 p.m. Kennewick at Hermiston, 7:30 p.m. Girls Basketball Umatilla at Burns, 5 p.m. Kennewick at Hermiston, 5:45 p.m. Ione at Mitchell/Spray, 6 p.m. Echo at South Wasco County, 6 p.m. Nixyaawii at Cove, 6 p.m. Helix at Imbler, 6 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, 7:30 p.m. Stanfi eld at Union, 7:30 p.m. Enterprise at Heppner, 7:30 p.m. La Grande at Mac-Hi, 7:30 p.m. Hood River Valley at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m. Girls Wrestling Hermiston at Othello, 5 p.m. SATURDAY, JAN. 12 Boys Basketball Horizon Christian at Ione, 3 p.m. Wenatchee Valley at Blue Mountain, 4 p.m. Union at Heppner, 4 p.m. Grant Union at Weston-McEwen, 4 p.m. Enterprise at Stanfi eld, 4 p.m. Nixyaawii at Helix, 5:30 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Echo, 5:30 p.m. Hermiston at Chiawana, 7:30 p.m. Girls Basketball Wenatchee Valley at Blue Mountain, 2 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Echo, 4 p.m. Nixyaawii at Helix, 4 p.m. Union at Heppner, 5:30 p.m. Enterprise at Stanfi eld, 5:30 p.m. Grant Union at Weston-McEwen, 5:30 p.m. Boys Wrestling Farm City Invitational (Hermiston) Pendleton at Wilsonville, 10:30 a.m. Girls Wrestling Hermiston at Othello, 10 a.m. NBA STANDINGS EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic W L Toronto 28 12 Philadelphia 25 14 Boston 23 15 Brooklyn 19 21 New York 10 29 Southeast W L Miami 19 18 Charlotte 18 19 Orlando 17 21 Washington 15 24 Atlanta 11 27 Central W L Milwaukee 27 10 Indiana 26 12 Detroit 17 19 Chicago 10 29 Cleveland 8 31 Pct .700 .641 .605 .475 .256 Pct .514 .486 .447 .385 .289 Pct .730 .684 .472 .256 .205 GB — 2½ 4 9 17½ GB — 1 2½ 5 8½ GB — 1½ 9½ 18 20 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest W L Houston 22 15 San Antonio 22 17 Memphis 18 20 Dallas 18 20 New Orleans 17 22 Northwest W L Denver 25 11 Pct .595 .564 .474 .474 .436 Pct .694 GB — 1 4½ 4½ 6 GB — Oklahoma City 25 13 .658 1 Portland 22 17 .564 4½ Utah 19 20 .487 7½ Minnesota 18 21 .462 8½ Pacifi c W L Pct GB Golden State 25 14 .641 — L.A. Clippers 22 16 .579 2½ L.A. Lakers 21 18 .538 4 Sacramento 19 19 .500 5½ Phoenix 9 31 .225 16½ ——— Thursday’s Games San Antonio 125, Toronto 107 Denver 117, Sacramento 113 Houston 135, Golden State 134, OT< Friday’s Games Utah 117, Cleveland 91 Boston 114, Dallas 93 Brooklyn 109, Memphis 100 Indiana 119, Chicago 116, OT Miami 115, Washington 109 Minnesota 120, Orlando 103 Milwaukee 144, Atlanta 112 L.A. Clippers 121, Phoenix 111 New York 119, L.A. Lakers 112 Oklahoma City 111, Portland 109 Saturday’s Games Charlotte at Denver, 2 p.m. Utah at Detroit, 4 p.m. Dallas at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. New Orleans at Cleveland, 5 p.m. Memphis at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Toronto at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m. Golden State at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Houston at Portland, 7 p.m. Sunday’s Games Brooklyn at Chicago, 12:30 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Minnesota, 12:30 p.m. Orlando at L.A. Clippers, 12:30 p.m. Miami at Atlanta, 3 p.m. Washington at Oklahoma City, 4 p.m. Indiana at Toronto, 4:30 p.m. Charlotte at Phoenix, 5 p.m. Monday’s Games San Antonio at Detroit, 4 p.m. Brooklyn at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Denver at Houston, 5 p.m. Memphis at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Utah at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. New York at Portland, 7 p.m. Orlando at Sacramento, 7 p.m. NHL STANDINGS EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 41 32 7 2 66 174 119 Toronto 40 26 12 2 54 147 113 Boston 41 23 14 4 50 120 109 Buff alo 41 22 13 6 50 119 118 Montreal 41 22 14 5 49 130 128 Florida 39 17 16 6 40 127 138 Detroit 43 16 20 7 39 122 148 Ottawa 41 15 21 5 35 129 163 Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 40 24 12 4 52 141 119 Pittsburgh 41 23 12 6 52 144 117 Columbus 40 23 14 3 49 131 123 N.Y. Islanders 39 22 13 4 48 117 104 Carolina N.Y. Rangers New Jersey Philadelphia Seattle has won six straight wild-card games, a streak that started when Romo, a fi rst-year starter and still the holder, fl ubbed the snap on a potential go-ahead fi eld goal in the fi nal two minutes of the Seahawks’ 21-20 home win during the 2006 season. Oddly enough during this streak, Seattle has lost every time in the divisional round. 40 18 17 40 17 16 40 16 17 40 15 20 5 7 7 5 41 103 114 41 114 136 39 120 134 35 114 145 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central GP W L OT Pts GF GA Winnipeg 40 25 13 2 52 134 115 Nashville 42 24 15 3 51 127 108 Dallas 42 22 16 4 48 115 111 Colorado 42 20 14 8 48 144 129 Minnesota 39 19 17 3 41 114 111 Chicago 43 15 21 7 37 123 156 St. Louis 38 16 18 4 36 107 125 Pacifi c GP W L OT Pts GF GA Calgary 42 25 13 4 54 150 121 Vegas 44 25 15 4 54 133 117 San Jose 42 22 13 7 51 145 133 Anaheim 42 19 16 7 45 104 123 Vancouver 44 20 20 4 44 128 138 Edmonton 40 19 18 3 41 114 127 Arizona 41 17 21 3 37 103 118 Los Angeles 42 16 23 3 35 94 127 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per confer- ence advance to playoff s Thursday’s Games Minnesota 4, Toronto 3 Carolina 5, Philadelphia 3 Buff alo 4, Florida 3 Boston 6, Calgary 4 N.Y. Islanders 3, Chicago 2, OT Montreal 2, Vancouver 0 St. Louis 5, Washington 2 Tampa Bay 6, Los Angeles 2 Friday’s Games Pittsburgh 4, Winnipeg 0 Detroit 4, Nashville 3, OT Carolina 4, Columbus 2 Dallas 2, Washington 1, OT New Jersey 3, Arizona 2, SO Colorado 6, N.Y. Rangers 1 Vegas 3, Anaheim 2< Saturday’s Games Calgary at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Minnesota at Ottawa, 10 a.m. Columbus at Florida, 4 p.m. Vancouver at Toronto, 4 p.m. Nashville at Montreal, 4 p.m. Buff alo at Boston, 4 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Edmonton at Los Angeles, 7 p.m. Tampa Bay at San Jose, 8 p.m. Sunday’s Games Carolina at Ottawa, 10 a.m. N.Y. Rangers at Arizona, 1 p.m. New Jersey at Vegas, 1 p.m. Washington at Detroit, 2 p.m. Dallas at Winnipeg, 2 p.m. Edmonton at Anaheim, 5 p.m. Chicago at Pittsburgh, 5 p.m. Monday’s Games Nashville at Toronto, 4 p.m. St. Louis at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Minnesota at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Calgary at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Los Angeles at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. With left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo listed as doubtful because of an ankle injury, the Cowboys are likely to have this season’s original starting offensive line before Su’a-Filo replaced injured rookie Connor Williams and kept the job. The starters are left tackle Tyron Smith, Williams, center Joe Looney, All- Pro right guard Zack Martin and right tackle La’el Collins. Looney has fi lled in all year for four-time Pro Bowler Tra- vis Frederick, who was diagnosed with a nerve disorder during the preseason. Settled in Week 3 The Seahawks settled their offensive line in the fi rst Dallas meeting with their best rushing game to that point. A key addition was right guard D.J. Fluker, who sat out Week 17 to nurse a nag- ging hamstring injury but will play. Left guard J.R. Sweezy is questionable with a sprained foot. Both teams have had issues protect- ing their mobile quarterbacks. Prescott (56 sacks) and Wilson (51) were among the four QBs dropped at least 50 times this season. Woodland birdies his way into lead at Kapalua By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer KAPALUA, Hawaii — Gary Woodland wasn’t making any putts until he chipped in for birdie, and then he couldn’t miss. Woodland broke away from a fi ve-way tie for the lead Friday by run- ning off fi ve straight bird- ies, and then fi nishing with one more for another 6-under 67 that gave him a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. None of his birdie putts were longer than 10 feet, which helped. But this was more a measure of his con- fi dence, which dates to his work with putting guru Phil Kenyon during the Brit- ish Open last summer at Carnoustie. “The big deal was just staying patient on the greens,” Woodland said. “It’s very tough putting with the crosswinds and I didn’t see anything go in early, but nice to see the chip go in on 11 and kind of got me going, propelled me for the rest of the round.” Woodland was at 12-under 134. Rory McIlroy had another good fi nish with three birdies over his last fi ve holes for a 68, leaving him three shots behind along with Bryson DeChambeau (68) and Kevin Tway, who didn’t make his fi rst bogey at Kapalua until the 17th hole of the second round. He shot a 71. Defending champion Dustin Johnson had a 74, the fi rst time in 33 rounds at Kapalua that he was over par. He could think of one shot he’d like to have back, out of the hazard left of the fourth fairway. The shot was fi ne. The trouble was it wasn’t his ball, and John- son was assessed a two- shot penalty. It was a bit of a fl uke, as most things are with Johnson. A volunteer mar- shal marked where his ball had gone into the hazard, and Johnson could see it was his brand. Only when he walked about 20 yards toward the green did he see another ball, and the light came on. It didn’t involve the new rules, although they might have played a role. If the ball moves while try- ing to identify it, there is no penalty. U.S. women to open camp ahead of World Cup CHICAGO (AP) — Two goals away from reaching 100 for her career, forward Alex Morgan is on the roster for the U.S. women’s national team as it opens training camp ahead of the World Cup in France this summer. Morgan was among 26 players named to the roster by coach Jill Ellis on Fri- day. The defending cham- pions leave for Portugal on Saturday and will play a pair of exhibition matches against France and Spain later in the month. Tierna Davidson, Kel- ley O’Hara and McCall Zerboni have returned to the team following inju- ries. Davidson broke her ankle in September while playing for Stanford. Zer- boni fractured her elbow in a match for the U.S. team against Chile, and O’Hara is coming off ankle surgery. Ellis brought four goal- keepers in the camp, including Adrianna Franch, of the Portland Thorns. Franch is still looking for her fi rst cap. Three other Thorns players made the roster. ROSTER BY POSITION, WITH CLUB AFFILIATION GOALKEEPERS: Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride) and Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars). Defenders: Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage), Tierna Davidson (Stanford), Crystal Dunn (NC Courage), Emily Fox (North Carolina), Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Roy- als), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars) and Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns). MIDFIELDERS: Morgan Brian (Chi- cago Red Stars), Danielle Colaprico (Chicago Red Stars), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage) and McCall Zerboni (NC Courage). Forwards: Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue), Jessica McDonald (NC Courage), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Utah Royals), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign).