6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2020
NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS UNDERWAY IN THE FLORIDA BUBBLE AND BOTH TOP SEEDS LOSE THEIR OPENING GAMES
Blazers upset Lakers in Game 1
■ Damian Lillard hits a late 3-pointer to help hold off a Los Angeles rally
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
(AP) — After sinking a deep
3-pointer midway through the
fi nal quarter, Damian Lillard
did a little dance and team-
mate Jusuf Nurkic pointed to
his wrist.
This was Dame Time, play-
off edition.
“Every game since we’ve
been here has been a playoff
game. So that prepared us for
a game like this,” Lillard said.
“It’s only one win. I’m happy
to be here competing in the
playoffs again, but we’ve got
to move on to the next one.”
Lillard had 34 points and
the Portland Trail Blazers
spoiled LeBron James’ fi rst
playoff appearance for the Los
Angeles Lakers with a 100-93
victory on Tuesday night in
Game 1 of the teams’ playoff
series.
James had 23 points, 17 re-
bounds and 16 assists, becom-
ing the fi rst player to have as
many points, rebounds and
assists in the playoffs. It was
his 24th postseason triple-
double and his assists were a
career playoff high.
“We had a couple of break-
downs, which you can’t have
down the stretch, especially
against a team like Portland,”
James said.
Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points
and 15 rebounds for Portland,
which led by as many as 16
points in the fi rst half. The
Lakers, making their fi rst
playoff appearance since 2013,
narrowed the advantage to
57-56 at the break and stayed
close the rest of the way.
Trailing 78-75 going into
the fi nal period, the Lakers
tied it at 78 on Kyle Kuzma’s
3-pointer. James’ layup gave
Los Angeles the lead, and
Kuzma added a pair of free
throws and another layup to
extend it to 84-78.
Lillard’s 3-pointer tied it
again at 87 with 5:46 to go
and CJ McCollum’s fl oater
gave Portland the lead. Lil-
lard said afterward he danced
after his 3 because the song
Luis Sinco / TNS
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers defends against Trail Blazers guard
CJ McCollum in a game earlier this season.
“Every game since we’ve been here has been a playoff
game. So that prepared us for a game like this. It’s only
one win. I’m happy to be here competing in the playoffs
again, but we’ve got to move on to the next one.”
— Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers guard
Blow the Whistle was played
in the bubble arena, which
Lillard called the “East Oak-
land anthem.”
After Danny Green’s layup
tied it again for Los Angeles,
Lillard nailed another 3-point-
er. Anthony Davis’ dunk got
the Lakers within 95-93,
but Gary Trent Jr. made a
3-pointer that put Portland up
98-93 before Nurkic dunked
to seal it.
Anthony Davis had 28
points and 11 rebounds for
the Lakers.
Portland won the fi rst
play-in postseason NBA game
since 1956, beating Memphis
126-122 on Saturday to make
the playoffs for the seventh
consecutive season. The Blaz-
ers were among three teams
with losing overall records
to make the bubble playoffs.
No team below .500 had
advanced to the postseason
since 2015.
The Blazers were without
forward Zach Collins be-
cause of infl ammation in his
left ankle. Wenyen Gabriel
started in his place.
Portland led by 33-17 in the
fi rst half after Nurkic’s dunk.
The Lakers got within 40-38
but couldn’t pull in front until
Davis’ dunk off of James’ pass
made it 50-49 with just over
three minute left in the half.
But it was short-lived.
The game was delayed for a
time in the fi rst half when the
Lakers’ rim got tilted and had
to be adjusted.
TIP INS
• Trail Blazers: Lillard had
48 points in Portland’s 127-
119 victory over the Lakers
in Los Angeles on Jan. 31.
So of course the Lakers were
Portland vs.
Los Angeles
• Game 1: Tuesday,
Portland 100, L.A. 93
• Game 2: Today, 6 p.m.
TV on ESPN
• Game 3: Saturday,
5:30 p.m., TV on ABC
• Game 4: Aug. 24,
6 p.m., TV on TNT
going to try to stop the bubble
MVP. But that’s no different
than every other game, Stotts
said. “There’s not a lot that he
hasn’t seen or that we haven’t
seen,” Stotts said. ... Portland
is also without Rodney Hood,
who continues to rehab from
an Achilles injury, and Trevor
Ariza, who opted not to play
in Florida.
• Lakers: Rajon Rando is in
the bubble and has returned
to limited practice heading
into the playoff, after be-
ing out with a fractured left
thumb. Coach Frank Vogel
said Rondo’s “close, but we’ll
continue to evaluate it day by
day.”
Baker coaches discuss sports seasons
That means students in fall sports,
with a practice period of Sept. 7-Oct. 9,
Coaches from all levels within the
and in spring sports, Oct. 12-Nov. 13,
Baker School District convened for a
wouldn’t be able to practice together in
Zoom call Aug. 12 moderated by the
person.
District’s athletic director, Buell Gonzales
Winter sports possibly could have
Jr., to discuss plans for athletics in a year practices during the Nov. 16-Dec. 18
with pandemic-related restrictions.
period if in-person classes resume, al-
Earlier this month, the Oregon School though Gonzales said that based on cur-
Activities Association (OSAA) introduced rent OSAA regulations, basketball and
a new school activities calendar that
wrestling couldn’t have regular practices
postpones fall sports until 2021.
due to the physical contact involved in
Those sports — football, soccer, volley- those sports.
ball and cross-country — are scheduled to
Basketball players and wrestlers
start in late winter. They will be wedged
could do individual conditioning.
between a season for traditional winter
sports — basketball, wrestling and swim- When/how will the sports season
begin?
ming — and a traditional spring sports
If the situation improves later this fall
season.
and Baker students return to classes,
In the wake of this announcement,
either full-time or in the hybrid model
Gonzales needed to get the District’s
that the school board initially planned
coaches on the same page.
for grades 7-12, with students attending
“We are all in this together, when we
do this we have to do this the right way,” in-person classes two days each week,
Gonzales said during the Zoom meeting. the winter sports teams could begin
practicing Dec. 28 in preparation for
How can sports happen with
OSAA-sanctioned games, which could
distance learning in place?
start as early as Jan. 11, 2021.
With no organized sports for the fall,
The competitive season for usual fall
Gonzales and coaches discussed other
sports would start with practices on
options.
Feb. 22 and fi rst games on March 8. The
OSAA’s schedule includes a fi ve-week
season would end May 1 for volleyball,
period this fall when practices could
soccer and cross-country, and May 8 for
potentially happen — albeit only if stu-
football.
dents return to their classrooms in some
The fi nal season, for traditional spring
fashion.
sports — golf, tennis, track and fi eld,
“The current stance of the district is
baseball and softball — would start with
that if we are in CDL (Comprehensive
practices on April 19 and fi rst games
Distance Learning) then those mini sea- May 3. The season would end June 26.
sons will be virtual,” Gonzales said.
A rule once enforced only for football
The Baker School Board decided earlier will be in effect for all sports. Each
this month to start the school year on
athlete needs to have at least nine orga-
Sept. 8 with all students attending virtual nized practices before participating in a
classes for at least the fi rst nine weeks.
game. That requirement could be waived
By Corey Kirk
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
later in 2021 for students who have
played in a sport earlier in the year and
thus had the requisite practices.
“It just used to be football for safety
reasons, so if you are a basketball player
and you go into volleyball, you can go
right into practice,” Gonzales said. “You
wouldn’t need those nine days.”
What would happen if sports
seasons overlap?
If student-athletes are transitioning
from one sport to another, they need
to complete a nine-day practice grace
period before they could begin their
next sport.
Because the spring season would
extend until June 26, after graduation,
Gonzales said there could be issues
with seniors being eligible.
If things are safe enough to play
again, how could this work?
Gonzales emphasizes the importance
of communication. Coaches who have
multi-sport athletes on their roster
should keep each other in the loop in
preparation for transition of seasons.
“You (coaches) are going to treat this
like a real season, you are going to
teach, you are going to model team-
work and accountability within the
confi nes of what we are allowed to do,”
Gonzales said during the Aug. 12 Zoom
meeting.
Parents are encouraged to watch for
emails from the school district and to
check the Baker Bulldog Nation Face-
book page. A Zoom meeting is set for
this evening at 6:30 p.m. For informa-
tion about attending, email Gonzales at
buell.gonzales@bakersd.org
The meeting will also be recorded and
posted on the Bulldog Nation page.
Magic upset
top-seeded
Milwaukee
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Milwaukee
Bucks’ hopes of winning their fi rst NBA title since
1971 got off to a rocky start.
Nikola Vucevic scored a playoff career-high 35
points and had 14 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic
stunned the top-seeded Bucks 122-110 on Tuesday in
the league’s fan-free Disney World bubble.
Terrence Ross scored 18 points, Gary Clark added
15 and D.J. Augustin had 11 points and 11 assists for
the eighth-seeded Magic, who were 14-point under-
dogs.
Orlando took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series,
an intriguing result given that the Bucks can’t rely
on home-court advantage in these pandemic-altered
playoffs.
“We don’t care what other people have to say,”
Vucevic said. “We focus on ourselves and we came out
and played a great game on both ends of the fl oor.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo fi nished with 31 points,
17 rebounds and seven assists for Milwaukee. Last
season’s MVP was held without a fi eld goal over the
fi nal 11 minutes and seemed to get more frustrated
as the fourth quarter went on.
“You have to really be ready for what they do,”
Vucevic said. “Especially us against a team like Mil-
waukee where we have to make sure we know their
stuff and we are prepared for everything. Tonight,
we defi nitely were on top of that. We did a good job
executing the game plan.”
The Bucks came into the postseason as the favor-
ites to win the NBA title. But they went 3-5 in seeding
games in the bubble, and that sluggish play carried
over into the postseason.
George Hill said the Bucks needed to do some “soul
searching.”
Antetokounmpo didn’t go that far, saying the Bucks’
energy level was fi ne, but that they need to make
more shots. Milwaukee made 43% from the fi eld and
was 14 of 42 from 3-point land.
Rockets top
Thunder in
series opener
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — James Harden
had 37 points and 11 rebounds, and the Houston
Rockets rolled past the Oklahoma City Thunder
123-108 on Tuesday in Game 1 of their fi rst-round
Western Conference playoff series.
Houston All-Star Russell Westbrook, who played
his previous 11 years with the Thunder, was out with
a quad injury. The fourth-seeded Rockets still made
20 3-pointers and shot 48% from the fi eld.
“Our ball movement tonight was excellent,” Harden
said. “We were just playing off the catch, guys were
very confi dent in their shots when they’re open. When
they’re not open, they’re getting off the ball and mak-
ing a quick decision.”
Jeff Green scored 22 points and Eric Gordon added
21 for Houston, which isn’t sure how long it will be
without Westbrook. The Rockets got 42 points from
their bench.
Danilo Gallinari matched a playoff career high with
29 points for the fi fth-seeded Thunder. Chris Paul,
who joined Oklahoma City in the trade that sent
Westbrook to Houston, fi nished with 20 points, 10
rebounds and nine assists. Steven Adams added 17
points and 12 rebounds.
Gordon scored 16 points and Harden had 15 in the
fi rst half to help the Rockets take a 68-52 lead.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Dodgers nip Mariners
super slow.”
Corey Seager singled
LOS ANGELES —
home Barnes with the
Austin Barnes stood by
tiebreaking run in the
fi rst base and watched
eighth inning and the
the Seattle Mariners’
Dodgers beat Seattle 2-1
infi eld move back, leaving on Tuesday for their sev-
him to take whatever
enth consecutive victory.
lead he desired.
Barnes went 2 for 2
This apparent disre-
with a walk and scored
gard for an able-bodied
both runs for the Dodg-
catcher would not stand, ers, who improved to an
Barnes thought to him-
NL-best 18-7 and sent the
self — and he promptly
Mariners to their seventh
stole second with a daring straight defeat.
that decided yet another
With the temperature
win for the streaking Los at 102 degrees in Chavez
Angeles Dodgers.
Ravine for the opening
“When they played be- pitch, Tony Gonsolin
hind me, I was confused, threw six scoreless in-
because I can run a little nings of two-hit ball for
bit,” Barnes said. “I’m not the Dodgers.
By Greg Beacham
AP Sports Writer