Sharks snap Motown spell with OT win

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Patrick Marleau scored seven minutes into overtime to complete a stirring 4-3 comeback victory for the San Jose Sharks over Detroit on Tuesday, pushing the Red Wings to the brink of Stanley Cup elimination.

Sports

The victory gives the Sharks a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western conference semi-final and a chance to sweep the series with a Game Four win on Thursday.

“The reality is we have dug a huge hole for ourselves here,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told reporters. “There is no sense worrying about anything besides our next game.

“We’ll come in here tomorrow and get our minds right. It’s a tough pill to swallow but we’ll go home, regroup and get back at it tomorrow.”

The aging Joe Louis Arena had been a fortress for the Red Wings and a house of horrors for the Sharks, who had won just five times in 35 regular-season visits to “the Joe” and were just 3-6 in playoff trips to the Motor City.

The Wings, who have reached the Stanley Cup finals the last two seasons, will have to quickly rediscover some of that Motown magic if they are to make it three straight.

Only twice have teams ever clawed their way back from 3-0 deficits, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders in 1975.

Sharks head coach Todd McLellan, a former Red Wings assistant, will not have to be reminded how tough it is to come out on top at the Joe, which will take over from Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena as the NHL’s oldest arena when the Igloo shuts its doors for good at the end of this season.

“Tomorrow will be the day when we remind them how difficult that last game is,” said McLellan. “I’ve been in the other locker room and I know how much fight is in that team.

“Our task is going to be tougher for that fourth win than it has been for the first three. We know that.”

GOOD VIBES

The good vibes at the Joe had looked ready to continue as the Red Wings took a 3-1 lead into the final period.

But the win suddenly disappeared when Joe Thornton and Logan Couture scored to force overtime and Marleau capped the comeback redirecting a laser feed from Thornton past a diving Detroit netminder Jimmy Howard.

A raucous capacity crowd wearing Wings red was left on the edge of their seats through a wild opening period that featured two disputed goals, a penalty shot and Detroit taking a 2-1 lead.

Henrik Zetterberg appeared to give Detroit the early advantage when the puck ricocheted off his skate past Evgeni Nabokov as he charged toward the Sharks net.

But after a lengthy video review, officials waved off the goal ruling Zetterberg had kicked the puck into the net.

Three minutes later video judges at NHL headquarters in Toronto were again pressed into action when Red Wings Tomas Holmstrom scored another disputed goal that went in off his skate.

This time judges ruled the goal good but controversy continued when Detroit was awarded a penalty shot.

Nabokov denied Zetterberg but there was no disputing Detroit’s second goal, Dan Cleary taking a feed from Drew Miller and whipping it past Nabokov.

The Sharks would pull one back with just four seconds remaining in the frame on a goal from Devin Setoguchi but the Red Wings restored their two-goal cushion early in the second on Zetterberg’s seventh of the playoffs.

(Editing by Alastair Himmer)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Magic hand Hawks historic thumping

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Showing no rust after an eight-day rest, the Orlando Magic routed Atlanta 114-71 on Tuesday in the opening game of their NBA Eastern Conference second-round best-of-seven series while Kobe Bryant steered Los Angeles to a 2-0 series lead against Utah in the Western Conference.

Dwight Howard scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Vince Carter had 20 points for the Magic, who benefited from an extended break while the Hawks had barely had two days’ rest since eliminating Milwaukee in round one.

“The challenge is not to get carried away with the score,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.

“It was one of those nights where everything just snowballed.”

It was the most lopsided playoff defeats in Atlanta Hawks’ history and the second-biggest playoff rout for the Magic, eclipsed only by a 47-point victory over Boston from the first round in 1995.

“It’s embarrassing,” Hawks guard Mike Bibby said. “They embarrassed us.”

The Magic outscored Atlanta 60-21 in the middle two quarters.

“We kind of stopped playing and we can’t do that,” Atlanta’s Al Horford said. “It kind of got away from us.”

“It was an ugly game for us,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. “I wish I knew what happened.”

Josh Smith scored 14 points and Zaza Pachulia had 12 to pace Atlanta, which avoided matching the fewest points ever scored in a game against Orlando by a 3-pointer in the final seconds.

“They made a run and they never looked back,” Pachulia said.

The Magic will try to seize a 2-0 edge over the Hawks at home on Thursday.

“We’re hungry,” Carter said. “Every game is important to us. This is great but we have to get ready for their adjustments and get ready for game two.”

Van Gundy was ready to do some research to make sure the Magic do not enter game two lightly.

“I will have for them virtually every time in NBA playoff history that a team had a blowout win, came back and lost the next game,” Van Gundy said. “You’ve got to forget what happened.”

In Los Angeles, Bryant’s 30-point haul was the key to the Lakers’ 111-103 victory over the Jazz which put them 2-0 up in the best-of seven series.

Bryant scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and found his shooting touch late in the fourth to deny a Jazz rally as the Lakers took command of the series, which continues Saturday and Monday in Salt Lake City.

“It’s my responsibility when things get a little tight,” Bryant said. “I just have to make the right call.”

Paul Millsap led Utah with 26 points while C.J. Miles and Carlos Boozer each scored 20 points for the Jazz.

Injured English football star David Beckham was seated at courtside for the game and during a stoppage in play, Bryant came near him and bounced the ball off his head in a nod of respect to the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whose contract expires after this season, said before the game there was a 90 per cent chance that he would be coaching the Lakers if he remains in coaching and he had no interest in the vacant coaching job at Chicago, which he coached to six NBA titles in the 1990s.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jamison gets 1st start for Cavs against Hornets

March 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

CLEVELAND — Antawn Jamison will make his first start for Cleveland in place of J.J. Hickson against New Orleans.

Coach Mike Brown was leaning toward starting Jamison before Hickson came down with flu-like symptoms Tuesday morning. Hickson’s availability won’t be known until closer to game time Tuesday night.

The Cavaliers traded center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Washington for Jamison as part of a three-team deal last week. Brown eased Jamison into the rotation by bringing him off the bench the first two games.

Brown also confirmed forward Leon Powe has been medically cleared to play. Powe has missed all season while recovering from knee surgery.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

James, Jamison end Cavs’ skid with win vs. Hornets

March 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

CLEVELAND — LeBron James had 20 points and 12 assists, and Antawn Jamison scored 18 points in his first start for Cleveland as the Cavaliers beat the New Orleans Hornets 105-95 on Tuesday night and snapped a three-game losing streak.

New Orleans rookies Marcus Thornton and Darren Collison combined for 59 points, including a franchise-record 23 from Thornton in the second quarter.

James, though, closed out another win for Cleveland in the final two minutes, hitting a 3-pointer and finishing a three-point play to escape a huge night from the Hornets’ rookies.

Thornton scored a career-high 37 off the bench, igniting a 40-point second quarter for the Hornets by making his first five shots and 10 of 13 in the quarter.

Collison, subbing for an injured Chris Paul, scored 22 points and added 10 assists.

Shaquille O’Neal scored 20 points for Cleveland and Mo Williams, struggling with his shooting all night, broke an 89-all tie with a 3-pointer with 4:13 to play. Cleveland’s Delonte West followed with a block of Thornton, then came down to the other end and knocked down another 3 to stretch the Cavaliers’ lead to 95-89. James took over from there.

Jamison started in place of J.J. Hickson, who missed the game with flulike symptoms, but coach Mike Brown was leaning toward starting Jamison anyway.

He made an immediate impression, hitting his first shot of the game and later catching a no-look pass from James and finishing with a one-handed dunk, hanging on the rim long enough for teammate Anderson Varejao to wrap his arms around him and catch him in the third quarter.

NOTES: The Cavaliers are asking fans to arrive early for the March 5 game against Detroit to help set the Guinness World Record for “largest gathering of people wearing fleece blankets.” Each fan will receive a Cavaliers Snuggie which they’ll be asked to wear for the first five minutes of the game. A representative of Guiness will be on hand to certify the record. … Mo Williams is 9 of 33 from the floor since returning from an injured left shoulder. … F Leon Powe was active for the first time this season. He has been recovering from offseason knee surgery. … Peja Stojakovic previously held the Hornets record for points in a quarter when he scored 22 in the first against Charlotte on Nov. 14, 2007. … PG Darren Collison entered averaging 24 points over the last six games, ranking seventh in the NBA during that time.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wings open Cup defense with win over Blue Jackets

April 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

DETROIT (Reuters) – The Detroit Red Wings opened their post-season quest for successive Stanley Cup titles with a 4-1 win over playoff debutants the Columbus Blue Jackets in front of raucous sell-out crowd on Thursday.

With Detroit reeling from soaring unemployment and a crippled auto industry there was concern whether the Red Wings would fill Joe Louis Arena for Game One of their best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final.

But a capacity crowd packed the arena and the second seeded Red Wings, bidding to become the first team in 11 years to claim back-to-back Cups, treated them to a convincing win.

Detroit will host the Blue Jackets in Game Two on Saturday.

“We’ve been through this before,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told reporters. “It’s always that first 10 minutes at home, your legs are a little heavier.”

After wobbling into the playoffs on three-game losing streak, the Red Wings flashed their pedigree, seizing control of the game with three goals in the second period then shutting down the Blue Jackets attack by restricting them to eight shots over the final two periods.

Detroit’s veteran netminder Chris Osgood, who led the team to a Stanley Cup a year ago but had come under scrutiny for his inconsistent play this season, answered his critics with 20 saved in a rock-solid performance.

“I’ve played for 15 years, I have the most wins in Wings’ playoff history for a reason, it’s not because I’m a bad goalie,” said Osgood. “I know how to win.

“I’m going to go get some rest and be even better on Saturday. It’s one game and one game only, there’s a long way to go in the series.”

The first half of the game had been highlighted by a goaltending duel between Osgood and Blue Jackets rookie Steve Mason, who led the NHL with 10 shutouts this season and faced 34 shots in his playoff debut.

Detroit broke open the scoreless game midway through the second when Jiri Hudler converted a two-on-one.

The lead lasted only 52 seconds with R.J. Umberger recording the Blue Jackets first playoff goal when he was left unmarked on the Detroit goal crease and backhanded the puck past Osgood.

The Red Wings then responded with goals from Jonathan Ericsson and Niklas Kronwall, the two defensemen scoring 48 seconds apart on blasts from the point that glanced off Columbus defenders past a helpless Mason.

Johan Franzen scored early in the third period to complete the scoring.

“We can play better and will play better,” said Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock. “We put two in our own net.”

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,