In brief: Golden State Warriors roll into second round of NBA playoffs with convincing win over Houston Rockets
NBA: Klay Thompson scored 27 points with seven 3-pointers and the Golden State Warriors rolled into the second round of the playoffs without injured superstar Stephen Curry, thoroughly embarrassing the Houston Rockets 114-81 on Wednesday night in Game 5 in Oakland, California.
Draymond Green added 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Warriors.
So much for Jason Terry’s guarantee there would be a Game 6 back in Houston.
Without their MVP, Curry’s fellow Splash Brother set the tone from the opening tip. Thompson became the first player in NBA history to make at least seven 3s in consecutive playoff games, while Shaun Livingston scored 16 points for his third double-digit performance in three games while starting in Curry’s place this series.
James Harden scored 25 of Houston’s 37 first-half points on the way to 35 points, but the Rockets had no chance with a one-man show against the deep defending champions.
Lee lifts Hornets: Courtney Lee’s 3-pointer with 25.2 seconds left put Charlotte ahead to stay, and the Hornets beat the host Miami Heat 90-88 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Hornets have won three straight games in the series, and will take a 3-2 lead into a potential Game 6 clincher on Friday night.
Marvin Williams led the Hornets with 17 points, while Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker each had 14 for Charlotte – which got its first road playoff win in 14 years. Jeremy Lin added 11.
Dwyane Wade scored 25 for Miami, while Luol Deng scored 15, Joe Johnson added 13 and Hassan Whiteside finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
McCollum lifts Portland: CJ McCollum scored 27 points, Damian Lillard added 16 of his 22 in the fourth quarter when Portland pulled away, and the Trail Blazers capitalized on the absence of injured Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to beat the host Los Angeles Clippers 108-98 in Game 5 of their first-round series.
The Blazers are up 3-2 and could close it out Friday in Portland. If Game 7 is needed, it would be Saturday back at Staples Center.
Maurice Harkless added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Mason Plumlee had 10 points and 15 boards for Portland. The Blazers made six 3-pointers in the fourth, with Lillard hitting five of his six as they outscored the Clippers 37-27.
J.J. Redick led the Clippers with 19 points. Jamal Crawford, the Sixth Man of the Year, added 17 points starting in Paul’s place.
Predators advance to second-round series
NHL: Colin Wilson and Paul Gaustad scored in the first period and the Nashville Predators hung on to win the franchise’s first Game 7, advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Anaheim, California.
Pekka Rinne made 36 saves for the wild-card Predators, who rallied from a 3-2 series deficit and ousted the Pacific Division champion Ducks with a gritty road victory. Nashville earned just the third playoff series victory in team history – the first since 2012, and the second over Anaheim.
Nashville will travel up the California coast to face the San Jose Sharks on Friday night.
For the fourth consecutive season, the Ducks blew a 3-2 series lead and lost a Game 7 at home.
Frederik Andersen made 18 saves and Ryan Kesler scored a power-play goal early in the third period for the Ducks. They had numerous late chances to tie it while largely dominating the final two periods, but a redirected shot clanked off Rinne’s post in the final minutes, and nothing went in during a frantic final minute.
Prince leads Islanders: Shane Prince scored twice during a three-goal first period and John Tavares had a goal and an assist in the New York Islanders’ 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Tampa, Florida, in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.
Taking up where he left off in helping the Islanders advance beyond the first round for the first time in 23 years, Tavares assisted on Travis Hamonic’s goal that erased an early deficit and later scored his sixth postseason goal on a blistering shot from the left circle to give New York a 4-1 lead midway through the second.
The Islanders needed overtime to get three of four victories against the Florida Panthers in the opening round. This one was never seriously in doubt after New York wiped out the 1-0 lead Tampa Bay took on Ondrel Palat’s goal just over three minutes into the game.
Tampa Bay pulled to 4-3 on third-period goals by Nikita Kucherov and Valtteri Filppula before Cal Clutterbuck’s empty-netter sealed the victory in the final minute.
Thomas Greiss, who won one game in overtime and two in double overtime against Florida, finished with 33 saves for the Islanders. They were outshot 28-10 over the last two periods.
Game 2 is Saturday at Amalie Arena.
Revolution ties with Timbers on own goal
Soccer: Portland’s own goal in the 89th minute gave the New England Revolution a 1-1 draw with the Timbers in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Kelyn Rowe had a long volley to the far post that JeVaughn Watson tapped out front where it appeared Femi Hollinger-Janzen converted for his first MLS goal. However, it was ruled that the ball went off Portland defender Jermaine Taylor.
Jack Barmby’s fortunate touch in the 64th minute put Portland (2-3-3) on top. Two minutes after entering the game, Barmby took a cross from Darlington Nagbe and mishit the ball, driving it into the ground before it bounced over keeper Bobby Shuttleworth and slipped inside the far post. It was Barmby’s first goal.
New England (1-2-6) had a 16-8 shot advantage but put only two on target. It is the first time in Revolution history they have had just one win through nine games.
Impact earns draw: Dominic Oduro scored in the opening seconds of stoppage time and the Montreal Impact escaped with a 1-1 draw against New York City FC in New York.
Montreal (4-3-1) earned a free kick along the right sideline in the 90th minute and Didier Drogba sent the ball into the box. Two Impact players broke free, with Oduro getting his head on the ball and sending it just inside the post for his third goal.
New York City (1-3-4) took the lead in the 51st minute on a great buildup that led to RJ Allen’s first goal. Allen, a New Jersey native, carried the ball inside midfield and sent it wide right to Khiry Shelton. Shelton one-touched it into the box and Thomas McNamara touched it back to the charging Allen for a shot inside the far post.
Montreal’s late goal ran NYC’s winless streak to seven games.
Whitecaps hold on: Vancouver’s Christian Bolanos and Sporting Kansas City’s Diego Rubio scored in the first half and the Whitecaps held on with only 10 men for a 1-1 tie in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Bolanos scored his first Major League Soccer goal, connecting off Cristian Techera’s corner kick in the 14th minute. Belanos deftly slotted into the top corner with a left-footed volley past goalkeeper Alec Kann.
Sporting tied it 13 minutes later on Rubio’s first MLS goal. He scored off a scuffed shot from Kansas City’s Lawrence Olum.
Vancouver went down to 10 men in the 51st minute when a poor back pass from Tim Parker to goalkeeper David Ousted forced fellow defender Kendall Waston to take down Rubio for his second yellow card.
Kansas City is 4-4-1, and Vancouver 3-4-2.
Niguez lifts Atletico Madrid: An early goal by youngster Saul Niguez gave Atletico Madrid a gritty 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal in Madrid.
The 21-year-old Niguez cleared two defenders before entering the area and hitting a low, well-placed shot into the far corner in the 11th minute at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
A draw next week in Germany will be enough for Diego Simeone’s side to reach the final for the second time in the last three seasons.
Pep Guardiola’s Bayern came close to equalizing with a long-range shot by David Alaba in the 54th, but the ball struck the crossbar with Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak already beaten.
Ronaldo remains doubtful for second leg: Real Madrid has been keeping quiet about Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury, and his presence in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals is likely to remain a mystery until just before next week’s game against Manchester City.
Ronaldo underwent new tests on his injured hamstring, but Real Madrid didn’t reveal the extent of the problem or how long the Portugal forward will remain sidelined.
He was expected to play in Tuesday’s first leg in Manchester, but watched the 0-0 draw from the bench after failing a physical just before the game.
There are widespread rumors about the injury, but the only clue since the game has come from a post on Ronaldo’s Instagram account, which simply said, “Don’t worry be happy,” along with a photo of him smiling.
Fox to televise Copa America: Fox will televise four matches of this year’s Copa America Cententario on its main network and air three on the entertainment channel FX.Twenty-one games will be broadcast on FS1 and four group-stages matches will be shown on FS2, Fox said.
The games on the main Fox network will be Costa Rica-Paraguay on June 4, Jamaica-Paraguay the following day, and a doubleheader of Chile-Bolivia and Argentina-Panama on June 10.
FS1 will televise the three group-stage games involving the United States, including the tournament opener on June 3, and the final on June 26. FX will broadcast two of the quarterfinals and the third-place game.
Kittel wins Tour of Romandie cut short
Cycling: German sprinter Marcel Kittel won the second day of racing in the Tour of Romandie in Moudon, Switzerland, after the course was shortened because of overnight snow and slippery roads. Jon Izagirre of Spain, who won Tuesday’s prologue, kept his overall lead after stage one of the six-day race. A second-category climb and 60 kilometers (37 miles) of racing were removed.
Kittel finished a wheel’s length ahead of Niccolo Bonifazio of Italy. They reeled in a late move by Michael Albasini of Switzerland, who placed third.
Izagirre retained his six-second lead over Dutchman Tom Dumoulin. Britain’s Geraint Thomas moved up a place to third, trailing Izagirre by seven seconds.
Thursday’s stage two is a 173.9-kilometer (108-mile) ride to Morgins ski station, home of 2010 Olympic downhill champion Didier Defago.