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Celtics Close-Out Hawks; 76ers Up Next

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ATLANTA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – It was ‘winning time” in Atlanta in Game 6 and the veteran NBA Playoff team in the Boston proved their worth in the final minutes with a dominant display of offense and defense.

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With the score tied at 113 with 3:50 remaining in the final quarter, Boston’s center Al Horford secured a defense rebound, then hit a corner three-pointer to put Boston ahead for good. With 3:00 left, Horford grabbed another rebound and forward Jayson Tatum hit from three-point land to extend the lead to six.

Tatum took over from there, as he grabbed a defensive rebound, fed Horford who missed a three-pointer but Tatum grabbed the rebound and dunked for two points all in one motion to make the score 121-113.

With 1:30 remaining, guard Marcus Smart hit a three-pointer and then scored on a driving lay-up to give Boston a 126-119 lead with a minute remaining. Smart made a pair of free throws with :15 seconds to finish the job, 128-120.

All-Star swingman Jaylen Brown led Boston with 32 points and Tatum added 30 to give the visiting Celtics an impressive win over the Hawks on Thursday, ending their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

The second-seeded Celtics will play the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the playoffs, with Game 1 on Monday in Boston.

 

Panthers Extend Series vs. Bruins

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk scored at 6:05 of overtime to lift the visiting Panthers to a season-saving, 4-3 win over the NHL Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. The Panthers cut their deficit in the best-of-seven series to 3-2 heading to Game 6 tonight in Sunrise.

After Carter Verhaeghe picked off Boston goaltender Linus Ullmark’s attempt to clear from behind the net, the puck bounced off Ullmark’s pads and onto the stick of Tkachuk for a backhanded, game-winning tally.

Tkachuk finished with a goal and an assist, and Anthony Duclair, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart scored in regulation for Florida. Verhaeghe logged three assists. Bennett has recorded points in all four of his games in the series, scoring a goal in three of them.

Panthers goal-keeper Sergei Bobrovsky made 44 saves in his second consecutive start.

Boston forward Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist while returning centerman Patrice Bergeron and Taylor Hall each scored for the Bruins, who had a 47-25 shot advantage and finished 2-for-5 on the power play.

Boston’s Charlie McAvoy had two assists, and Ullmark made 21 saves.

Florida led 2-1 through two periods before the teams traded power-play goals in the first 5:14 of the third.

Hall scored his fifth goal in as many playoff games at 9:16, pulling a rebound out of traffic in the slot and ripping it off the crossbar to tie the game 3-3.

The Panthers also killed a too-many-men penalty in the last four minutes of regulation. Bobrovsky denied a Marchand breakaway attempt before the third-period buzzer.

Florida’s strong start included holding Boston without a shot on its first power play and taking the lead at 8:26 of the opening period. Off a Tyler Bertuzzi turnover, Duclair batted Verhaeghe’s pass to score out of the air.

The Bruins tied the game with a man advantage 2:27 into the second. McAvoy made an incredible feed from the right point to Marchand, who corralled his own initial shot that sat loose.

Boston had a dominant 18-8 shots edge in the second, but a late lapse allowed the visitors to take a 2-1 lead with 1:08 left. Bennett whipped home a shot from the slot after Verhaeghe won a puck battle and slipped the puck out of the corner.

The home team’s onslaught continued with seven shots to begin the third, and Bergeron needed just six seconds of a power play to make it 2-2. At 4:33, the Boston captain deflected home Marchand’s shot from above the left dot for his 50th career postseason goal.

Florida’s power-play unit went to work and got the lead back when Reinhart buried a wrister in the slot off Tkachuk’s feed at 5:14.

–Field Level Media

Sox Drop 2-of-3 to Orioles

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BALTIMORE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Baltimore’s starting pitcher Tyler Wells spotted the Orioles with a strong pitching performance in a 6-2 victory against the visiting Boston Red Sox in the rubber game of a three-game series Wednesday afternoon.

Ramon Urias went 4-for-4, scored three runs and had one RBI and Anthony Santander had a pair of sacrifice flies as the Orioles won for the eighth time in their last nine games and 10th in their past 12 outings. They completed a 5-1 homestand.

Wells (1-1) worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Masataka Yoshida homered for the Red Sox. Starting pitcher Tanner Houck (3-1) took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) and seven hits in five innings.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | April 23

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Is there The Curse of John Zeigler and the NHL President’s Trophy?

If so where did it originate and what the deal? Can the Boston Bruins endure such a curse and outlast the Florida Panthers?

Ziegler was the last President of the National Hockey League. Upon Gary B. Bettman’s hiring to the top spot in the league, aka the CEO/CMO/CFO/and/Chief Legal Officer gig, Bettman accepted the job with the condition he be named Commissioner just as the other three major North American Sports Leagues employed.

For Zeigler, there was a bit of a trap door effect and he vanished – no, not a shower curtain or table cloth was needed – Goodfellas or Sopranos style. He was simply gone.

But to its credit, the NHL has advanced mightily since Bettman’s 1992 hiring and the league has more history and more glorious hardware than the guys at True Value, and those clunky old awards – Conn Smythe or Vezina and right on down the line – are the best sports have to offer, especially the crown jewel, the Stanley Cup itself.

The President’s Trophy goes to the team with the most points in the regular season. This season, the Boston Bruins set an all-time high mark of 135 points which equated to a 65-12-5 (OTL) record over 82 games. The Bruins went 34-4-3 at TD Garden in Boston and 31-8-2 on the road. They finished the season with an eight-game winning streak and were 9-1-0 over their final 10 games.

Those numbers placed the President’s Trophy in the hands of the Bruins and no one was sure they wanted to touch it.

Since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2013 as the President’s Trophy winner, no team has advanced to the Finals. One regular season champ lost in the 2015 Conference Finals and one team – the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning went so low as to lose in the very first round, ousted in four-straight by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Seven President’s Trophy winner’s went “bye-bye” in the second round of Lord Stanley’s springtime grinder. Some were eliminated by a hot team with a very hot goalkeeper, others were felled by a slew of late season injuries. Maybe some due to the Curse?

Damn the curse, as three out of four President’s Trophy winners – the ‘99 Dallas Stars, the ‘01 Colorado Avalanche and the ‘02 Detroit Red Wings – went on to the win the Cup. But, for some reason right around the 2013-14 NHL season, the curse rose to ice level. John Ziegler passed away on October 25, 2018 at the age of 84, so there’s no direct connection.

This season, the President Trophy winners in the NHL Bruins drew a tough first round opponent in their current match-up vs the Florida Panthers (Bruins currently lead the best-of-seven series (2-games-to-1) with today’s TNT nationally televised Game 4 a real series-swaying game at 3:30pm (ET).

BOSTON BREWIN’ – Although the Bruins regain home-ice advantage with their Friday victory, they’re still playing with out frontline stars Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. Bergeron didn’t travel to Florida for Games 3-4 and Krejci was a late scratch in Game 3 and is “50-50” for Game 4, sidelined by the know-all, tell-all NHL accepted injury report of an “upper body” injury.

Without a doubt, the never-stated key to success in the Playoffs – any sport – is to avoid injuries and illness. In addition to injuries to the two key Boston players, the flu-bug or call it the “really bad, achy cold” bug was making its way around the B’s locker.

VALUATIONS vs the RESULTS: Before the 2022-23 National Hockey League season began, Sportico listed the valuations of the current NHL franchises. They were as follows:

Here’s the Top Five:

1. Toronto Maple Leafs: $2B

2. New York Rangers: $1.87B

3. Montreal Canadiens: $1.58B

4. Chicago Blackhawks: $1.36B

5. Boston Bruins: $1.31B

While the leaders are in the billions, if you are seeking a bargain via the clubs at bottom of the NHL barrel with valuations under $525 million, you’ll find:

30. Columbus Blue Jackets: $525M

31. Florida Panthers: $520M

32. Arizona Coyotes: $410M

The RESULTS: The NHL’s final regular season standings saw these clubs as top and bottom of the ladder:

Team, Points

Boston Bruins – 135
Carolina Hurricanes – 113
New Jersey Devils – 112
Toronto Maple Leafs – 111
Vegas Golden Knights – 111
At the bottom were:

Anaheim Ducks – 58
Columbus Blue Jackets – 59
Chicago Blackhawks – 59
San Jose Sharks – 60

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Speaking of, but not dwelling on injuries, the 2023 NBA Playoffs are suffering from multiple stars being injured (and out) in the first round. In no particular order: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is out for the second straight game after playing only 11 minutes in Game 1 in the Bucks first round series against the Miami Heat. … On Friday night, Joel Embiid suffered a right knee sprain in Thursday night’s victory over Brooklyn and is listed with a 50% chance of playing Game 1 in Philly’s next series, assuming they advance. Memphis superstar Ja Morant went down to a wrist/hand injury on April 16th, a date that also saw Miami’s sharpshooting guard Tyler Herro go down with a broken hand. Herro is out for the season but Morant returned to play hurt on Saturday night and plunked down 45 points on the LAL … The LA Clippers were hit with injuries to their two top players. Paul George (knee) was declared out before Game 1 of the series and then Kawhi Leonard was sidelined for Thursday’s Clippers loss to the Phoenix Suns. Leonard also had to bear the pain of his sister being sentenced to life in prison without parole for murder. … Both Anthony Davis (right foot stress injury) and LeBron James (right foot soreness) are listed as probable for their game which tipped at 10pm ET Saturday. They answered the bell and scored 31 and 25 points, respectively. … Add these injuries to a slew of others, many limiting or completely stopping players – cold – in the regular season and leading into these Playoffs and you’ve got a major issue.

The team that stays 100% healthy has a MUCH better chance of surviving and advancing in the NBA Playoffs.

TIDBITS: Rafael Devers and Mr. Jordan Furniture man are hawking a promo that calls for all purchases to be deemed free of charge if (any) Red Sox player hits for the cycle between July 31 and the end of the regular season. Purchases have to be made between March 27-April 30th.

WORLD TEAM GOLF: No one from LIV Golf asked WWYI for the perfect solution to their desire to differentiate from the PGA Tour but, if they did, the suggestion would’ve been to form “LIV World Team Golf,” and have teams of two compete together in Foursomes and Fourball each week of the season, just like the PGA Tour is doing this weekend at NOLA’s Zurich Classic. … LIV Golf attempted to name and form teams and they’ve even thought about franchising the team out, but the confusing scoring system and the individual vs team aspects of the scorecards toss viewers for a spin. … A simple two-man team, representing any nation, would’ve done the trick and created continuity in a game that’s easy to follow.

NETWORK: On April 12, NYVC Sports held its first business get-together in three years. Boston VC Sports hopes to be back-in-action in late Spring as the weather warms in New England. Since its last meeting, when start-up WHOOP was introduced by CEO Will Ahmed, the WHOOP valuation rose to $3.6b after a raise of $200,000. The latest valuation included participating investors VP, Cavu Ventures, Thursday Ventures, GP Bullhound, Accomplice, NextView Ventures, and Animal Capital.

BASEBALL BITS: As of Saturday night, 16 of the Sox’ first 22 games have been decided by three runs or fewer, including Boston’s 5-4 loss to Milwaukee. The only team in the Majors with more is Cleveland (17).

OTHER: Banished former Celtics coach, Ime Udoka, has emerged as a 2-1 favorite to be the new coach of the Toronto Raptors after dismissed coach Nick Nurse was relieved of his duties on Friday (April 21). Nurse took the Raptors to the promised land and the 2019 NBA title. Nurse is the frontrunner for the open Houston job.

Can Hawks, Trea Even Series?

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ATLANTA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Atlanta Hawks will be looking for another big game from guard Trae Young when they attempt to pull even in their Eastern Conference playoff series with the visiting Boston Celtics by winning Game 4.

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After losing the first two games of the series in Boston, the Hawks received a game-high 32 points from Young in a 130-122 victory Friday night. Young made 12 of his 22 shots from the floor and finished the game with nine assists and six rebounds.

It was Young’s best game of the series, by far, as he shot 14-for-40 from the field during Games 1 and 2 in Boston.

“I know I can play like this,” Young said. “Like I said last game, I wasn’t worried. I knew I could play the way I need to. It’s all about reading and making the right adjustments.”

Friday’s victory was the first time the Hawks have beaten the Celtics this season. In addition to winning the first two games in the series, Boston won all three regular-season matchups.

Atlanta’s Dejounte Murray scored 25 points in Game 3, and, like Young, was at his best in the fourth quarter, when the Celtics were threatening to take a 3-0 series lead. Young (15) and Murray (seven) scored 22 of Atlanta’s 30 points in the final 12 minutes.

MLB: Tellez Tags Red Sox

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MILWAUKEE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Milwaukee slugger Rowdy Tellez hit a two-run homer, and the Brewers’ bullpen preserved Milwaukee’s victory over visiting Boston.

Rafael Devers pulled Boston to within 5-4 in the sixth with his eighth homer of the season, a 416-foot, two-run shot to right off Joel Payamps. Peter Strzelecki and Hoby Milner kept the Red Sox off the board until the ninth, when Devin Williams worked around a one-out single to pick of his third save of the year.

Brewers starter Wade Miley (3-1) allowed two runs on four hits in five innings, striking out three and walking one. Boston starter Garrett Whitlock (1-2) was tagged for all five runs on eight hits in four innings and took the loss.

Red Sox Walk to Victory Over Brewers

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MILWAUKEE – (Staff and Wire Service Report from Field Level Media) – Boston outfielder Alex Verdugo hit a two-run homer and starter Nick Pivetta pitched effectively into the sixth inning to pace the visiting Red Sox to a 5-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night in the opener of the three-game series.

Pivetta (1-1) allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven with one walk. Josh Winckowski followed with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, fanning four, and Kenley Jansen finished with a perfect ninth, including two more strikeouts, for his fifth save.

Brewers starter Freddy Peralta (2-2) allowed four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out five with two costly walks.

Boston converted those walks into two runs in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. Peralta was within a strike of finishing a 1-2-3 inning before walking Enrique Hernandez and Triston Casas. The Brew Crew’s Hoby Milner relieved and pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder punched the tying-RBI single to right, sending Casas to third. Jarren Duran then lined an RBI single off the glove of third baseman Owen Miller, who knocked the drive down, but had no play.

The Red Sox made it 5-3 in the seventh when Justin Turner walked with two outs and Masataka Yoshida doubled to left center.

Milwaukee had gone up 3-2 with two runs in the fourth. Rowdy Tellez tied the game with his sixth homer, a one-out line drive to right. William Contreras followed with a double and scored on Brice Turang’s single to right, sliding around the tag attempt at home.

Verdugo staked the Red Sox to a 2-0 lead in the third with his third homer. Duran singled to open the inning and advanced on a sacrifice. Verdugo then jerked a 2-1 pitch 366 feet down the right-field line.

Miller hustled up a run in the bottom half to make it 2-1. Miller singled with one out, stole second, and came home on Christian Yelich’s single to left.

–Field Level Media

Brogdan Continues Celtics’ Tradition; Wins 2023 NBA Sixth Man Award

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon was named the 2023 KIA NBA Sixth Man of the Year. Brogdon becomes the third Celtics’ star to win the league’s annual honor, joining Kevin McHale (1984, 1985) and Bill Walton (1986).

“From day one, Malcolm has eagerly embraced his role as a game changer off the bench,” said Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations. “His emphasis on winning has been reflected daily in his work, his play, and his selflessness. Malcolm winning the award named after John Havlicek, an all-time Celtic, could not be more appropriate.”

In the 41 years since the award’s creation in 1982, only eight other players have won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award in their first season with their team.

Brogdon was the only player in the NBA ranking in the top three in scoring, rebounding, and assists among players who didn’t start in a regular-season game as he finished with 14.9 points (1st), 4.2 rebounds (3rd), and 3.7 assists (2nd).

Brogdon finished the year ranked fourth in the NBA in three-point percentage with a career single-season high 44.4 percent from beyond the arc. He tied Ray Allen (2010-11) for the third-best single-season three-point percentage by a Celtic since 1979 behind Allen’s 2011-12 season (45.3%) and Al Horford this season (44.6%).

As an NBA reserve, Brogdon ranked first in minutes played (1743.8), second in made field goals (354), third in total points (1,000) and clutch points (42), and fourth in assists (248). Brogdon became the fourth player in Celtics history to score at least 1,000 points in a season off the bench, behind Ricky Davis in 2004-05 (1,121 points) and Kevin McHale twice, in 1989-90 (1,109) and 1990-91 (1,031).

The Georgia native earns his third NBA honor including winning the 2016-17 NBA Rookie of the Year award and the 2019-20 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.

The Sixth Man of the Year trophy honors Celtics Hall of Famer John Havlicek, who excelled off the bench like no player before him. Havlicek came off the bench for the first seven seasons of his career and was an All-Star in four of those seasons. His career highlights include eight NBA championships, 13 NBA All-Star selections, 11 All-NBA Team selections, an NBA Finals MVP, eight NBA All-Defensive Team selections, and inclusion on the league’s 35th, 50th, and 75th Anniversary Teams.

Twins, Gallo Take Down Red Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Minnesota’s Joey Gallo made an immediate impact when he returned to the Minnesota lineup Wednesday night, and the Twins hope he will continue to swing a hot bat when they wrap up a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox this afternoon.

Gallo came off the injured list Wednesday and went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run during Minnesota’s 10-4 victory over Boston later that night. His long ball came against Corey Kluber and handed the Twins a 7-0 lead in the third inning. It was his team-high fourth home run of the season.

Gallo, a 29-year-old outfielder/first baseman, missed Minnesota’s previous 10 games due to a right intercostal strain, an injury he sustained in an April 7 game against the Houston Astros. He was hitting .278 with three home runs and seven RBIs in seven games with the Twins before he was injured.

“He’ll be at first base a lot for us going forward,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He feels good, significantly better than when he left us. It’s good to have his type of at-bats back in there. Someone that can do some damage and someone that can have a good, deep at-bat.”

Minnesota signed Gallo to a one-year deal after he split the 2022 season between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit 19 home runs last year but batted .160 and had a 39.8 percent strikeout rate.

“He’s been one of the guys that’s been hurt the most by the way that the game has progressed over the last five or 10 years (with defensive shifts),” Baldelli said. “His numbers, and a few of these left-handed hitters’ numbers, look less than where they simply would have at any other time in the history of baseball.”

The Red Sox will be looking for more offense from the top of their order on Thursday after the first four batters in their lineup — Alex Verdugo, Ramiel Tapia, Justin Turner and Rafael Devers — went 0-for-16 in the Wednesday loss. Boston hitters were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Second baseman Enmanuel Valdez was one bright spot in the Boston lineup on Wednesday. Although he was shaky in the field, Valdez collected two hits in his major league debut.

“Like we said, this guy can hit,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He can hit … the ball hard. Even his last at-bat he stayed with the pitch and went the other way under control. Interesting night on the other side (defensively).”

Valdez was originally charged with two errors, but one was changed to a hit.

Right-hander Kenta Maeda (0-2, 4.09 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for Minnesota on Thursday. The Red Sox will counter with right-hander Tanner Houck (2-0, 4.50 ERA).

Maeda exited his first start of the season due to arm fatigue, and then allowed eight hits and four runs in six innings during latest outing, on April 10 against the Chicago White Sox. Maeda skipped his next turn in the rotation and will enter the Thursday game with extra rest.

He is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts against the Red Sox.

Houck won his first two starts of the year, then gave up two runs on four hits in four innings against the Los Angeles Angels during a no-decision on Friday.

Houck has a 1-0 record with a 2.61 ERA two career starts vs. the Twins. In his most recent meeting with Minnesota, he threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings en route to a victory on April 16, 2022.

–Field Level Media

Sox vs. Twins: Strange Game – Indeed

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston outfielder Alex Verdugo’s RBI single off the base of the right field wall, near the famed Pesky Pole, came with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning and capped a three-run rally and gave the Boston Red Sox a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins Tuesday night.

The Red Sox trailed 4-2 until Reese McGuire hit a two-run single with no outs in the 10th. After Jarren Duran singled to load the bases, the Twins turned a double play before Verdugo’s third hit of the game scored McGuire with the winning run.

The Twins took a 3-2 lead when Byron Buxton’s sacrifice fly scored Nick Gordon in the top of the 10th. Minnesota made it 4-2 when Donovan Solano scored from third on Jose Miranda’s groundout later in the inning.

Chris Sale started for the Red Sox and struck out 11 in six innings. He allowed a run on three hits and walked two.

It was a 1-1 game when Sale exited the mound, and Max Kepler homered on the second pitch from reliever Josh Winckowski to give the Twins a 2-1 lead in the seventh. It was Kepler’s second home run of the season.

Boston tied the game in the eighth, when Enrique Hernandez scored from third on a fielder’s-choice grounder from Duran. Hernandez had gone from first to third when Minnesota’s Christian Vazquez was called for catcher’s interference.

Rafael Devers, Justin Turner and Duran each collected two hits for the Red Sox, who outhit the Twins 12-4. Minnesota also committed two errors.

Minnesota starting pitcher Sonny Gray limited the Red Sox to one run on seven hits in five innings. He struck out seven and walked two.

The Red Sox opened the scoring in the first, when Verdugo led off with a double and came home on a Devers single. The Twins tied the game in the fifth on a Carlos Correa bases-loaded sacrifice fly that scored Michael Taylor.

John Schreiber (1-0) got the win despite allowing two runs, one earned, in the top of the 10th. The Red Sox earned their fourth victory in five games.

Jovani Moran (0-1) took the loss, Minnesota’s third in a row.

–Field Level Media