Bucks ‘happy,’ not satisfied
FIRST PERIOD: 1, San Jose, E.Karlsson 1, 13:37. 2, San Jose, Thornton 3 (Vlasic, Labanc), 16:58. Penalties: Perron, STL, (tripping), 6:58.
PERIOD: St. Louis, Steen 2 (Barbashev), 1:18. San Jose, Thornton 4 (Labanc, Dillon), 1:36. St. Louis, Tarasenko 6 (Schenn, Parayko), 4:05. St. Louis, Perron 4 (Parayko, Edmundson), 16:03. St. Louis, Perron 5 (Parayko, Maroon), 18:42 (pp). Penalties: Burns, SJ, (hooking), 17:42. PERIOD: San Jose, Couture Pavelski), 18:59. Penalties:
OVERTIME: San Jose, E.Karlsson 2 Meier), 5:23. Penalties: None. SHOTS ON GOAL: San Jose 9-8-12-3—32. 4-13-12-3—32.
POWER PLAYS: San Jose 0-of-1, St. Louis
GOALIES: A: Referees: Linesmen:
When the season started, everyone knew the Eastern Conference would have a new king.
LeBron James left Cleveland, having taken his talents to Los Angeles.
And even Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t sure who would take his place.
“I didn’t know we were going to be in the Eastern Conference finals or not,” Antetokounmpo said. “I just know that he’s a top player that we always had problems against him and the Cavs. Now he’s not playing for the Cavs, so it’s going to be a little bit easier.”
The Bucks are three wins from becoming the team that replaces James after his eight consecutive seasons going to the NBA Finals as a representative of the East. Game 2 of the conference finals is Friday in Milwaukee, where the Bucks will aim to take a 2-0 series lead over the Raptors.
“We’re happy,” Antetokounmpo said. “But the job is not done. We’ve got to protect our home. We’ve got to be able to get Game 2.”
The Raptors were swept out of the 2017 and 2018 playoffs and the Cavs.
The way the Raptors see it, the adjustment to make the league finals might not be an adjustment at all. They liked most everything but the outcome of Game 1 — a 108-100 Bucks win — and figure that if they play the same Friday, they’ll have a chance at stealing away home-court advantage.
“This team has handled downs pretty well and ups pretty well, and that’s been one of our focuses since day one of training camp,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “So let’s hope we can keep that going a little bit.” by James
Durant still out: Warriors star Kevin Durant will miss Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference finals as he continues to recover from a strained right calf.
Durant was re-evaluated Thursday before Game 2 against the Trail Blazers and isn’t ready for oncourt work — a necessary step before the two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP can return to game action. He will be re-examined in another week.
Still, the Warriors said Durant “has shown good progress.”
Horse racing: Maximum Security jockey Luis Saez appealed his 15-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Saez said the DQ penalty for failing to control the horse in the Kentucky Derby is “unduly harsh and not supportable by facts and law.”
NBA: Zion Williamson’s stepfather, Lee Anderson, told a radio station in Baton Rouge, La., that the Duke forward is “excited” to play for the Pelicans if he’s selected No. 1 overall in next month’s draft. Williamson hasn’t signed with an agent or worked out a shoe deal, so he could return to Duke for a second year. Anderson said the family hasn’t considered that option.
NFL: The league suspended Cardinals eighttime Pro Bowl CB Patrick Peterson the first six games next season for violating the PEDs policy. ESPN reported that Peterson, 28, dropped an appeal of the ban. He’s eligible to participate in preseason practices and games . ... The Ravens signed DL Pernell McPhee to a one-year deal, ESPN reported. Financial terms weren’t available. McPhee, 30, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Ravens before playing three seasons with the Bears and last season with the Redskins.
Soccer: The UEFA announced that its financial investigators sent their Manchester City file to independent judges for a verdict. The English Premier League champ faces a one-year Champions League ban. The UEFA opened a case against City in March “for potential breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations that were made public in various media outlets.”
Tennis: Nick Kyrgios of Australia walked off the court in a fit of rage after throwing a chair onto the red clay at the Italian Open in Rome, and was defaulted from his second-round match against Norwegian qualifier Casper Ruud. Kyrgios was suspended by the ATP in 2016 for “tanking” a match and insulting fans at the Shanghai Masters.
WNBA: The Aces acquired All-Star C Liz Cambage from the Wings for G Moriah Jefferson, C Isabelle Harrison and the Aces’ first two 2020 draft picks. Cambage, 27, scored a league-record 53 points in a game against the Liberty and averaged 23 points and 9.7 rebounds. She finished second behind Storm F Breanna Stewart in MVP voting.