Sport

Cavs' Tristan Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova unsung heroes in Game 3

12:15:00

By ziko

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue exalts the play of Tristan Thompson and likes his team's three-point shooting after the 101-91 win over the Pistons in Game 3 at the Palace on Friday. Video by Marlowe Alter/DFP Videolicious

Thompson grabbed eight offensive rebounds; Delly had 12 points and five assists off the bench

As usual, Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are netting all the headlines from Friday night, and they should.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ “Big Three” combined for 66 points in their 101-91 win over the Detroit Pistons at the Palace in Game 3 of this first-round playoff matchup.

Sure, the “Big Three” remained the driving force in giving the Cavs a 3-0 lead and a chance to sweep the Pistons on Sunday in Game 4. They scored 81 of their team's 106 points in Game 1, and 65 points out of 107 in Game 2. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said this stretch has "been the best I’ve seen them play all three together."

But it was the play of two unsung players -- the same two who were incredible during Cleveland’s run to the 2015 NBA Finals -- that titled the scales towards the Cavs.

DETROIT FREE PRESS

Windsor: Pistons show promise, yet flaws exposed again in Game 3

Matthew Dellavedova (12 points and five assists in 16 minutes) and Tristan Thompson (eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks) ripped the Pistons’ hearts out. Dellavedova did it with smart play in the pick-and-roll with James. Thompson waned Detroit's spirits with key offensive rebounds.

“(Thompson) has been our X-factor,” Love said. “He continues to play hard, he brings it every single night. I just try to feed off his energy, I think we all do. There’s a lot of stuff that he does and Shump (Iman Shumpert) does and guys throughout our entire team that don’t show necessarily show up in the stat sheet, but every single night they’re making the difference.”

Thompson, who broke out by averaging 5.3 offensive boards in six games in the 2015 NBA Finals against Golden State, scored two points in Game 1 and battled foul trouble while playing just 13 minutes in Game 2. Entering Game 3, he had seven rebounds (five offensive) in 44 minutes in this series.

Thompson was fantastic throughout Game 3, but he was especially effective late in both halves.

With under two minutes left in the first half, he corralled offensive boards on consecutive possessions, leading to four points and an eventual 54-53 halftime lead, despite 60% first-half shooting from the Pistons.

Pistons guard Reggie Jackson scores against Cavaliers forward Kevin Love during the fourth period of the Pistons' 101-91 loss in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals Friday at the Palace. Kirthmon F. Dozier DFP

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Game 3: Cavaliers 101, Pistons 91

Thompson's tip-in over Andre Drummond off a missed corner three from James gave the Cavs their largest lead at the time, 75-69, with 1:53 left in the third quarter. Thompson added a dunk on the next possession, leaving Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy to yell at Tobias Harris and yank him from the game for failing to help box-out Thompson.

“I thought Tristan was unbelievable,” Lue said. “Tristan is a team player and he just stayed with it. And tonight, we decided to stay big and Tristan was phenomenal for us.”

The Cavs opened the fourth quarter with James screening for Dellavedova at the top of key, and the guard's patience paid off. After multiple picks from James, the backup point guard found James for an And-1 lay-up, and a three for an 85-76 lead.

Dellavedova said James’ crushing picks are effective because the defender doesn’t want to leave James. “He’s such a dynamic roller,” Dellavedova said. “He can catch anything and he can also finish but kick it out to three, so it’s pretty dangerous as him as the roll-man.”

And with the Cavs leading, 95-90, with 2:10 left, Thompson’s relentless pursuit paid off when he outhustled Harris and Reggie Jackson for an extra possession, helping the Cavs drain another 24 seconds.

What makes Thompson so effective on the offensive boards? He says it's crashing the glass on every shot.

“There will be some possessions where I don’t get the offensive rebound,” he said. “But I know if I do it every possession, by the third quarter, fourth quarter, that’s when I’ll be able to get those crucial offensive rebounds to set-up a second chance for us to score.”

And it was Dellavedova who slung a perfect chest-high out-of-bounds pass to Irving for the dagger three with 0.7 seconds left on the shot clock, giving the Cavs a 98-90 lead and sending many of the Pistons' faithful slumping to the exits.

12:13:00

By ziko

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Spurs took a 3-0 lead in their first round series against the Grizzlies on Friday, beating the 96-87 in a game that was closer than the previous two blowouts but still ended with the results we expected.

Memphis did well to hang in the game against San Antonio, trailing by one point at halftime and briefly jumping ahead in the third quarter. The Spurs wouldn't let a tragically depleted Grizzlies roster actually pose a threat to sneak out a win and force an unnecessary Game 5, though. A Kawhi Leonard corner three with just under a minute to play sealed the game after it bounced around the rim, hit the backboard and then fell back in.

Leonard led the way for the Spurs, scoring 32 points on 11-of-22 shooting while knocking down six of his nine triples. He did play 42 minutes, but it happened while Tim Duncanran out there for just 14. In this series, clearly Gregg Popovich knows that all Duncan needs to do is stay loose and engaged. There's no need to expend him for any real cause.

The rest of the starters also played smaller doses, with Tony Parker finishing with 24 minutes played while Manu Ginobili played 27. The Spurs will be well-rested for their probably second-round series against the Thunder, who in turn have had to face the relentless Mavericks instead of the sad Grizzlies.

1. Respect to the Grizzlies

This is what their injury lists looks like this season, just as a reminder.

Memphis had so many injuries that 28 people played for them this season. And this team, missing Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and more, trailed the Spurs by just three points with three minutes left in the game.

Look, there's not much to say. San Antonio was going to win this series. Kudos to Memphis for making this game tricky after a couple blowouts, even if it didn't matter on the final scoreboard.

2. Marvel at Kawhi Leonard's defensive abilities

Wanna watch Kawhi Leonard swallow a basketball pass? You're welcome.

Leonard was great on the other end, too, scoring several big buckets down the stretch for the Spurs to seal their win against Memphis. But mostly, we just like watching in awe as Leonard destroys opposing players when they have the ball in their hand.

3. Let's get this series over with

This isn't fun or fair to the Grizzlies, who were a good team ravaged with impossible injuries. This isn't fun or productive for the Spurs, who are one of the NBA's best teams and have been burdened with beating Memphis rather than facing a real opponent that could actually cause them trouble. Game 4 comes on Sunday and mercifully, that series can then come to an end.

11:38:00

By ziko

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ST. LOUIS — The Chicago Blackhawks finally got a goal from one of their top stars. Patrick Kane's first of the playoffs saved the defending Stanley Cup champions' season.

Kane scored on a backhander early in the second overtime and the Blackhawks avoided first-round elimination with a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues early Friday.

"We've played in a lot of overtimes with this team and had some long stretches here in playoff runs, so when you get those opportunities sometimes you come up big," Kane said. "Sometimes you get lucky, too."

Kane's fifth career overtime playoff goal, tied for third on the career list, was his first of the series and fellow standout Jonathan Toews still has none. Both assisted on Artemi Panarin's goal in the final second of the second period for a 3-1 lead.

"I don't think I was very good in that first overtime or very good at all tonight," Kane said. "It's one of those things I tried to tell myself just to get confidence going into that fifth period and try to make some plays."

Kane, who led the NHL in scoring with 106 points, circled the net to corral his own shot that slowly slid wide, and poked it past Brian Elliott at 3:07 to send a standing-room crowd of 19,956 home unhappy.

"I tried to make a move around a guy who was maybe trying to block my shot," Kane said. "Made a move, saw the puck and tried to get one on net there. Fortunately enough, it kind of squeaked out to the other side.

Elliott's stick got tangled up with defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's skate on the play, so he was late crossing the crease.

"The plane's at 3. Let's get playing," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We've got to find another way to make them crack."

David Backes, who got the winning goal in the Blues' 1-0 overtime victory in Game 1, tied it on a deflection that slipped past Corey Crawford with 5:10 to play. Rookie Robby Fabbri and Jaden Schwartz also scored for St. Louis.

"We played one of our better games," said defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who assisted on all three goals. "It's going to be a tough place to win. We won the last two there, though."

Marian Hossa and Artem Anisimov also scored for Chicago, which takes the series back home for Game 6 Saturday night.

"Tough to give up another lead like that, but we didn't crack," Crawford said. "We stuck with our game and we're excited to go back home now."

Chicago won despite being outshot 46-35, and helped road teams improve to 19-15 in these playoffs.

"I don't know if that's the way we drew it up," said defenseman Duncan Keith, who led all skaters with 42 minutes of ice time. "It would have been nice to just hang on to that lead but Kaner came through."

The Blackhawks have won three of the last six Cups, but also are trying to avoid first-round elimination for the third time in six seasons.

Kane and Toews were paired on the top line for Game 5 and both assisted on Panarin's seemingly back-breaking goal with 0.4 seconds left in the second period for a two-goal cushion.

The Blues are trying to end a string of three consecutive first-round playoff exits. In 2014 they had a 2-0 lead on Chicago and then lost four straight.

"I don't think our mind-set changes at all," Fabbri said. "A tough one to end here, but we're going to let this one go."

Chicago stayed alive without Andrew Shaw, suspended for one game for making a homophobic slur at the end of Game 4.

The teams combined for 11 game misconduct penalties at the finish of the Blues' 4-3 win in Game 4 on Tuesday. There were no penalties in the first period of Game 5.

NOTES: Joe Sakic had eight career overtime goal and Maurice Richard had six and Glenn Anderson also had five. ... Fabbri was among the rookie leaders with 18 goals during the regular season. ... Blues D Carl Gunarrsson returned after missing game with an upper body injury. Rookie Joel Edmundson sat after playing the first four games. ... The Blackhawks inserted David Rundblad in place of Michal Rozsival, who was minus-3. Fs Brandon Mashinter and Dale Weise also played with Tomas Fleishmann out.

11:32:00

By ziko

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Chicago Blackhawks' Artem Anisimov controls the puck during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey first-round Stanley Cup playoff series April 21, 2016. ((AP Photo/Jeff Roberson))

ST. LOUIS --

The Chicago Blackhawks finally got a goal from one of their top stars. Patrick Kane's first of the playoffs saved the defending Stanley Cup champions' season.

Kane scored on a backhander early in the second overtime and the Blackhawks avoided first-round elimination with a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues early Friday.

"We've played in a lot of overtimes with this team and had some long stretches here in playoff runs, so when you get those opportunities sometimes you come up big," Kane said. "Sometimes you get lucky, too."

The Blackhawks thanked fans for staying up late in a tweet overnight and supplied a note for sleepy supporters to use at work or school Friday:

Kane's fifth career overtime playoff goal, tied for third on the career list, was his first of the series and fellow standout Jonathan Toews still has none. Both assisted on Artemi Panarin's goal in the final second of the second period for a 3-1 lead.

"I don't think I was very good in that first overtime or very good at all tonight," Kane said. "It's one of those things I tried to tell myself just to get confidence going into that fifth period and try to make some plays."

Kane, who led the NHL in scoring with 106 points, circled the net to corral his own shot that slowly slid wide, and poked it past Brian Elliott at 3:07 to send a standing-room crowd of 19,956 home unhappy.

"I tried to make a move around a guy who was maybe trying to block my shot," Kane said. "Made a move, saw the puck and tried to get one on net there. Fortunately enough, it kind of squeaked out to the other side.

Elliott's stick got tangled up with defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's skate on the play, so he was late crossing the crease.

"The plane's at 3. Let's get playing," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We've got to find another way to make them crack."

David Backes, who got the winning goal in the Blues' 1-0 overtime victory in Game 1, tied it on a deflection that slipped past Corey Crawford with 5:10 to play. Rookie Robby Fabbri and Jaden Schwartz also scored for St. Louis.

"I thought we played one of our better games," said defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who assisted on all three goals. "It's going to be a tough place to win. We won the last two there, though."

Marian Hossa and Artem Anisimov also scored for Chicago, which takes the series back home for Game 6 Saturday night.

"Tough to give up another lead like that, but we didn't crack," Crawford said. "We stuck with our game and we're excited to go back home now."

Chicago won despite being outshot 46-35, and helped road teams improve to 19-15 in these playoffs.

"I don't know if that's the way we drew it up," said defenseman Duncan Keith, who led all skaters with 42 minutes of ice time. "It would have been nice to just hang on to that lead but Kaner came through."

The Blackhawks have won three of the last six Cups, but also are trying to avoid first-round elimination for the third time in six seasons.

Kane and Toews were paired on the top line for Game 5 and both assisted on Panarin's seemingly back-breaking goal with 0.4 seconds left in the second period for a two-goal cushion.

The Blues are trying to end a string of three consecutive first-round playoff exits. In 2014 they had a 2-0 lead on Chicago and then lost four straight.

"I don't think our mind-set changes at all," Fabbri said. "A tough one to end here, but we're going to let this one go."

Chicago stayed alive without Andrew Shaw, suspended for one game for making a homophobic slur at the end of Game 4.

The teams combined for 11 game misconduct penalties at the finish of the Blues' 4-3 win in Game 4 on Tuesday. There were no penalties in the first period of Game 5.

NOTES: Joe Sakic had eight career overtime goal and Maurice Richard had six and Glenn Anderson also had five. ... Fabbri was among the rookie leaders with 18 goals during the regular season. ... Blues D Carl Gunarrsson returned after missing game with an upper body injury. Rookie Joel Edmundson sat after playing the first four games. ... The Blackhawks inserted David Rundblad in place of Michal Rozsival, who was minus-3. Fs Brandon Mashinter and Dale Weise also played with Tomas Fleishmann out.