Pistons rally from 24 down to beat Magic 93-79 and force Game 7 after Orlando goes ice-cold
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 32 points and the top-seeded Detroit Pistons pulled off an incredible rally by erasing a 24-point deficit and beating the Orlando Magic 93-79 to force a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference first-round series. Detroit trailed by 22 at the half Friday night and Orlando's lead went to 62-38 early in the third quarter. The Magic looked poised to become the seventh No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the first round. And then everything went wrong for Orlando. The Magic missed 23 consecutive shots from the field during one stretch and Detroit went on a 35-5 run to take control.
Sabres beat Bruins 4-1 in Game 6 to reach 2nd round for 1st time since 2007
BOSTON (AP) — Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the first period, Zach Benson added another early in the third and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Friday night in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2007. Josh Norris added an empty-netter. Alex Lyon finished with 25 saves. The 4-2 series victory is the latest milestone for Buffalo, which saw the end of its 14-year playoff drought by capturing its first Atlantic Division title. The 2007 season was also the last time the Sabres advanced to the second round. They lost in the conference finals that year. Buffalo will play the winner of the Montreal-Tampa Bay series in the second round.
Goncalves scores in OT, Lightning beat Canadiens to force Game 7
MONTREAL (AP) — Gage Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:03 of overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the first-round series. Goncalves scored soon after the Lightning killed scoring star Nikita Kucherov’s penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier. Game 7 is Sunday in Tampa. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing their first series victory in five years. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay, and Jakub Dobes stopped 32 shots for Montreal. The first three games of the series also went to overtime.
Mitch Marner scores twice to help Golden Knights eliminate Mammoth with Game 6 win
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist, Carter Hart made 21 saves and Vegas Golden Knights beat the Utah Mammoth 5-1 on Friday night in Game 6 to wrap up the first-round series. Vegas will face Anaheim in the second round. The Ducks advanced Thursday night with a 5-2 home victory over Edmonton in Game 6. Vegas has surged since John Tortorella took over as coach from the fired Bruce Cassidy, closing the regular season 7-0-1 after the change. Marner had two goals and five assists in the series. Brett Howden opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the series. Colton Sissons added a third-period goal for Vegas soon after Utah’s Kailer Yamamoto cut it to 2-1. Cole Smith had an empty-netter.
Exorbitantly expensive tickets for early World Cup games still on general sale
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Tickets for most of the World Cup group games remain on general sale with just over a month to go until the tournament kicks off on June 11. But prices are exorbitantly high. They top out at $4,105 for the United States’ opening game against Paraguay in Los Angeles and many cost around $2,000. Tickets are still available on FIFA’s official website through its “last-minute sales” section after batches had been released through various phases since September.
No clear favorite and plenty of contenders: The 152nd Kentucky Derby is a 20-horse puzzle
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — There is no clear favorite in the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby that has at least a half-dozen legitimate contenders and maybe more horses that can win it. Todd Pletcher-trained Renegade opened as the 4-1 morning line favorite but horses like Brad Cox's Commander or Further Ado or Bill Mott's Chief Wallabee could be in the mix. It does not yet look like there's a super horse in this 3-year-old class who could sweep the Triple Crown.
Young gets to 13 under to take 5-stroke lead into the weekend at Doral
DORAL, Fla. (AP) — Cameron Young finally made his first bogey of the week at the Cadillac Championship. It barely put a dent into his lead going into the weekend. Young shot a 5-under 67 on Friday to get to 13 under and take a five-shot lead at the midway point of the $20 million signature event at Trump International Doral. Young played with Scottie Scheffler; the world’s No. 1 player had a bogey-free 67 but ended the day exactly where he started it — seven shots off the lead. Nick Taylor, Alex Smalley and Jordan Spieth were tied for second.
The NHL playoffs feature a bunch of new blood in the second round, from Philadelphia to Anaheim
The second round of the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs has at least six teams who did not make it that far a year ago. Buffalo, Colorado, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Anaheim have already qualified. The winner Montreal-Tampa Bay first-round series will also deliver another newcomer. It could be seven out of eight if Utah rallies to defeat Vegas. A new champion was already guaranteed last month when Florida was eliminated from contention. There will be two new finalists after Edmonton got knocked out in the first round by the Ducks.
Inside the numbers: How Detroit escaped elimination in Orlando with a stunning comeback
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Detroit Pistons pulled off a stunning comeback against the Orlando Magic in Game 6 of their playoff series. Facing elimination and down by 24 points, the Pistons rallied to win 93-79. Orlando forward Paolo Banchero summed up the Magic's second-half collapse, saying, "They went on a pretty big run there, and we didn't score." The Magic missed 23 consecutive shots, the most in a playoff game since the play-by-play era began in 1996-97. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham outscored the Magic by himself in the second half, 24-19. The Pistons now have a chance to win the series in Game 7.
Rice, Caballero homer to overcome Alonso's drive, Yankees beat Orioles 7-2 for 11th win in 13 games
NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Rice and José Caballero homered, Will Warren won his third straight start and the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 for their 11th victory in 13 games, overcoming a home run by Pete Alonso in his return to New York. Caballero, making the most of his chance while Anthony Volpe recovers from shoulder surgery, broke a 1-1 tie when he hit a solo shot in the second off Cade Povich. Rice hit a three-run drive later in the inning, giving him 11 homers and 26 RBIs. Warren allowed two runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts.
