In brief: Millsap, Hawks take out Nets in Game 6
NBA: Paul Millsap had 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists and the Atlanta Hawks finally finished off the Brooklyn Nets in six games, advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 111-87 victory Friday night in Brooklyn.
Kyle Korver added 20 points and hit three of his six 3-pointers during a series-deciding run to open the third quarter as the Hawks turned a six-point lead into the only blowout of the series. The East’s No. 1 seed has a quick turnaround before facing Washington on Sunday in its second-round opener.
The Wizards, the No. 5 seed, swept Toronto in the first round.
Atlanta won the final two games and left no doubt about this one after beginning the second half with a 23-3 blitz that made it 74-48, opening as big a gap on the scoreboard as there was between the teams in the standings. The Hawks were 60-22 in the regular season and the Nets were only 38-44 as the last team to qualify for the postseason, but Atlanta outscored Brooklyn by just nine points through the first five games.
Johnson scores in Lightning’s 2OT win
Hockey: Nikita Kucherov scored at 2:06 of the second overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Kucherov took a pass in the slot from Valtteri Filppula and beat goalie Carey Price with a wrist shot on the first shot of the period.
Kucherov was involved in a controversial call 3 minutes into the first overtime. His shot on a breakaway was stopped and he bumped into Price as the puck went into the net, although it appeared Price dragged the puck in himself. After review, it was ruled Kucherov interfered with Price.
Spokane native Tyler Johnson opened the scoring early in the third, and Ben Bishop made 43 saves for the Lightning, coming off a Game 7 victory over Detroit on Wednesday night.
Max Pacioretty tied it with 5:13 left. Price stopped 33 shots for the Canadiens.
• Blackhawks edge Wild: Teuvo Teravainen broke a tie with his first playoff goal and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal series.
The Blackhawks, trying to knock out Minnesota for the third straight year, struck first after taking out Nashville in six games in the opening round. Game 2 is Sunday night in Chicago.
The 20-year-old Teravainen came through with 58.2 seconds left in the second period after Chicago blew a 3-0 lead. Held out of the final four games of the first round, he scored from a difficult angle, and the Blackhawks hung on from there.
Brandon Saad scored 1:15 into the game. Patrick Kane and Marcus Kruger added goals just over 2 minutes apart in the first period.
• U.S., Canada win openers: Canada showed its attacking power with a 6-1 victory over Latvia in the first game of the world hockey championship in Prague, Czech Republic, while the United States beat 2014 runner-up Finland 5-1 in Ostrava.
Defending champ Russia opened with a 6-2 win over Norway, and Sweden beat Czech Republic 6-5.
• Brandon, Kelowna win: John Quenneville and Jayce Hawryluk each scored a pair of goals, and Brandon advanced to the Western Hockey League championship series with an 8-2 thrashing of visiting Calgary. Brandon won the Eastern Conference final series 4-1.
Kelowna took a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference final, as Tyson Baillie netted a goal with 5:05 left in overtime for a 2-1 win over visiting Portland.
Westwood takes out Spieth at Match Play
Golf: Lee Westwood came up with two big shots and took down Masters champion Jordan Spieth as the new Match Play Championship in San Francisco felt like the old one.
This was elimination day at TPC Harding Park – through matches, one sudden-death playoff and tiebreakers.
Westwood staved that off in a compelling match with Spieth, who he referred to as “the best player in the world at the moment.”
Westwood hit 6-iron to 12 feet and made birdie on the 17th, giving it a baby fist pump that spoke to the quality of the match, and then won when Spieth failed to make birdie on the final hole and conceded Westwood’s birdie.
Louis Oosthuizen, Gary Woodland, Danny Willett of England and Hunter Mahan also went 3-0 in group play to advance to Saturday.
So did Rickie Fowler and John Senden, who won matches Friday that didn’t matter – they already were assured of winning their groups in the round robin.
The rest of the day was as wild as ever, as Tommy Fleetwood and Jim Furyk both required extra holes to advance.
• Henderson sets pace: Brooke Henderson shot a 6-under 65 in the North Texas Shootout, giving the 17-year-old Canadian the lead going into the weekend for the second straight week on the LPGA Tour in Irving, Texas.
Henderson had a bogey-free round to reach 8-under 134 total at Las Colinas, a stroke ahead of 2013 winner Inbee Park and 54-year-old Juli Inkster.
Lexi Thompson, Mi Hyang Lee, Hee Young Park and Karine Icher were tied for fourth at 6 under.
• Dawson, Allen tied: Marco Dawson and Michael Allen each shot 6-under 66 to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s Insperity Invitational in The Woodlands, Texas.
The 51-year-old Dawson had seven birdies and a bogey at The Woodlands Country Club. He won the Conquistadores Classic in March in Tucson, Arizona, for his first victory on the 50-and-over tour.
The 56-year-old Allen also had seven birdies and a bogey. He won twice last season.
Colin Montgomerie, Joe Durant and Woodlands resident Jeff Maggert shot 67, and Steve Pate and Billy Andrade followed at 68. Durant and Andrade teamed to win the Legends of Golf last week in Missouri.
• Black pioneer Brown dies: Pete Brown, the first black player to win a PGA Tour event, died at 80 in Augusta, Georgia.
Brown won the 1964 Waco Turner Open in Burneyville, Oklahoma, and the 1970 Andy Williams-San Diego Open.
A native of Port Gibson, Mississippi, Brown survived polio as a child and learned to play golf in Jackson, Mississippi, after first working as a caddie.
Brown joined the tour in 1963, two years after Charlie Sifford broke the color barrier, and played until 1978.