Blackhawks win 4th in row, eliminate Blues
NHL: Duncan Keith had a goal and three assists, and the Chicago Blackhawks used a four-goal third period to finish off the visiting St. Louis Blues with a 5-1 victory in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.
Chicago won four in a row after a slow start in St. Louis. The defending Stanley Cup champions will play the winner of the Minnesota-Colorado series in the Western Conference semifinals. The Avalanche lead the Wild 3-2 heading into Game 6 in Minnesota tonight.
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Andrew Shaw and Keith scored in the third period as the Blackhawks improved to 14-2 in home playoff games over the last two seasons. Corey Crawford made 35 saves, keeping Chicago in a tie game when St. Louis controlled the second period.
T.J. Oshie scored for the Blues, who outshot the Blackhawks 36-27. Ryan Miller finished with 22 saves.
• Ducks rally, send Stars home: Nick Bonino scored 2:47 into overtime, after getting one of Anaheim’s two goals late in regulation, and the Ducks beat the host Dallas Stars 5-4 in Game 6 to clinch the first-round series.
The Ducks scored twice in the final 2:10 of regulation to force overtime for the first time in the series.
• Rangers up 3-2 on Flyers: Brad Richards and Dominic Moore scored second-period goals, and Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves as the New York Rangers pushed the visiting Philadelphia Flyers to the brink of elimination with a 4-2 victory in Game 5.
Blazers outlast Rockets, take 3-1 lead
NBA: LaMarcus Aldridge had 29 points and 10 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the visiting Houston Rockets 123-120 in overtime to take a 3-1 advantage in their first-round playoff series.
Nicolas Batum added 25 points in the first win for the home team in the series. It was the third overtime game of the series.
The Blazers haven’t advanced out of the first round of the playoffs since 2000.
James Harden had 28 points and Dwight Howard added 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets.
• Wizards on verge of advancing: Trevor Ariza had a career playoff-high 30 points, and the Washington Wizards scored the first 14 points of the game and barely looked back in beating the visiting Chicago Bulls 98-89 to take 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series.
John Wall added 15 points and 10 assists for the Wizards, who forced 16 turnovers and committed only six. Washington played without forward Nene, who was suspended for grabbing Jimmy Butler by the head in Game 3.
The Wizards are looking to win a playoff series for only the third time since the 1970s.
Taj Gibson scored a career-high 32 points on 13-for-16 shooting for Chicago, but his teammates combined to go 22 for 62 from the field.
• Raptors even series: DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, Kyle Lowry added 22, and the visiting Toronto Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets 87-79 to even their Eastern Conference first-round series at two games apiece.
Amir Johnson had 17 points for the Raptors, who started fast, gave up all of a 17-point lead, then shut the Nets down over the final 5 minutes to snap a 13-game road losing streak in the playoffs that went back 13 years.
Paul Pierce scored 22 points for the Nets, who were 3 for 17 in the fourth quarter and didn’t have a field goal after Pierce’s basket with 6:13 left gave them a 77-73 lead.
• Ex-Grizzlies owner Heisley dies: Michael Heisley, the billionaire businessman who bought the Vancouver Grizzlies and moved the NBA team to Memphis, died Saturday. He was 77. The Commercial Appeal reported that Heisley died in Illinois of complications from a massive stroke he suffered nearly 15 months ago. Heisley sold the team to Robert Pera before the start of the 2012-13 season.
Sharapova wins third straight Porsche GP
Tennis: Maria Sharapova won her third straight Porsche Grand Prix title by coming from behind to defeat Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final in Stuttgart, Germany.
Sharapova won her first tournament of the year and clinched the 30th title of her career. She is now undefeated in 13 consecutive matches on the indoor clay in Stuttgart.
• Nishikori wins first clay title: Kei Nishikori of Japan beat Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 6-2 to win the Barcelona (Spain) Open for his first career title on clay.
This is the first time a non-Spaniard has won the tournament at the Real Club de Tenis since 1996. Rafael Nadal won the tournament eight times during that period.
• Torro-Flor triumphs in Morocco: Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain won her first WTA singles title by defeating Romina Oprandi of Switzerland 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the Grand Prix SAR final in Marrakesh, Morocco.
• Dimitrov ousts champ: Top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov defeated defending champion Lukas Rosol 7-6 (2), 6-1 to win the Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest, Romania, for his third ATP title.
Ring Weekend out of Kentucky Derby
Miscellany: Ring Weekend is out of the Kentucky Derby because of a fever and infection.
The decision on the Tampa Bay Derby winner and Calder Derby runner-up was announced Sunday by Churchill Downs.
Ring Weekend is trained by Graham Motion and had not yet shipped to Churchill Downs from Fair Hill, Md. He was ranked 14th in Derby points standings. Now that he’s out, Commanding Curve joins the field for Saturday’s race and will be ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan.
• Walsh wins record 47th crown: Three-time Olympic champion Kerri Walsh won her record 47th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour title, teaming with April Ross to beat Brazil’s Juliana Felisberta Silva and Maria Antonelli 21-11, 21-18 in the Fuzhou (China) Open final.
Walsh broke a tie with Brazil’s Larissa Franca for the record. The American teamed with Ross in September after longtime partner Misty May-Treanor retired following the London Olympics.
• Villopoto wraps up title: Ryan Villopoto wrapped up his fourth straight AMA Supercross 450SX Class season title Saturday night, easily winning in front of 62,217 fans at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Villopoto, from Poulsbo, Wash., has three straight victories and six this season to push his career total to 40. He has a 61-point lead over KTM’s Ryan Dungey with only the season finale left next week.