Digest: Cavaliers score 20 3-pointers in Game 2 win over Pistons
NBA: LeBron James scored 27 points, J.R. Smith made seven of Cleveland’s NBA playoff record-tying 20 3-pointers, and the Cavaliers opened a 2-0 lead in their series with a 107-90 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The top-seeded Cavs put away the up-and-coming Pistons in the third quarter, outscoring them 27-15 to protect home-court advantage.
There was nothing easy about their first two wins and the Cavs, favored to win the Eastern Conference and return to the finals, will have their work cut out when the best-of-seven series resumes on Friday night at Detroit.
Kyrie Irving added 22 points for Cleveland, which went 20 of 38 on 3s and tied the postseason record shared by Golden State (2015), Dallas (2011) and Seattle (1996).
Andre Drummond scored 20 and Reggie Jackson 14 for the Pistons, who have lost 10 straight playoff games against Cleveland. Drummond was just 4 of 16 from the line.
Wade leads Heat: Dwyane Wade had 28 points and eight assists, Hassan Whiteside made all eight of his shots and finished with 17 points, and the Heat beat the Hornets 115-103 in Miami to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
Goran Dragic scored 18 points, Luol Deng had 16, Josh Richardson finished with 15 and Whiteside grabbed 13 rebounds for Miami.
Kemba Walker scored 29 points for Charlotte, needing 29 shots to get there. Al Jefferson had 25 on 12-for-17 shooting off the bench, and Jeremy Lin added 11 for Charlotte – which has dropped 12 straight postseason contests.
It was the 100th 20-point game of Wade’s playoff career. The Heat are 64-36 in those games.
Game 3 is Saturday in Charlotte.
Boston’s Bradley sidelined: Celtics coach Brad Stevens said that starting guard Avery Bradley is out for Boston’s next two playoff games against the Hawks with a right hamstring injury and “very unlikely” to return for the rest of the first-round series.
Stevens said Wednesday that he was still awaiting word from an MRI that Bradley underwent upon Boston’s return from Atlanta. Game 3 is set for Friday in Boston.
In addition, Stevens said center Kelly Olynyk is questionable to return to action with a sore right shoulder. Olynyk sat out Game 2 after playing just 12 minutes in Game 1. The Celtics, who have now lost their last seven playoff games, struggled without him and were pushed around by a Hawks interior defense that had 15 blocks.
Flyers stay alive, trail series 3-1
NHL: Michal Neuvirth stopped 31 shots in his first start of the playoff series, helping the host Philadelphia Flyers stave off a sweep with a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. The Caps still lead the series 3-1 headed into Game 5 Friday night in Washington.
Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrew MacDonald each scored for the Flyers. Neuvirth was sensational in the third after T.J. Oshie scored early in the period to make it 2-1.
The Capitals still have never swept a best-of-seven playoff series.
The game was marred by a scary hit that saw Flyers center Scott Laughton leave on a stretcher. The Flyers said he was taken to Jefferson Hospital for precautionary reasons.
Panthers edge Islanders: Alex Petrovic scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Florida Panthers beat the host New York Islanders 2-1 to even their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
Teddy Purcell also scored for Florida and Jaromir Jagr had an assist for his 200th career playoff point. Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots.
John Tavares had his third goal of the series for New York, and Thomas Greiss finished with 27 saves.
The Panthers got their first playoff road win since April 17, 2012, against New Jersey in Game 3 of the first round.
Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night in Sunrise, Florida.
Stars lead series 3-1: Jason Spezza scored the go-ahead goal with his skate, Ales Hemsky and Patrick Eaves each scored on a second-period power play to give Dallas’ lagging special teams a lift, and the Stars defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in St. Paul, Minnesota, to push their series lead to 3-1.
Antti Niemi assumed the net from Kari Lehtonen, who started the first three games, and made 28 saves for the Stars. They’ll host Game 5 in Dallas on Friday.
League suspends Hawks’ Shaw: The NHL suspended Blackhawks’ Andrew Shaw for one game for yelling an anti-gay slur from the penalty box and fined him $5,000 for an inappropriate gesture toward the officials during Chicago’s Game 4 loss at home to the St. Louis Blues.
Shaw will miss Game 5 in St. Louis on Thursday, and the NHL will require him to undergo sensitivity training.
Speaking moments before the team left for St. Louis, Shaw said he couldn’t sleep after the game and watching video of his behavior was difficult. It was video of the incident that went viral on social media, prompting sharp criticism and an NHL investigation.
Police find gun on Hayes’ car
Miscellany: The first officer to arrive on the scene of the shooting death of former Saints player Will Smith found a gun on the hood of a vehicle with the empty magazine removed and one round in the chamber, New Orleans police said Wednesday.
The news came in an incident report from the night of the shooting that was released by police. Smith was shot and killed April 9 in New Orleans. Police arrested Cardell Hayes, 28, on charges of second-degree murder.
Police said Hayes’ Hummer hit Smith’s Mercedes SUV from behind. An argument ensued, and Hayes then shot Smith and his wife, police said. Smith’s wife survived.
Police said the officer who arrived on the scene first found the gun – a .45-caliber Ruger – on the hood of the Hummer with the empty magazine removed. One round was in the gun’s chamber. The officer also found a black holster, the report said. When the officer arrived, she detained several witnesses in addition to two possible perpetrators, the report said. The names of the witnesses or perpetrators were not in the report, but authorities have already said a passenger riding with Hayes was questioned and released. The officer also saw a male victim – presumably Smith – partially inside the front driver’s side of the vehicle. The officer saw another victim – presumably his wife, Racquel – laying on the ground screaming for help, the report said.
The report gave few other details of what transpired during a chaotic night that left many in New Orleans grieving for one of their team’s former greats.
Pac-12 in favor of satellite camps: Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott says the conference’s representative on the NCAA’s Division I Council did not vote with the conference’s position when the council banned so-called satellite football camps earlier this month.
After attending a College Football Playoff meeting, Scott said 11 of 12 Pac-12 members were in favor of allowing coaches to participate in camps for high school players on other school’s campus. But UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, the Pac-12’s council representative, voted to ban satellite camps.
The Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference proposed the ban on guest coaching at camps, and it passed by a 10-5 vote. The Big Ten was the only Power Five conference to vote against the ban. The Power Five conferences’ votes count for two.
Nadal advances: Rafael Nadal rebounded from an early break to beat Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-2, advancing to the third round of the Barcelona Open. Nadal lost his serve to start the match but recovered in the following game of his opening match at the clay-court tournament.