JVSportsTalk Recap: 5/11/22

Bucks Rally to Jump Ahead of Celtics; Grizzlies Stay Alive With Rout

• The Milwaukee Bucks did exactly what they said they needed to do to get the advantage in the series, and that's get a road win, as they rallied for a 110-107 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 on Wednesday.
• The Bucks overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 3-2 series lead.
  
• Bobby Portis had a key putback on a missed free throw from Giannis Antetokounmpo to make it a three-point game.
  
• And then Jrue Holiday came up clutch with a swipe of the ball from Marcus Smart at midcourt to end the game.
  
• Antetokounmpo went off for 40 points and 11 rebounds on 16-of-27 shooting in the win.
  
• Holiday added 24 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, while Portis had a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds.
  
• Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points and Jaylen Brown had 26, but they will need to win Game 6 in Milwaukee on Friday night to force a Game 7.
• The Memphis Grizzlies proved it was no Ja Morant, no problem, as they crushed the Golden State Warriors, 134-95, in Game 5 to keep their season alive.
• Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, and Tyus Jones had 21 points apiece in the big win.
  
• Dillon Brooks added 12 points, Ziarie Williams and Brandon Clarke each had 11, while De'Anthony Melton pitched in 10 points.
• To go along with the complete effort, Steven Adams posted 13 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass.
  
• That latter number helped Memphis outscore Golden State, 24-5, on second chance points.
  
• Memphis moves to 4-11 all time when facing elimination. 
  
• They led by as many as 55 on the night, and their 52-point lead at the end of the third quarter tied the largest in a playoff game in the past 70 years.
  

Nuggets' Nikola Jokic Named MVP

• The news that was hinted at earlier this week was confirmed on Wednesday, as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was officially named the MVP of the 2021-2022 NBA season.​
• Jokic posted career highs with 27.1 points and 13.8 rebounds per game to go with 7.9 assists.
• His assists average was good for eighth in the entire league.
• The 27-year-old is also the first player in NBA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 500 assists in a single season.
• Despite all that, the Nuggets were ousted in the first round by the Golden State Warriors due to them dealing with injuries to Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. 
• The big man is the 15th player in NBA history to win multiple MVP awards, and the second straight back-to-back winner following Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

Rangers Keep Their Season Alive as Penguins Lose Crosby

• The New York Rangers kept their season alive on their home ice Wednesday night, taking Game 5 from the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3. 
• Filip Chytil scored in the third period to give the Rangers the lead for good, and moving them on to Game 6 in Pittsburgh.
  
• Jacob Trouba and Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal and an assist. 
  
• Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren also found the back of the net for a Rangers team that overcame consecutive blowout losses.
  
• Igor Shesterkin had 27 saves on the night, this after giving him 10 goals over three periods in the past two games.
• Jake Guentzel scored twice, while Kris Letang also scored for the Penguins.
• Pittsburgh lost star Sidney Crosby with seven minutes left in the second period after he took a high hit from Trouba. He did not return.
  

Other key scores saw Carter Verhaeghe stay hot with two goals and three assists as the Florida Panthers took a 3-2 series lead with a 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals. And the Calgary Flames scored three times in the third period for a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars and a 3-2 series lead.

Oilers' Darnell Nurse Suspended One Game

• The Edmonton Oilers will have their season on the line in Game 6 on Thursday night, but they will go it without defenseman Darnell Nurse, who was suspended one game.
• Nurse received the suspension for head-butting Los Angeles Kings center Phillip Danault on Tuesday night.
  
• The incident occurred in the second period of Game 5, which the Kings won in overtime to take a 3-2 series lead.
  
• This is the second suspension of Nurse's career, going with a three-game ban he got in 2016 for an aggressor-rule violation.
  
• The defenseman has averaged 22 minutes in postseason games, and will hope his team can get the series back home for Game 7 so he can return.
  

Yelich Hits For Cycle in Brewers' Loss; Torres Powers Yankees

• Christian Yelich made history on Wednesday afternoon, but it was not enough, as he hit for the cycle in the Milwaukee Brewers' 14-11 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
• Yelich tied an MLB record with his third-career cycle, tripling in the sixth inning to get there.
  
• He is the sixth player in MLB history to hit for the cycle three times, joining Trea Turner, Adrian Beltre, Babe Herman, Bob Meusel, and John Reilly.
  
• The slugger hit for the cycle twice against the Reds in the span of three weeks in 2018.
  
• The Reds were powered by Tyler Stephenson's four RBIs, while Colin Moran had a three-run homer.
  
• The New York Yankees stayed hot behind the bat of Gleyber Torres, who drove in all five of his team's runs in a 5-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
  
• Torres had a three-run home run and a two-run single in the victory.
  
• The 25-year-old has been benched for six games this season, but he has been clutch this season.
  
• That includes a game-tying sacrifice fly on Opening Day against the Boston Red sox, as well as a walk-off RBI single on April 23rd against the Cleveland Guardians.
  
• He has 16 RBIs over his last 15 games, as well as four home runs in his past 11.
  
• Torres is batting just .222 this season, but that includes five home runs and 18 RBIs. 
  
• The Blue Jays have now dropped a season-high four straight games and seven of nine overall, while falling to 3-6 against the Yankees this season.

Other key scores saw the Tampa Bay Rays snap a three-game skid with a 4-2 extra-inning win over the Los Angeles Angels. Orlando Arcia had a walk-off long ball to lift the Atlanta Braves over the Boston Red Sox, 5-3. Brandon Crawford powered the San Francisco Giants to their 10th straight win over the Colorado Rockies with a three-run shot in their 7-1 rout. Alfonso Rivas' go-ahead two-run single in the eighth sent the Chicago Cubs past the San Diego Padres, 7-5. Juan Soto and Nelson Cruz both went deep in the Washington Nationals' 8-3 victory against the New York Mets. And Juan Yepez went deep, while Miles Mikolas went seven solid innings in the St. Louis Cardinals' 10-1 blowout of the Baltimore Orioles. 

Guardians-White Sox Postponed Over COVID Issues

• Wednesday's Cleveland Guardians-Chicago White Sox game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Guardians organization.
• It was announced early Wednesday that manager Terry Francona had tested positive for the virus.
  
• There were multiple positive tests in the organization, mostly among the coaches and traveling party.
  
• Some members of the traveling party were said to be symptomatic.
  
• The 63-year-old Francona reportedly was not showing symptoms, but has been ruled out indefinitely. 
  
• There are no known positive cases among the Guardians players.
  

Raiders Agree to Deal With Keelan Cole

• The Las Vegas Raiders added to the depth at the wide receiver position on Wednesday, giving Keelan Cole a one-year contract.
• The 29-year-old most recently catch 28 passes for 449 yards and a touchdown over 15 games and 11 starts for the New York Jets.
  
• He was playing on a one-year, $5.5 million contract with them.
  
• Cole spent his first four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars and led the team with 748 receiving yards as a rookie.
• Over five NFL seasons, he has posted 187 catches for 2,691 yards and 13 touchdowns.