JVSportsTalk Recap: 5/8/22

Harden Breaks Out For Sixers; Mavericks Even Series With Suns

• The Philadelphia 76ers have plenty of reason to celebrate after tying their second round series with a 116-108 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday.
• Not only did they even the series at two-apiece, but their bearded superstar James Harden finally broke out with 31 points.
  
• Harden led all scorers, while Joel Embiid continued his comeback with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
  
• The Sixers have won two in a row, after dropping both games in Miami while Embiid sat out.
  
• The bearded superstar made six shots from three-point range and added nine assists with seven rebounds.
  
• Jimmy Butler's 40 points went to waste for the Heat, as he shot 13-of-20 from the floor, and 12-of-13 from the free throw line.
  
• The Heat were shockingly just 7-of-35 from three-point range in this loss.
  
• Miami will host Game 5 of the series back in South Beach on Tuesday night.
  
• The Dallas Mavericks got off to a hot start and took advantage of miscues from the Phoenix Suns to even their second round series at two-apiece with a 111-101 Game 4 victory on Sunday.
• Luka Doncic had 26 points, 11 assists, and eight assists in the Mavs' second straight home win.
• Dorian Finney-Smith added a playoff career high with 24 points on eight makes from three-point range.
• The Mavs as a team shot lights out from three-point range at 20-for-44, tying a franchise record for three-pointers in a playoff game.
• Dallas also made 20 shots from three-point range while completing a sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers on Mother's Day in 2011. 
• Chris Paul dealt with foul trouble, this after the 37-year-old struggled with turnovers in Game 3.
• Devin Booker led the Suns with 35 points, but his Suns dropped two straight road games after taking a 2-0 series lead, just like they did in the NBA Finals last year.

Kings Hire Mike Brown as Next Head Coach

• The Sacramento Kings found their next head coach on Sunday agreeing to a deal with Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown as their next head man.
• Brown received a four-year contract to take over the sidelines for the Kings.
  
• The Warriors are still in the NBA Playoffs, leading the Memphis Grizzlies, 2-1, in the second round, so this won't be officially official until after their run ends.
• Although, the deal is finalized as the Kings look to end their NBA Playoff drought at 16 years.
• The Warriors' assistant does have eight years of coaching experience under his belt.
  
• He has been Steve Kerr's assistant for seven years agao.
  
• Although, he is 347-216 over eight seasons as a head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.
  
• That also includes the 2007 Coach of The Year honors, when he led the Cavs to the NBA Finals. 
  
• He most recently went 42-29 over two seasons with the Lakers, before getting fired five games in to the 2012-2013 season. 
  
• A return to Cleveland lasted just one season, getting fired after a 33-49 season.
  
• Despite those struggles, he does hold a playoff record of 47-36.
  

Bruins Come Back to Even Series; Lightning Rout Leafs

• The Boston Bruins came back to even their first round series with the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday with a 5-2 Game 5 victory.
• Brad Marchand had two goals and three assists, totaling five points as the Bruins even the series at two-apiece.
• Patrice Bergeron added a goal and two assists, while David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk both scored with an assist.
• Jeremy Swayman got the call in net and made 24 saves, and his team scored three times in the third to pull away.
• Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist for the 'Canes, who dropped both road games after winning both home games.
• Antti Raanta made 23 saves in his return from injury, this after leaving Game 2 with an upper-body injury.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning pulled away quick on their home ice to tie their series at two-apiece with a 7-3 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
  
• The blowout is their 17th consecutive wins following a playoff loss.
  
• Ross Colton scored twice, as the Lightning put up three goals in the first eight minutes.
  
• Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves to help the back-to-back defending champs avoid a 3-1 series deficit.
  
• Steven Stamkos, Pierre Edoura Bellemare, and Pat Maroon also scored for Tampa Bay, as did Corey Perry and Ondrej Palat.
• Brandon Hagel and NIkita Kucherov each posted two assists in the rout.
  
• Vasilevskiy moved to 17-0 over the past three seasons in playoff games following a playoff loss.
  

Other key Stanley Cup scores saw Jonathan Quick make 31 saves as the Los Angeles Kings evened their series at two with a 4-0 shutout of the Edmonton Oilers. And Jordan Binnington's 28 saves sent the St. Louis Blues to a 5-2 rout of the Minnesota Wild to tie their series at two-apiece.

Astros Finish Off Perfect Homestand; Padres Win on Walk-Off Blast

• The Houston Astros finished off a perfect homestand on Sunday afternoon with a 5-0 shutout of the struggling Detroit Tigers.
• Aledmys Diaz's grand slam off of Drew Hutchison in the fifth inning was the difference in this one.
  
• Jake Odorizzi threw five shutout innings, allowing just one hit on the night.
  
• Alex Bregman also went deep, as the Astros won all seven games on this homestand.
  
• They swept away the Seattle Mariners and Tigers, moving from 11-11 to 18-11 just like that.
  
• Odorizzi got his third win, while Hutchison got his third loss in what was a bullpen day for Detroit.
  
• Cristian Javier threw three innings of scoreless baseball with five strikeouts and no hits.
  
• The San Diego Padres sent their crowd in to a frenzy to end the weekend, rallying past the Miami Marlins for a 3-2 victory to take the series on Sunday.
  
• Jorge Alfaro hit the walk-off, pinch-hit three-run home run in the ninth, going deep off of Cole Sulser.
  
• Alfar was acquired from the Miami Marlins last December for cash.
  
• This helped the Padres avoid getting shut out for a second straight day, as they suffered an 8-0 defeat on Saturday.
  
• Jazz Chisolm went deep in the loss for the Marlins, who have dropped seven of their past eight games.
  
• Manny Machado did extend his on-base streak to 18 straight games.
  
• Trevor Rogers held the Padres to five hits over five innings, but the Marlins dropped two games under .500.
  

Other key scores saw Anthony Rendon's walk-off RBI single cap off the Los Angeles Angels' 5-4 comeback win over the Washington Nationals. Mike Yastrzemski's long ball helped the San Francisco Giants edge the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4. Abraham Toro's homer in the ninth, followed by Ty France's RBI single in the 10th gave the Seattle Mariners a 2-1 walk off win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Minnesota Twins sent the Oakland Athletics to their ninth straight loss with a 4-3 home win. Adam Duvall and William Contreras both went deep as the Atlanta Braves blew past the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-2. Walker Buehler went seven solid innings in his 100th career start in the Los Angeles Dodgers' sweep-clinching 7-1 rout of the Chicago Cubs. Oscar Mercado's go-ahead single in the eighth gave the Cleveland Guardians a 4-3 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays. And the Philadelphia Phillies-New York Mets and Texas Rangers-New York Yankees split their doubleheaders.

Mets Release Robinson Cano

• The New York Mets have officially cut ties with second baseman Robinson Cano, releasing him on Sunday after designating him for assignment earlier this week.
• The 39-year-old was owed 44.7 million to finish off the 10-year, $240 million contract he signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2013.
• Over 43 at-bats this season, he is hitting .195 with a home run, three RBIs, and a .501 OPS.
• The second baseman has appeared in 12 of 23 games this year, starting six at second and five at designated hitter.
• The Mets have seven days to trade or release Cano, or outright him to the minors, which he can refuse.
• Cano joined the Mets in a trade with the Mariners in 2018, which also brought closer Edwin Diaz over.
• Over three seasons and 168 games with New York, he has hit .269 with 24 home runs and 72 RBIs.
• That time did include a 2021 suspension for the season due to a violation on the league's PED policy.

Brewers Place OF Andrew McCutchen on COVID List

• The Milwaukee Brewers are in a tough series against the Atlanta Braves this weekend, and they have also had to place outfielder Andrew McCutchen on the COVID injured list. 
• McCutchen returned to the team hotel on Saturday in Atlanta after testing positive for the virus.
• Manager Craig Counsell claims that McCutchen started to experience symptoms before Saturday's game.
• The team does not yet know if the outfielder will remain in Atlanta when the team leaves on Sunday for their series against the Cincinnati Reds, which begins Monday.
• The 38-year-old most recently had a single with a run scored in their 6-3 win over the Braves on Friday night. 
• So far this season, he has hit .240 with two home runs and 14 RBIs.

Red Sox Scratch Wacha, Send Him to IL

• The Boston Red Sox were forced to scratch starting pitcher Michael Wacha from his scheduled start on Sunday and placed him on the 15-day injured list.
• The team dropped their series finale, 3-2, to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday and are now 10-19 on the season.
• Manager Alex Cora claims that Wacha was feeling sore on his left side after his last bullpen session.
• Right hander Tyler Danish was recalled to take his roster spot, and pitcher Tanner Houck got the start on Sunday.
• Houck suffered his third loss after allowing three runs on four hits over 2.2 innings.
• The Red Sox have now dropped five straight games and 14 of their past 18 games overall.