Cavs Use Record-Setting Effort to Stay Alive
The Cleveland Cavaliers played like a team not wanting to go home just yet on Friday night, as they stayed alive in the NBA Finals with a 137-116 rout of the Golden State Warriors. LeBron James passed Michael Jordan for third on the all-time Finals scoring list, as he finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists for his ninth career Finals triple-double, passing Magic Johnson for most in Finals history. Kyrie Irving led the scoring barrage with 40 points, helping the Cavs put up a Finals-record 24 three-pointers, including seven in the first quarter alone. Cleveland used a quick start to jump ahead early, as they set another Finals record with a 49-point first quarter. The teams combined for the highest scoring half in Finals history, as the Cavs held an 86-68 lead at halftime. Kevin Love chipped in 23 points to help Cleveland give the Warriors a taste of their own medicine. Kevin Durant did his usual thing with 35 points, but got next to no help anywhere else, including a dismal 14-point effort from Steph Curry. Golden State will get a second chance to close out the series, this time on their home floor in Game 5 on Monday night.
Bradley's Late HR Lifts Red Sox Past Tigers
The Boston Red Sox have struggled on their home field against the Detroit Tigers in recent memory, but they changed their fate for at least one night on Friday. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit the longest home run of his career in the eighth inning, giving the Red Sox a 5-3 victory in the series opener. Bradley's big fly capped off a three-run eighth inning against Tigers' reliever Alex Wilson, helping Boston rally from what was once a 3-0 deficit. Mitch Moreland also went deep in the game and singled home a run, as did Bradley, while Matt Barnes pitched one scoreless inning to earn his fourth win of the year, while Craig Kimbrel came in to shut things down for his 18th save. Nicholas Castellanos and Mikie Mahtook both went deep for Detroit, who has now dropped three of four after a season-high four-game win streak. Wilson took the loss for the Tigers after allowing all three eighth-inning runs on four hits. Boston was able to bounce back after dropping two of three in New York earlier this week, as they remain three games out in the AL East. The Tigers dropped to two games under .500 and 3.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central. These two teams will compete on Baseball Night in America on Fox Saturday night.
Rockies Take Second Straight From Cubs
The Colorado Rockies sit in first place in the NL West and impressed for a second straight day in Wrigley Field. The Rockies took a second straight game from the defending champs on Friday afternoon, taking down the underachieving Chicago Cubs 5-3. Although, it was not easy, as closer Greg Holland had to escape a bases loaded jam in the ninth before closing out the Rockies' season-high sixth straight victory. Holland walked three straight batters with one out, but retired Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward to end the threat. Charlie Blackmon and Ryan Hanigan both went deep in the Rockies' NL-high 40th win of the year, as they now have their longest win streak since 2014. Heyward drove in two of the runs for the Cubs, who had just three singles on the afternoon and fell back to .500 at 30-30. Despite that, they still sit in second place in the NL Central. The Rockies' bullpen led the way by allowing just one hit over the final six innings, as Chris Rusin earned the win in relief to improve to 3-0. Nolan Arenado also helped at the plate by knocking in a run with a single. These two teams will finish off their weekend series with a pair of matinee games on Saturday and Sunday.
The Cleveland Cavaliers played like a team not wanting to go home just yet on Friday night, as they stayed alive in the NBA Finals with a 137-116 rout of the Golden State Warriors. LeBron James passed Michael Jordan for third on the all-time Finals scoring list, as he finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists for his ninth career Finals triple-double, passing Magic Johnson for most in Finals history. Kyrie Irving led the scoring barrage with 40 points, helping the Cavs put up a Finals-record 24 three-pointers, including seven in the first quarter alone. Cleveland used a quick start to jump ahead early, as they set another Finals record with a 49-point first quarter. The teams combined for the highest scoring half in Finals history, as the Cavs held an 86-68 lead at halftime. Kevin Love chipped in 23 points to help Cleveland give the Warriors a taste of their own medicine. Kevin Durant did his usual thing with 35 points, but got next to no help anywhere else, including a dismal 14-point effort from Steph Curry. Golden State will get a second chance to close out the series, this time on their home floor in Game 5 on Monday night.
Bradley's Late HR Lifts Red Sox Past Tigers
The Boston Red Sox have struggled on their home field against the Detroit Tigers in recent memory, but they changed their fate for at least one night on Friday. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit the longest home run of his career in the eighth inning, giving the Red Sox a 5-3 victory in the series opener. Bradley's big fly capped off a three-run eighth inning against Tigers' reliever Alex Wilson, helping Boston rally from what was once a 3-0 deficit. Mitch Moreland also went deep in the game and singled home a run, as did Bradley, while Matt Barnes pitched one scoreless inning to earn his fourth win of the year, while Craig Kimbrel came in to shut things down for his 18th save. Nicholas Castellanos and Mikie Mahtook both went deep for Detroit, who has now dropped three of four after a season-high four-game win streak. Wilson took the loss for the Tigers after allowing all three eighth-inning runs on four hits. Boston was able to bounce back after dropping two of three in New York earlier this week, as they remain three games out in the AL East. The Tigers dropped to two games under .500 and 3.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central. These two teams will compete on Baseball Night in America on Fox Saturday night.
Rockies Take Second Straight From Cubs
The Colorado Rockies sit in first place in the NL West and impressed for a second straight day in Wrigley Field. The Rockies took a second straight game from the defending champs on Friday afternoon, taking down the underachieving Chicago Cubs 5-3. Although, it was not easy, as closer Greg Holland had to escape a bases loaded jam in the ninth before closing out the Rockies' season-high sixth straight victory. Holland walked three straight batters with one out, but retired Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward to end the threat. Charlie Blackmon and Ryan Hanigan both went deep in the Rockies' NL-high 40th win of the year, as they now have their longest win streak since 2014. Heyward drove in two of the runs for the Cubs, who had just three singles on the afternoon and fell back to .500 at 30-30. Despite that, they still sit in second place in the NL Central. The Rockies' bullpen led the way by allowing just one hit over the final six innings, as Chris Rusin earned the win in relief to improve to 3-0. Nolan Arenado also helped at the plate by knocking in a run with a single. These two teams will finish off their weekend series with a pair of matinee games on Saturday and Sunday.
