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Generals Hand Colts Their First Loss On Hi

Owen Griffin (left), Luke Torrance (centre) and Beckett Sennecke (right) celebrating [Tim Cornett/OHL Images].

Last night, the Oshawa Generals defeated the Barrie Colts 3-1 in the opening game of the Eastern Conference Final. This is the first time during the 2024-25 playoffs that the Colts have failed to win on home ice. 

"It's a game of inches, and it just didn't go our way tonight," said Colts' Head Coach Marty Williamson. " There is going to be no quit in this team, we will come back and get the bounces to go our way." 

Both Williamson and team Captain Beau Jelsma expressed dissatisfaction with the way Barrie started the game. Though the game was scoreless through 20 minutes, the Generals outshot the Colts 14-8. 

Late in the second period Oshawa's Owen Griffin scored the opening goal of the game on a play where defender Simon Wang saved a goal at one end of the ice before Griffin raced down the ice and fired a puck past Sam Hillebrandt. 

"He [Wang] has been a big piece on the back end," said Oshawa Head Coach Brad Malone. "It was a very athletic play to bail out Oster, and then we go the other way and Griffin cashes it in."

Dickinson Leads Knights To Victory In Game OneDickinson Leads Knights To Victory In Game OneJust days after winning the Max Kaminsky Trophy, San Jose Sharks prospect Sam Dickinson scored four points to help London overcome Kitchener 5-2 in game one of the Western Conference Finals. 

Initially, no one realized the puck had gone in, and so the game continued until the buzzer and a review confirmed the goal.

Owen Griffin's development into an elite scoring threat started in the second half of the OHL season and has come to fruition in the postseason. In 13 playoff games, he's scored 12 goals and added eight assists for 20 points.

That kind of scoring pace would result in 104 points would have resulted in a 104-point season, more than doubling the 51 points he scored in 62 games during the 2024-25 regular season.

San Jose Sharks Prospect Named OHL Defenseman Of The yearSan Jose Sharks Prospect Named OHL Defenseman Of The yearEarlier today, the OHL announced that San Jose Sharks prospect Sam Dickinson is the 2024-25 winner of the Max Kaminsky Trophy, which is awarded to the OHL Defenseman of the Year. 

Griffin is eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft, and his improvement has been noticed by NHL Central Scouting. In their recent rankings, he moved up to 70th amongst North American Skaters. That's more than 100 spots higher than the 197th overall ranking he received when NHL Central Scouting released their midseason rankings. 

"I'm just playing with more confidence this year," said Griffin. "My linemates have been great, setting me up and me setting them up ... it's been good."

Shortly after grabbing the 1-0 lead, Matthew Buckley scored on the power play to solidify Oshawa's control over the game. Malone mentioned during the postgame that he felt Buckley has had a fantastic year, though, similar to Griffin, it hasn't always manifested on the stat sheet. 

Kitchener Completes Reverse Sweep To Advance To Western Conference FinalsKitchener Completes Reverse Sweep To Advance To Western Conference FinalsOttawa Senators prospect Luke Ellinas scored in overtime of game seven to win the series for Kitchener and complete a reverse sweep of the Kitchener Rangers. It is the first OHL reverse sweep since the Guelph Storm achieved the same feat during the 2019 playoffs. 

The Colts stabilized in the third period, going toe to toe with the talented Generals squad. Anthony Romani scored the lone goal for Barrie in the game, with the assist going to fellow trade deadline acquisition Owen Van Steensel. 

New York Islanders prospect Calum Ritchie sealed the win for Oshawa by potting an empty-net goal with just over a minute remaining in the game. 

At the end of the night, both goalies had solid performances. Hillebrandt had the busier night, making 36 saves on 38 shots, while overage goalie Jacob Oster made 27 saves on 28 shots for the Generals. 

Both teams will reset for game two in Barrie tomorrow evening. Puck drop will be at 6:00 p.m. inside Sadlon Arena.

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What Butler told Hield during motivational pep talk in Warriors' win

What Butler told Hield during motivational pep talk in Warriors' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The ongoing friendly feud between Buddy Hield and Jimmy Butler has become an endlessly entertaining side plot to the Warriors’ 2024-25 NBA season.

Though Butler did not play in the Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday, that didn’t stop him from coaching up Hield from the Golden State bench.

Rockets center Steven Adams swiped the ball from Hield in the fourth quarter, leading to a fastbreak and drawn foul on the other end for the veteran big man — who isn’t known for his ability to defend in space.

This provided a perfect opportunity for Butler — whose disdain for Hield’s dribbling already is well-known — to rib and mentor his teammate simultaneously.

“He was talking about me getting my ball picked from Steven Adams,” Hield told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke after the game. “He was telling me, ‘Just go by him.’

“Me and him are always getting into it, though. He’s my big brother, so he’s good.”

During his postgame press conference, Hield added that Butler simply gave him a look, with the sharpshooter replying that he didn’t want to talk about it.

Of course, Hield immediately took the opportunity to tease his frenemy back when asked about Butler’s bench presence when he’s not playing.

“Terrible, terrible, terrible advice. I just was, like, tuning him out the whole time,” Hield joked, before offering a rare genuine compliment to Butler. “Nah, he’s being good. He’s being positive. He’s telling me how to read drives.”

Saturday’s back-and-forth didn’t stop there, either (check out the caption).

With Butler expected to return to action for Game 4, expect even more hilarious — and perhaps constructive — interactions between these squabbling allies.

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GP2 serves as Warriors' varnish in shining Game 3 performance

GP2 serves as Warriors' varnish in shining Game 3 performance originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Gary Payton II’s father earned the nickname “The Glove” for the way he played defense throughout his Hall of Fame NBA career.

The younger Payton is deserving of his own unique nickname as well: Varnish. That’s because on a nightly basis Payton is all over the court, diving for loose balls, intercepting passes and making key plays at key times.

That was the case in Game 3 of the Warriors’ first-round NBA playoff matchup with the Houston Rockets.

Already recognized as one of the top two defenders on Golden State’s roster, Payton II turned the tables and became an offensive force during clutch time when he helped the Jimmy Butler-less Warriors pull out a 104-93 win on Saturday at Chase Center that gave the Warriors a 2-1 series lead.

“It’s huge,” Draymond Green said. “We know G is an incredible defender, but when he’s playing that way offensively, getting to the hole, finishing — he’s a great finisher around the basket — knocking his threes down … if you’re getting that type of two-way basketball from G, it really lifts this team and is just another threat that [opponents] have to deal with.”

When the Warriors got off to a somewhat sluggish start in the first half, Payton took only one shot while trying to focus primarily on defense.

That focus changed slightly in the second half, specifically the fourth quarter when Payton did the bulk of Golden State’s scoring. He scored 13 of the team’s 35 points in the final period and repeatedly made clutch plays on both ends of the floor.

Payton opened the fourth quarter with a reverse layup, then picked up a charging foul when he lowered his shoulder and ran through Rockets forward Dillon Brooks. Less than 30 seconds later, Payton knocked down an open corner 3-pointer.

Later in the quarter when Stephen Curry missed a step-back 3-pointer, Payton chased down the rebound and got fouled by Brooks, the sixth of the night for the Rockets villain.

For the icing on the cake, Payton raced to the rack backdoor for a reverse dunk that was the exclamation point on the win.

“We’ve seen this. We’ve seen what Gary is capable of doing at the highest level,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, referring to the impact Payton made during the Warriors’ run to the 2022 NBA championship. “He knew he didn’t have a great trip in Houston, didn’t play particularly well in either game.

“He was kind of due. He just made massive plays in the fourth quarter and helped us close the game.”

Basically, Payton shined like varnish.

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O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams stand strong as Class of 92 battle on

  • Higgins to face Williams after beating Xiao 13-12
  • O’Sullivan cruises into 6-2 lead over Pang Junxu

Amid all the talk of Chinese domination, the Class of 92 show no sign of giving way just yet. On the eighth day of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins all rolled back the years.

There have been plenty of shocks so far, but the three legends of the game are made of tough stuff. Williams is 50, the other two 49, but the class remains. They have won 14 world titles between them and who would bet against that figure rising to 15 a week on Monday?

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Draymond Green, Jalen Green trade barbs over incident after Warriors' Game 3 win

Draymond Green, Jalen Green trade barbs over incident after Warriors' Game 3 win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors’ first-round NBA playoff series against the Houston Rockets is as contentious as everyone predicted.

And the war of words carried over past the final buzzer in the Warriors’ 104-93 Game 3 win over the Rockets when Draymond Green and Jalen Green had to be separated as the teams left the court.

The Warriors forward brushed off the incident when asked about it by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson after the game.

“Yeah, the game was over,” Draymond said. “Don’t matter.”

But the Rockets guard wasn’t as diplomatic, taking a direct shot at Draymond.

“Just talking,” Jalen told reporters after the game. “Steph [Curry] had a good game. The reason they won. Just talking. [Draymond] can’t really do much of anything else, so talking is his only way.”

Draymond wouldn’t confirm if he told Jalen to go paint his nails, as the video alludes to, and he wasn’t sure why the young Houston guard was so upset.

“I’m not sure what he took [umbrage] to,” Draymond told reporters. “But it was a good win for us.”

The Warriors and Rockets are teetering close to an explosion, and tensions will continue to rise as the series progresses.

Golden State and Houston players don’t like each other, so expect more fireworks over the next few games.

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Game 3 stat a good omen for Warriors winning series vs. Rockets

Game 3 stat a good omen for Warriors winning series vs. Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry and the Warriors pulled out a 104-93 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of their first-round NBA playoff series on Saturday at Chase Center.

That bodes very well for Golden State’s chance at advancing to the Western Conference semifinals, as NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson pointed out after the game — and they did it without the Robin to Curry’s Batman, Jimmy Butler.

Those are astronomical chances in favor of the team with a 2-1 series lead, and the Warriors will head to Houston with a chance to clinch the series victory if they can win again at home on Monday night.

Curry scored 36 points, complemented by 17 from Buddy Hield and 16 from Gary Payton II in the victory, but Golden State is hoping to have Butler back in the starting lineup for Game 4 after he sat out Saturday with a pelvic contusion.

But the Warriors proved they can beat the Rockets no matter who’s on the floor, pulling out a shorthanded victory that now has them flying high toward another deep playoff run.

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Minnesota Twins acquire infielder Kody Clemens from the Phillies

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins acquired infielder Kody Clemens from the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.

Clemens, the 28-year-old son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, was designated for assignment by the Phillies on Wednesday. The Twins were in need of another infielder after rookie Luke Keaschall broke his forearm in the first inning of Friday’s game against the Angels.

Minnesota is expected to use Clemens as a backup at first and second base, but he also has played third base and both corner outfield positions in the majors.

“We can move him around on the field and ask him to do a lot of things,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I’ve seen him do that before with other clubs, but that’s the way that I see us using him right now.”

Clemens played 56 games with the Tigers in 2022 before spending parts of the last two seasons in Philadelphia. This year, he was hitless in six at-bats in limited playing time with the Phillies.

“I had a really good spring, and then didn’t really get any chance to play,” Clemens said. “It made sense with the roster construction they have - I’m not dumb to that. I’m just super excited for this opportunity here.”

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he sent a text message to Clemens on Saturday morning, and he wishes him all the best.

“It's too bad we couldn't have given him more of an opportunity here,” Thomson said. “It was just the fit, you know, because he's a good player. He's a big league player. ... He's a great teammate. He's a great human being.”

Clemens is a career .197 hitter with a .611 OPS and 14 home runs in 402 plate appearances.

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Guardiola calls on FA to hold Cup semi-finals in north and ease fans’ burden

  • Manchester City failed to sell full allocation at Wembley
  • ‘I understand it’s not easy, I understand they don’t come’

Pep Guardiola has called on the Football Association to reconsider playing FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley and move the fixtures to more convenient locations to help fans. Thousands of seats will be empty on Sunday after Manchester City failed to sell out their allocation of 36,230 tickets amid travel and cost concerns.

When City face Nottingham Forest, it will be the 28th time the club have played at the new Wembley as a neutral venue since it opened 18 years ago. The allure has diminished while the price of attending a semi-final has increased, with tickets costing £150, £120 and £90 still available on Friday morning.

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Chris Eubank Jr beats Conor Benn by unanimous decision – as it happened

All three judges score the fight 116-112 to Eubank Jr after a brutal and gruelling contest

Anthony Yarde has won a close but uncontroversial unanimous verdict over Lyndon Arthur in the final undercard bout. The judges’ scores were 115-113 and 116-112 (twice). It’s Sweet Caroline time in North London. We should be seeing Eubank Jr and Benn making their entrances shortly.

The Tottenham Stadium looks almost full as the main undercard fight between Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur reaches the halfway stage. This is a 60,000-plus crowd that currently seems more enthused by the musical breaks than the boxing. I am not sure too many were watching closely, but they missed young Aaron McKenna utterly dominate a proud old fighter in Liam Smith. McKenna calls himself ‘The Silencer’ and I’ve followed him closely for a few years and been with him in dressing rooms before fights. I always knew he was good; but tonight he was outstanding as he won a near shutout victory and knocked Smith down in the last round. He has moved up to a significant level – not that the Tottenham crowd cared much. They will only really start making noise once the undercard is over.

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Watch: Aaron Gordon's putback dunk buzzer beater in Nuggets-Clippers Game 4

Watch: Aaron Gordon's putback dunk buzzer beater in Nuggets-Clippers Game 4 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

If the Denver Nuggets advance from this series, this will be the play that will be remembered.

In the final seconds of Game 4 between the Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver star Nikola Jokic was forced into a tough fadeaway as time expired.

But just a tenth of a second before it did, forward Aaron Gordon flew for the putback dunk that counted after review, winning it for Denver 101-99 on the road.

Gordon immediately had confidence it would count before the official review, running the full length of the court and celebrating with teammates.

The series, now tied at 2-2, will return to Denver with Gordon helping the momentum be with his team entering Tuesday.

Jokic, as usual, posted incredible numbers to lead his side: 36 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists. Every Nugget starter scored double-digit points, with all five playing at least 42 minutes or more in a key game.

Gordon, with the game winner, finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Los Angeles went a bit deeper with its rotation, but didn’t have one player clearly above the crop. Kawhi Leonard led the way with 24 points, nine rebounds and two assists, with Norman Powell adding 22 points.

Ivica Zubac tried to rival Jokic with 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, but James Harden mustered just 15 points to go with 11 assists and four rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the bench with seven points.

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Cleveland hands Miami its worst-ever playoff loss, 124-87, takes 3-0 lead in series

NBA: Playoffs-Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat

Apr 26, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts after scoring against the Miami Heat in the third quarter during game three for the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

MIAMI (AP) — Donovan Mitchell didn't have a great shooting day. Darius Garland was in street clothes, out with an injury.

And Cleveland rolled anyway, moving to the brink of Round 2.

Jarrett Allen scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter added 21 and the Cavaliers - bullying Miami around all day - handed the Heat their worst playoff loss with a 124-87 win Saturday to take a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

The Cavs took control with a 33-5 run early, outrebounded Miami 46-29 and outscored the Heat 60-30 in the paint.

“Our guys knew that was the key, rebounding and winning the rebounding battle,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We really executed defensively.”

Evan Mobley scored 19 and Max Strus added 18 for Cleveland. Ty Jerome had 13 points and 11 assists in 22 minutes - he was plus-33 in those minutes - and Mitchell scored 13 on 4-for-14 shooting.

They didn't need more from him and didn't need anything from Garland, their All-Star guard who was out with a sprained toe.

“Look, our guys really want this and it probably looks like our guys don't," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But I know what our last six weeks have been like, just to fight and scratch and claw to get into this.”

Bam Adebayo scored 22 and Davion Mitchell added 16 for Miami. The worst Heat playoff loss before Saturday was a 36-point defeat in Game 3 of the 2013 NBA Finals at San Antonio.

That Heat team won an NBA title. This Heat team is on the brink of being swept.

It's the 11th time that a Cavaliers team has taken a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series - the other 10 were all in the LeBron James eras in Cleveland, and they all ended in 4-0 sweeps.

These Cavs will try to finish off a sweep of their own in Game 4 at Miami on Monday. It's the 159th time in NBA history that a team has taken a 3-0 series lead; the first 157 went on to win the series, and Oklahoma City is the 158th and could oust Memphis later Saturday.

It was all Miami for the first 5 1/2 minutes. After that, it was all Cleveland, the Cavaliers taking full control of the game over the next 8 minutes with a 33-5 run.

Cleveland shot 13 for 17 during the spurt, scoring on its first eight possessions of the run. And it ended with five consecutive makes from 3-point range, those coming in a span of just over 2 minutes.

Just like that, 15-6 Miami became 39-20 Cleveland.

“We took the first punch,” Mobley said. “And from there we just took the game over.”

It was 62-42 at halftime, and Cleveland missed its first eight shots of the second half. But Miami scored only four points during that span, wasting a chance. Cleveland led 88-64 going into the fourth and that was it.

“Clearly, a very disappointing day,” Spoelstra said.

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Gary Payton II, Warriors had Jimmy Butler's back in epic Game 3 win over Rockets

Gary Payton II, Warriors had Jimmy Butler's back in epic Game 3 win over Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Without Jimmy Butler on Saturday night, the Warriors had to rely on their defense to beat the Houston Rockets, and that’s exactly what happened at Chase Center.

The Warriors summoned a collective Herculean effort to pull out a gritty 104-93 win over the No. 2-seeded Rockets to take a two-games-to-one series lead.

And while Steph Curry went thermonuclear to the tune of 36 points, Gary Payton II knows exactly how the Warriors won the contentious game.

“We got stops,” Payton told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke on “Warriors Postgame Live” moments after the final buzzer. “Talked about getting stops and converting them, take care of the ball. When we take care of the ball, it’s very hard to stop us. So that’s what we did. We got stops and converted.”

Butler was ruled out roughly an hour before tip-off due to a pelvic contusion sustained in Game 2, but the Warriors didn’t throw in the towel. They fought and scrapped their way to a win that most observers didn’t think they could earn with the six-time NBA All-Star in street clothes.

For Payton and the Warriors, they won the game for Butler.

“Protect Jimmy at all costs,” Payton told Burke. “Have Jimmy’s back. When he gets back, you know, be ahead. So, tonight we did that, had his back, everybody stepped up and made huge plays down the stretch and now hopefully we get him back for Game 4.”

Butler has roughly 48 more hours to rest up and get ready to possibly play Monday night. But if he doesn’t suit up, Curry will be ready to carry the load.

“We get him open, we get him looks and you know most of the time, he’s going to knock them down,” Payton said of Curry to Burke. “So we can continue to get him looks, crazy things happen.”

The Warriors are two wins away from advancing to the Western Conference semifinals, and they stole home-court advantage away from the Rockets.

If Butler returns Monday and Curry goes off again, the Warriors could make quick work of the feisty Rockets.

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