SPORTS
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WEDNESDAY, DEC. 10, 2014
Flames can’t solve surging Leafs THE CANADIAN PRESS Maple Leafs 4 Flames 1 TORONTO — The final score was 4-1 for Toronto but there were several different twists to the storyline before the Maple Leafs put the Calgary Flames away with two empty-net goals Tuesday. Leading 1-0 after the first, Toronto went into overdrive in a second period that saw it build its lead to 2-0 while outshooting the Flames 13-4. Calgary woke up in the third period - its 39 goals and plus-23 differential in the third led the league going into the game - and cut the margin to 2-1 less than four minutes in. The Flames outshot the Leafs 16-8 in the period, mounting a comeback that finally faltered with Jonas Hiller out for the extra attacker. Through it all, Jonathan Bernier held firm in the Toronto goal with 32 saves. “Bernier came up with big saves at the right time,” Calgary coach Bob Hartley said. “We knew what to expect because he’s been real hot in the last past games.” “I thought we played a decent first period, a great third period. But on the road against a team that is playing really well you need a full 60-minute effort.” “Our second period wasn’t good enough,” said Flames forward Matt Stajan. Toronto coach Randy Carlyle understandably had a different view of the timeline. “The second period was probably one of the best periods we’ve played this year,” he said. But it didn’t stick. Carlyle said his team sat back in the third, stopped hitting and had to chase the action. James van Riemsdyk scored
the winner early in the second period, traditionally a fertile time for the Leafs. Toronto came into the game with a league-leading 39 goals in the second. Peter Holland opened the scoring for Toronto, which got empty-net goals from Phil Kessel and Mike Santorelli. The Maple Leafs, who are now 12-00 when scoring first, wrapped up a five-game homestand at 4-1-0 before 19,122 at the Air Canada Centre. Markus Granlund scored for the Flames, who played well in the first period but trailed 2-0 going into the third. Calgary, which came into the game 9-0-1 after a loss, outshot Toronto 33-29. The Leafs (15-9-3) are now 6-1-1 since a pair of lopsided losses to Buffalo and Nashville. Asked if the 9-2 Nashville loss on Nov. 18 was a turning point, Carlyle said: “I knew it couldn’t get much worse. It was bad. “You get thumped 9-2 at home, it’s not a lot of fun. I don’t care what market you’re in.” The Flames (17-10-2) were coming off a 3-2 loss to San Jose that snapped a four-game win streak. Toronto got a sharp outing from Bernier in his careerhigh ninth straight start and 11th in 12 games. Bernier, who made 44 saves in Saturday’s win over Vancouver, came into the game with a 3-1-0 career mark against Calgary with a 1.75 goals-against average and .944 save percentage. A goal-saving stop by Bernier on Johnny Gaudreau in close midway through the first period turned into a goal at the other end when, on the ensuing rush, Joffrey Lupul beat a defender down the boards and sent the puck over to the
Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier (45) and Calgary Flames forward Lance Bouma (17) watch a deflection out front during first period NHL action in Toronto on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs won the game 4-1. net. David Clarkson’s rebound went to Holland, who stuffed it in at 10:46 for his seventh of the season and second in as many games. For the 26-year-old goalie, it was a welcome good night at the office. The soft-spoken Bernier made headlines after a recent Toronto Raptors’ event marking the first anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela when, appear-
ing somewhat confused, he referred to the former South African president and human rights crusader as an tremendous athlete. Bernier apologized later, saying he had got nervous and mixed up on the red carpet. He was back in his element Tuesday. “I’m feeling pretty confident, pretty comfortable out there,” he said. “I think we
have some pretty good chemistry with my D (defence) as well.” Carlyle said the Leafs have to be careful not to overplay Bernier, but that the recent schedule has allowed the goalie to have the proper rest between games. James Reimer may finally get to play Wednesday in Detroit.
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Lebron James leads Cavs to rally past Raptors BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James (23) shoots over Toronto Raptors’ Landry Fields (2) and Jonas Valanciunas in the fourth quarter of an NBA game Tuesday, in Cleveland. James scored 35 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 105-101 win.
Cavaliers 105 Raptors 101 CLEVELAND — LeBron James acknowledged that it didn’t look good for the Cavaliers on Tuesday night. As usual when his team is in trouble, he did something about it. James scored 35 points, making the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 48 seconds remaining, and Cleveland rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 105-101 for its eighth straight victory. Toronto, which owns the best record in the Eastern Conference, went ahead midway through the first quarter, built the lead to 14 points late in the third and still led by 10 with about 8 minutes to play. “I guess it was a little desperation,” James said. “You get down on your home floor 13, 14 points, you go out there and control what you can control. That’s how hard you play, how hard you defend. The defence got our offence going.” James’ jumper from the top of the key gave Cleveland a 102-99 lead and tied him with Mark Price for the franchise record for 3-pointers at 802. James scored 10 points in the fourth, when Cleveland held Toronto to 13 points. “That was a tough, hard victory,” Cleveland coach David Blatt said. The Cavaliers haven’t lost since falling 110-93 to the Raptors at Quicken Loans Arena on Nov. 22, after which James said they were “fragile.” Cleveland got a measure of re-
venge with a 105-91 win in Toronto on Friday. The Raptors built a double-figure lead Tuesday, but couldn’t hang on in the team’s third matchup in 18 days. “If you want to be an elite team, those are the plays you have to make at the end of the game,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “We had some crucial turnovers and crucial rebounds we didn’t get.” Backup guard Matthew Dellavedova provided a boost for Cleveland in the final 12 minutes by hounding Kyle Lowry defensively. Toronto’s point guard scored 16 points, but only two in the fourth. Dellavedova, who missed 15 games with a knee injury, returned Monday against Brooklyn and played the entire final period against Toronto. “Delly’s a guy who’s always been counted out, saying he can’t make it,” James said. “Heart and effort will take away a lot of things you can’t do. I’ll take a guy like that any day on my team.” Dion Waiters came off the bench for 18 points and Kevin Love added 17. Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross each scored 18 for Toronto, which had won 39 straight games when leading after three quarters. Following Lowry’s missed shot that hit the top of the backboard, James added a free throw with 14.2 seconds remaining for a four-point lead. Ross’ dunk on an offensive rebound with 4.2 seconds left made it 103-101, but Kyrie Irving’s two free throws with
3.8 seconds left sealed the win. TIP-INS Raptors: G Greivis Vasquez (flu) was limited to three minutes in the second half after falling ill. . Lowry and Ross are the only Raptors to start every game this season. ... Toronto began a stretch of eight straight games against East opponents Tuesday. ... G DeMar DeRozan (torn groin) has missed six straight games and is out indefinitely. Cavaliers: The Cavaliers have won eight in a row for the first time since March 2010. ... Love had nine rebounds, ending his streak of double-doubles at five games. .. G Mike Miller (concussion) missed his third straight game. The 15thyear pro was injured on Dec. 4 at New York. READY FOR JOHNNY James is a big fan of Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel, who will make his first NFL start Sunday against Cincinnati. James wore a “Money Manziel” T-shirt after the game. “You know I know timing,” joked James, who then made Manziel’s trademark gesture with both hands. RAPID REACTION Raptors G Landry Fields made his first start of the season because Casey wanted to match up defensively with James. “Honestly, after I found out I was starting this morning, I went back to my room and prayed on it,” said Fields, who had four points in 23 minutes. “That calmed me down and got me ready for LeBron.” Fields played a total of 22 minutes in Toronto’s first 21 games.
White Sox making biggest moves at MLB winter meetings BASEBALL BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN DIEGO — The Chicago White Sox are making the biggest moves at the winter meetings, trying to regain relevance in the AL Central after losing 188 games over two seasons. Hours after reaching a $46 million, four-year deal with closer David Robertson, Chicago acquired starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija from the Oakland Athletics as part of a sixplayer trade. “In our mind we’re not finished yet,” White Sox general
manager Rick Hahn said Tuesday. “We still know we have some other areas we need to improve and we’re hopeful that in the coming days, and if not the coming days, then the coming weeks, we’ll be able to fill a couple more voids in our roster.” While Jon Lester’s talks on the free-agent market still seemed to be creating a logjam for other starting pitchers, the Chicago teams were busy in the trade mart. In the day’s other significant swap, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent All-Star catcher Miguel Montero, who is owed $40 million over the next three seasons, to the Chicago Cubs for a pair of pros-
pects. Coming off consecutive playoff appearances that followed a 20-year drought, the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a $39 million, three-year deal to keep left-hander Francisco Liriano. And Atlanta agreed to a one-year deal with freeagent infielder Alberto Callaspo. The deals for Robertson, Liriano and Callaspo were disclosed by people familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been announced. Lester has been sought by Boston, the Cubs, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the World Series champion San Francis-
Greg Meachem, Sports Editor, 403-314-4363 E-mail gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com
co Giants, who were dropped from consideration Tuesday. “If it happens tomorrow, it happens tomorrow. If happens next week, it happens next week. If it happens in January, it happens in January,” Boston general manager Ben Cherington said. “We’re not working in sequential order. We are aware of all the possibilities. We have to be aware of the bigger stuff because of the financial implications, but there’s all sorts of other stuff we are working on.” The White Sox boosted their rotation by acquiring Samardzija, who played football for Notre Dame and pitched for the Cubs. “Being a Chicago guy, that’s
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one of the craziest things I’ve thought about,” he said after Oakland dealt him to Chicago’s South Side. “I’m sitting here thinking, ‘Now, do I really have to go get my cleats on and go play for the Bears?’ If I could skate, maybe the ‘Hawks. My jumper’s garbage, so the Bulls are out of the question.” Trading an All-Star for the third time in less than two weeks, the Athletics sent Samardzija and right-hander Michael Ynoa for right-hander Chris Bassitt, catcher Josh Phegley and first baseman Rangel Ravelo and infielder Marcus Semien.
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