04242017 sports

SPORTS SECTION E

MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017

Mixed relay gold

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

W

hile the United States of America was dominant over the two days, the Bahamas saved its best performance in the introduction of the mixed 4 x 400 metres at the third IAAF/BTC World Relays.

With the cheer roaring all around the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium in the grand finale of the two-day meet, the team of world men’s 400m leader Steven Gardiner, Olympic gold medallist Shaunae Miller, Anthonique Strachan and Michael Mathieu posted a winning time of three minutes and 14.02 seconds for the gold – the only one in the championships, but it didn’t matter.

They established a national record in the process and got the national anthem to be played for the only time with the only medal presentation for Team Bahamas.

The USA, wrapping up the title for the third time, had to settle for the silver in 3:17.29, while Jamaica won the bronze in 3:20.26.

The championships served as the road to the IAAF World Championships in London, England in August with both the men and women 4 x 100 and 4 x 400m teams guaranteeing their spots.

Both the women and men 4 x 100 metre teams locked in their berth for the IAAF World Championships in London, England, thanks to some key disqualifications in the latter division (men’s 4x1).

Neither of the 4 x 400m teams, however, got the job done.

Without their qualifications, the focus on the quarter-milers switched to the introduction of the mixed 4 x 400m as Gardiner and Miller opened a 50-metre lead on the USA’s pair of Michael Berry and Jaide Stepter respectively on the first two legs.

Strachan got caught and was passed on the final curve on the third leg by Paul Dedewo, but

THE youth movement in the women’s 4x100m programme produced a sixth place finish in the final and a berth in the 2017 IAAF World Championships.

Devine Parker, Brianne Bethel, Tayla Carter and Tynia Gaither ran a season’s best time of 44.01 seconds. Gaither, the recent Olympian and USC grad, said the team considered it a privilege to perform in front of an eager home crowd of supporters.

“It gets no better, that’s what drives us, that’s what motivates us to get around the track,” she said. “It’s

Playoffs, Pg 8

MEN’S 4X100 SECURES 8TH SPOT FOR LONDON WORLDS

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

GOLDEN MOMENT: Shown (l-r) are Michael Mathieu, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Anthonique Strachan and Steven Gardiner with their gold medals after the mixed relay last night at Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff Mathieu was there to clean it up and returned the favour on anchor as he made up the grounds on Claudia Francis for the thrilling finish.

What a day to end the championships that saw the Americans finish on top of the chart once again for the Golden Baton crown with 60 points, followed by Jamaica in second with 39 and Australia third with 24.

The Bahamas climbed to eighth with 15.

As a result of contesting the much anticipated mixed relay, Miller-Uibo and Strachan both opted not to compete in the wom-

en’s 4 x 400m B final and the Bahamas had to withdraw its final, much to the dismay of the fans.

On Saturday, they combined with Christine Amertil and Rashan Brown to finish fourth in their heat on Saturday for 10th place overall.

Likewise, Gardiner and Mathieu also served their legs for the mixed relay as the Bahamas fielded the combo of Andretti Bain, Demetrius Pinder, Elroy McBride and Andre Colebrooke for the men’s 4 x 400m B final.

The quartet joggled between fourth and fifth place on each leg

and were really never in contention for the front of the pack as they came in fifth in 3:08.29.

For Bain, it was all about redeeming himself.

“I told the guys we have to go out there with the team that we have and let’s give it our best,” he said. “I was very proud of Andre Colebrook and Elroy McBride, who came here and didn’t expect to run. He was just told this morning that he was going to run and they both did a great job.”

Given the chance to run, McBride said he just wanted to make the best of it.

“I just wanted to go out there and help the team win,” he said. “I thought we did a very good job. We

SEE PAGE 5

Men’s 4x200 5th in Women’s 4x100 6th in final, earns World final for 2nd straight Championships berth IAAF World Relays

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

NBA ACTION

great to be home and there’s no better way to compete than in front of Bahamian fans.”

Parker, a student at St Anne’s School, fresh off both triumph and heartbreak at the CARIFTA Track and Field Championships, stepped up to compete at a senior meet just weeks later against some of the top sprinters in the world.

“It was a really good experience, considering I’m the youngest on the team,” she said. “I just came out here to do my best and perform well in front of the home crowd. I think we did amazing.”

Parker handed off to Houston Cougars freshman Brianne

SEE PAGE 5

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net FOR the second consecutive edition of the IAAF/BTC World Relays, the Bahamas finished fifth in the Men’s 4x200m final.

The team of Blake Bartlett, Samson Colebrooke, Ian Kerr and Shavez Hart ran 1:22.26 seconds in the stacked field and improved on 2015’s time of 1:22.91 and a seventh place finish in 2014.

Canada won its first world relays gold medal and led by Olympic medallist Andre de Grasse, finished in a world-

DESPITE their third place finish in the B final of the men’s 4 x 100 metres, a bizarre occurrence in the A final resulted in the Bahamas being elevated to the eighth spot and a trip to the IAAF World Championships in London, England in August.

Day one of the IAAF/ BTC World Relays, however, closed out on Saturday night at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium with both the Bahamas men and women 4x400m relay teams failing to advance to the finals in what were two unpredictable showings.

There was much celebrations in the United States of America as their men’s 4 x 100m team finished their early run for a third consecutive Golden Baton champions of the meet as Justin Gatlin sped home

SEE PAGE 4

BAHAMAS 10TH OVERALL IN WOMEN’S 4X400

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

leading time of 1:19.42. The team also included Gavin Smellie, Brendon Rodney and was anchored by Aaron Brown. The United States finished second in 1:19.88, Jamaica finished third in 1:21.09 and Trinidad and Tobago was fourth in 1:21.39.

Canada was lucky to even advance to the final after initially being tagged with a false start penalty in the prelims, which was later rescinded.

Bartlett was the only returning member of the 2015 team.

“It was fun, a pretty electrifing run. There may have been some problems before the race

IT was a valiant effort for Team Bahamas in the women’s 4x400m but the team remains a work in progress and failed to make the event’s final at the BTC IAAF World Relays.

The Bahamas finished fourth in heat two and 10th overall, missing a bid to qualify for the A final.

The team of Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Anthonique Strachan, Christine Amertil and Rashan Brown finished in 3:34.40 seconds - a season’s best time - but not fast enough to advance among the top eight teams.

Miller-Uibo, the reigning Olympic champion, ran the opening leg and gave the Bahamas a considerable lead with her split of 50.25.

She handed off to Strachan, still transitioning to the 400m following a career of being a standout 100/200m sprinter.

SEE PAGE 5

SEE PAGE 4

THOMAS SCORES 33, CELTICS BEAT BULLS 104-95 TO TIE SERIES

By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Isaiah Thomas scored 33 points, and the Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 10495 last night to tie their first-round playoff series at 2-all.

Boston blew a 20-point lead, but Thomas keyed a third-quarter run that put the Celtics back on top after Chicago briefly went ahead.

Gerald Green made four 3-pointers on his way to 18 points, helping the top-seeded Celtics return the favour in Chicago after dropping the first two games at home. Al Horford added 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Boston.

Jimmy Butler carried the Bulls with 33 points and nine assists. Nikola Mirotic and seldom-used Isaiah Canaan each scored 13 points, but Dwyane Wade finished with just 11.

Canaan made his first appearance

since April 10, with Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg searching for help at point guard with Rajon Rondo missing his second straight game because of a broken right thumb.

The Celtics led by 20 in the second quarter and were still up 10 in the third when Chicago scored 12 straight. The Bulls went ahead 6563 on Robin Lopez’s hook shot with 4:35 left in the quarter.

Thomas answered with back-toback layups and scored 10 points in a 12-0 run that gave the Celtics a 7565 lead, and they withstood a push by the Bulls early in the fourth.

RONDO FINED The NBA fined Rondo for attempting to trip Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder from the bench in Game 3. Crowder jawed at the Bulls’ bench after hitting a jumper and Rondo extended his leg as Crowder walked by.

BULLS’ Dwyane Wade (3) and Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas pass each other in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series last night. (AP)

PAGE 2, Monday, April 24, 2017

3 DAYS

THE TRIBUNE

The countdown is on JAPAN World ranking: 8 Group D: with Brazil (3), Poland (15) and Tahiti (7)

TAKASUKE GOTO (#11) and OZU MOREIRA (#10) are two of the players to watch on Team Japan.

TEAM JAPAN has featured at every FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and finished fourth at the inaugural competition in 2005.

The road to Nassau Japan were drawn in Group C at the 2017 AFC Beach Soccer Championship in Malaysia in March.

After easing to respective 14-0 and 11-2 victories over Qatar and Iraq, they went down 5-4 to United Arab Emirates in a thrilling encounter.

Japanese hopes of winning the Asian crown ended with defeat to eventual champions Iran in the semifinals, and it took a 6-3 win over Lebanon in the match for third place for them to secure their place at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017.

Strengths and style Coached by Marcelo Mendes, the Japanese once again drew on the considerable skills of Takasuke Goto at the Asian finals, the tournament’s secondhighest scorer with 11 goals.

There is more to the ‘Samu-

rai Blue’ than just the experienced Goto, however.

Strong in every department, they were also indebted to Takaaki Oba’s eight-goal contribution in Malaysia, while Takuya Akaguya and Ozu Moreira chipped in with seven goals each.

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup record Japan have featured at every FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and finished fourth at the inaugural competition in 2005. Following a series of first-round exits, the ‘Samurai Blue’ returned to the quarter-finals at Dubai 2009, and though another early elimination came at Italy 2011, the Asian side graced the last eight again at Tahiti 2013 and Portugal 2015.

• The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 will be held in Nassau from April 27 to May 7.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, April 24, 2017, PAGE 3

ANTHONIQUE STRACHAN hands the baton off to Christine Amertil (left) in the women’s 4x400 metre relay heats at the IAAF World Relays Bahamas on Saturday.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

What more can Bahamas do to compete with regional powerhouse Jamaica?

IT’S hard not to look at the success of Team Jamaica at this weekend’s IAAF World Relays - held here in The Bahamas at the Thomas A Robinson stadium - and not ask what more Team Bahamas can do to catch-up with the skill and talent of its regional counterpart.

With the likes of Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Steven Gardiner, Anthonique Strachan and Michael Mathieu, all of whom impressed fans with their performances on Saturday night - Team Bahamas does indeed have a bright future with several medals virtually guaranteed among these athletes barring injuries.

With that said, the separation between Team Bahamas and Team Jamaica exists not with the top-level talent, but instead with the complement of athletes that round out the rosters for both countries.

When casual fans consider Team Jamaica, the likes of Elaine Thompson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake

and Osafa Powell are all names that quickly come to mind.

However, beyond these stars there are a host of well-trained, budding stars like Olympic 400m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson, Shashalee Forbes, Jura Levy to the host of upcoming male sprinters, all the way down to Brianna Lyston, a female phenomenon dominating the junior ranks.

Meanwhile, on Team Bahamas, there is a major separation between the cream of the crop and the larger pool of ageing wonders of yesteryear and collegiate athletes benefitting from four-year scholarships.

To be frank, despite the best efforts of organisers and officials here, the crop of talent being cultivated in The Bahamas just hasn’t yielded a host of worldclass athletes in the track and field discipline.

Honestly, watching the ladies’ 4x100m relay team struggle Saturday made me wonder – would it have been better not to have fielded a unit for this event?

FOURTH QUARTER PRESS

BY RICARDO WELLSedia.net rwells@tribunem

“NO DISRESPECT INTENDED TO THE CAREER AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHRISTINE AMERTIL BUT THERE IS NO WAY, AT THIS STAGE OF HER CAREER, THAT THE PRESSURES OF MAINTAINING A WORLD-CLASS TIME AND RUNNING AN ‘IMPORTANT LEG’ SHOULD FALL ON HER SHOULDERS.” After all, that race in particular stood as a micro-

cosm for Team Bahamas.

With Shaunae Miller-

Uibo opening up the event with what many reporters in attendance called an “outstanding opening leg”, followed by an equally as impressive second leg by Anthonique Strachan, the questions quickly moved to whether or not the talent drop off between that second leg and third leg would ultimately hamper team Bahamas’ chances – it did.

No disrespect intended to the career and achievements of Christine Amertil but there is no way, at this stage of her career, that the pressures of maintaining a world-class time and running an ‘important leg’ should fall on her shoulders.

To compound matters further, the anchor leg of Saturday’s race was handled by rookie Rashan Brown, resulting in Team Bahamas finishing fourth in its heat, 11th overall and out of the final.

Like I said, there remains a major separation between the cream of the crop – Shaunae and Anthonique - and the larger pool of ageing wonders of yester-

year and collegiate athletes looking to benefit from four-year scholarships.

But the writing has been on the wall for a while now.

We, instead of pooling resources into improving our crop of athletes by providing them with world-class training facilities and programmes, opted to enjoy and relish in the successes of the ones that made it big.

When I consider moments like this weekend’s event, I am forced to pin the successes and/or failures to lack of a national body dedicated to the sole development and expansion of our track and field product.

In my opinion, this is the missing link and it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

The championships concluded last night with the much anticipated mixed 4 x 400m - the quartet of Shaunae, Michael, Anthonique and Stevie stole the show – go figure.

• Fourth Quarter Press appears every Monday in Tribune Sports – comments and responses to rwells@ tribunemedia.net

USA RETAINS TITLE IN THE WOMEN’S JAMAICA STRIKES GOLD IN THE WOMEN’S 4X800, CLOCKS WORLD-LEADING TIME 4X200, SETS NEW WORLD RELAYS RECORD

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE United States was able to retain the title in the Women’s 4x800m and set a world-leading time in the process.

It was a final time of 8:16.36 seconds for the team of Chanelle Price, Chrisuna Williams, Laura Roesler and Charlene Lipsey.

Led by Price, the 2014 world indoor champion in the individual 800m, led the team off once again, in her third time competing at the World Relays and gave her team an early lead with a 2:01.73 split.

Price was the only returning member from the Americans’ 2015 team which set a meet record in 8:00.62.

This year, she joined Nickel Ashmeade of Jamaica and Sanya Richards-Ross of the United States as the only athletes to win three gold medals at the World Relays.

“I’ve had the pleasure of making all three teams that have won here in the Bahamas,” she said. “I knew we had a target on our backs and that all other teams wanted to take the crown from us. We also wanted to set the tone for the USA.” Belarus finished second in 8:20.07 and Australia was third in 8:21.08.

Price’s lead after the opening leg evaporated on the second leg, when Australia’s Abbey De la Motte passed Williams after their first lap, and handed off the baton to Zoe Buckman with the lead.

“I am so proud of these three ladies,” De la Motte said. “Athletics is an individual sport, but we came together to achieve one goal and we did it.”

Roesler ran what turned out to be the deciding leg when she regained the advantage for the United States and turned the baton over to Lipsey with a nearly threesecond lead.

World champion in the event Maryna Arzamasova anchored Belarus to the sec-

LED by a pair of individual Olympic medallists, Team Jamaica won gold in the Women’s 4x200m and set a new World Relays record in the process.

Olympic 200m champion Elaine Thompson powered down the final leg uncontested for the Jamaicans en route to the win in a meet record time of 1:29.04 seconds.

Team Jamaica also included Olympic 400m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson, Jura Levy and Sashalee Forbes.

Team Jamaica botched the exchange in the event in 2015, but this squad left nothing to chance with a dominating performance on each leg. “We came out and passed the baton around good,” Thompson said. “There was no pressure, we came on the track and do what we do. We made sure we secured a spot in the finals earlier tonight and just came and do what we do.”

Levy executed an impressive first leg and Jackson blew the event wide open once she got her opportunity. “When I saw Jura coming around, it motivated me because I wanted to get the baton in front, I wanted to be so far away from the other competitors, so my plan was to run as fast as I

CHANELLE PRICE in this file photo. ond place finish as she passed Australia in the first appearance for Belarus at the World Relays.

“It was the joint decision of our national team to start preparing a squad for the World Relays this year. We had a strong set of runners, so it made sense. It’s very early in the season for us. So it is the time to run the times of this order. In May, we will only start speed specific training to get truly race sharp. It was a bit tricky to deal with a long flight and the climate.

Back home when we were leaving it was snowing. We knew that the USA team was well prepared but we weren’t going to just hand them the gold medal. We fought to the line, we loved the organisation of the event as well. Everything was running so smoothly and with zero stress.”

Their winning time for the Americans was the slowest in their trio of gold-medal efforts at the World Relays.

could and get the baton to Sashalee and by this time we were way ahead and

by Elaine got it, it was all over,” she said.

The German team won bronze in 2015 and improved their standing this year to a silver medal with a time of 1:30.68.

The team of Lara Matheis, Tatjana Pinto, Rebekka Haase and Gina Luckenkemper finished just .10 behind the US in the heats, and outran them in the final.

The USA was third in 1:30.87.

Trinidad and Tobago finished fourth in 1:32.63 and Nigeria closed out the top five in 1:33.08.

The Bahamas did not enter a team in the event.

JBLN ALL-STAR GAMES THE Junior Baseball League of Nassau has announced that the League All-Star Games will be held on Saturday, April 29, at its Field of Dreams baseball complex in Nassau East.

The All-Star Games will be held in conjunction with the Annual Steak-Out fund raiser on the same day.

Players have been selected to compete in the All-Star Games for all seven divisions and games will continue all day starting at 10am.

ALL-STAR GAMES SCHEDULE 10am - Coach Pitch 11am - Tee Ball Noon - 9-10 Minor League Noon - 13-15 Junior League 3pm - 11-12 Major League 3pm - Senior League 6pm - Girls’ Softball

PAGE 4, Monday, April 24, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

STEVEN GARDINER (FAR LEFT), ANDRETTI BAIN and DEMETRIUS PINDER in the 4x400 metre relay on Saturday night.

Photos: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

TEAM BAHAMAS 10TH OVERALL IN WOMEN’S 4X400 FROM PAGE 1 Strachan ran a split of 53.37 secs, but maintained the Bahamas’ first place position.

Veteran quartermiler Christine Amertil took the baton next and was able to withhold the charge from the field with her 54.11 split.

Rashan Brown anchored the team, but fell behind down the stretch and was bypassed by Nigeria, Great Britain and Canada in an effort to qualify.

Amertil, the veteran of the team at 37, said the future of the country’s women’s 4x400m programme is promising with a talented group of juniors and more athletes transitioning to the 400m.

“We went out there, we gave it our best, we had a strategy and I think it worked out as well as can be. To come out with the fourth isn’t what what we were hoping for, but the effort was put forth by everyone and that’s always a good thing,” she said.

“Initially, especially in the case of Anthonique, I think she was quite afraid of it [running the 400m],

but I always knew she had the ability to do it. After running a few of these races she now knows she can do this 400.

“Rashan is coming from a 400m background, I think it’s just a matter of her getting back into the rhythm of it and doing a few more of these races.

“In the years to come, especially with the juniors we have coming up, the Bahamas’ 4x400m women will be something to pay attention to.”

Nigeria took first place in 3:31.97, followed by Great Britain in 3:33.00 and Canada third in 3:33.54.

The top eight teams which qualified for the final included the United States (3:29.27), Poland (3:39.42), Jamaica (3:29.93), Australia (3:30.31), Botswana (3:31.61), Nigeria, Great Britain and France (3:34.40).

The United States would go on to take the gold medal in the final in a world leading time of 3:24.36.

Poland took silver in 3:28.28 and Jamaica had to settle for third in 3:28.49 after being edged at the line.

The Bahamas would not field a team for the B final.

SHAUNAE MILLER-UIBO (far right) and ANTHONIQUE STRACHAN in the 4x400 metre relay on Saturday night.

Photos: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

MEN’S 4X100 SECURES 8TH SPOT FOR IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN LONDON FROM PAGE 1 well ahead of the field on anchor for the win in 38.43 seconds.

Barbados moved up for the silver in their season’s best of 39.18 and the People’s Republic of China got the bronze in 39.22.

Great Britain, the Netherlands and Canada, featuring Olympic star Andre de Grasse, all failed to finish as they experienced the same fate as Jamaica, with former world champion Yohan Blake on anchor in the heats as they failed to advance to the final.A With their disqualification, Trinidad & Tobago, Germany and the Bahamas, the top three finishers in that order in the B final, moved up to secure the remaining eight spots for London. The top eight teams in both the 4 x 1 and 4 x 4 for men and women will book their tickets to the World Championships from the Relays.

In their B final race, the Bahamas held a slight lead going into the final leg. But on the home stretch, Adrian Griffith was caught in the closing metres by Trinidad & Tobago and Germany. Griffith, joined by Warren Fraser, Shavez Hart and Cliff Resias, ended up third in a season’s best of 39.18 seconds as Trinidad & Tobago surged to the front for victory in 39.04 chased

by Germany in 39.18, a season’s best as well.

The same quartet of Fraser, Hart, Resias and Griffith ran 39.36 for fourth in their heat and 10th overall. But they had their share

ADRIAN GRIFFITH (centre) is caught in the closing metres by Trinidad & Tobago and Germany in the 4x100 metre relay on Saturday.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff of problems as well as the exchange between Hart and Resias was not that smooth and it cost the Bahamas the lead. “It’s something that we will have to work on,” said Fraser about the team’s performance in the B final.

“We definitely have a lot of work to do if we want to go to London.”

It wasn’t the same for happy ending for the men and women 4x400m teams as they both failed to make the final and guaranteed their trip to London.

The women’s race saw Olympic gold medallist Shaunae Miller-Uibo run a

superb opening leg. Running in lane seven in the second of three heats, she powered past Canadian Carline Muir in the first 200m and gave the rest of the team what seemed like an insurmountable lead.

But that wasn’t enough as Anthonique Strachan held on to it on the second leg, but coming into the exchange, the Bahamas dropped into second.

The Bahamas continued to lag as veteran Christine Amertil made her way around the track.

On the final exchange to rookie Rashan Brown, the

Bahamas eventually faded into fourth coming onto the home stretch. Their time of 3min 34.40sec was good for 11th overall and out of the final.

In the men’s race, world 400m leader Steven Gardiner ran an exceptional anchor leg, coming from fifth place to push the Bahamas team that included Michael Mathieu (lead off), Demetrius Pinder (second) and Andretti Bain (third) into third in a season’s best of 3min 05.37sec and ninth overall as they missed the final spot to get into the final.

The Bahamas men’s team ran in lane four in Sunday’s B final and the women’s team was in lane five in their B final.

In the first final of the two-day competition, the women’s 4x800m, the Americans led from start to finish to take the title in 8min 16.36sec for a season’s best to share the top prize of $50,000 after taking their victory lap.

Belarus had to settle for the silver in 8:20.07 and Australia picked up the bronze in 8:21.08.

After that performance, the Jamaican 4x200m team

anchored by Olympic double sprint champion Elaine Thompson got their fans in a frenzy as they celebrated from start to finish in smashing the championship record in a new time of 1min 29.04sec.

The United States finished day 1 on top of the standings with 22 points, double the tally of their nearest rivals, Australia.

Jamaica was in third with eight with Germany, Barbados and Belarus tied for fourth with seven and the People’s Republic of China and France in eighth, both with seven points as well.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, April 24, 2017, PAGE 5

WOMEN’S 4X100 6TH IN FINAL

Team Bahamas wins gold in mixed relay

MICHAEL MATHIEU crosses the finish line to win the mixed relay last night.

FROM PAGE 1 didn’t have all of our best runners, but we did our best.”

Pinder said it was all about running with heart.

“We came out here and competed,” he stressed. “I was just glad that we got a chance to run. But we have to take it more serious as we try to get ready for the World Championships.”

And in his debut, Colebrook said he was prepared to give it his best shot.

“It was a good experience, considering that this was my first senior international team,” said Colebrook, who has moved down from the 800. “It was a good experience and I enjoyed running with these guys.”

On Saturday, the quartet of Michael Mathieu, Pinder, Bain and Gardiner finished third in their heat in their season’s best of 3:05.37 and ninth overall as they missed the opportunity to get into the A final and automatically qualify for London.

France won the race in 3:04.74, followed by Great Britain in 3:05.19.

On their way to the repeating as champions, the USA added the men’s 4 x 800m title to the women’s crown they clinched on Saturday to dominant the distance events.

The American men ran a world leading time of 7:13.16 for the gold, followed by Kenya with the silver in 7:13.70 and Poland holding onto the bronze in 7:18.74, both season best times.

Mexico, running with body cameras, was a distant fifth in 7:20.92.

In another thrilling performance, the American women’s 4 x 400m, anchored by Natasha Hastings, pulled away from the field to easily win in a world leading

FROM PAGE 1

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

Bethel on the first exchange.

“We got the stick around without dropping it and our exchanges were pretty smooth with just little time practicing. I feel like if we had more time practicing we would have been even faster but this will do for now,” she said.

Tayla Carter, recent Western Carolina grad, said as the team grows and progresses together, she expects performances to improve as well.

“Being a team that just came together in the last few weeks or so, we’ve been doing the best that we can to get prepared for this, get our exchanges down pat, get the stick around as fast as we could,” she said, “We have a very young team and we can only get better moving forward.”

Germany upset the field to take the gold medal in 42.84 secs, followed by Jamaica in 42.95 secs and China in third at 43.11 secs.

The Netherlands finished fourth in 43.17 secs, followed by France in 43.90 secs and the Bahamas.

Both Brazil and the USA were unable to finish.

MEN’S 4X200 5TH IN FINAL FOR 2ND STRAIGHT IAAF WORLD RELAYS FROM PAGE 1 SHAUNAE MILLER-UIBO in action in the mixed relay.

3:24.36.

Poland sneaked through in the winding metres for the silver in 3:28.28 and Jamaica dropped to bronze in 3:28.49.

It wasn’t Jamaica, but rather Canada who snapped the USA streak of victories by taking the men’s 4 x200m in a world leading time of 1:19.42 with their Olympic star Andre De Grasse on the third leg.

The United States trailed for the

silver in 1:19.88and Jamaica with Yohan Blake on anchor couldn’t catch Canadian Aaron Brown or American Ameer Webb as they settled for the bronze in 1:21.09.

But just when it seemed as if it would have been two straight defeats, Olympic and world champion LaShawn Merritt powered the USA to the gold in the men’s 4 x 400m in 3:02.13.

Botswana came close as Karabo Sibanda faded down the stretch as

he tried to go for Merritt, but not enough as they ended up with the silver in 3:02.28. Jamaica came through with the bronze in 3:02.86.

The meet didn’t end without some disappointment for the USA as their women’s 4 x100m team didn’t finish the final that saw Germany cross the line for the gold in 42.82.

The silver went to Jamaica in 42.95 and the bronze to the People’s Republic of China in 43.11.

TEAM BAHAMAS’ (l-r) Michael Mathieu, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Anthonique Strachan and Steven Gardiner celebrate their mixed relay victory last night.

but we didn’t let that phase us we just went out there to execute and we were able to do that,” he said.

Collegiate sprinters Kerr and Colebrooke considered the race an indication for improvement in the 4x100.

“The experience was great. I was happy I was able to be aprt of it. I think it gives us more experience in terms of the chemistry for our handoffs in the 4x100m,” Kerr said.

Colebrooke added: “For practicing just about three times I thought our handoffs were really pretty good.

For 2019 it’ll be a totally different scenario, handoffs will be perfect and we’re coming to bring the gold home.”

It was a thrilling anchor leg from Hart that vaulted the Bahamas into the final after they finished second in heat two in 1:23.71 secs.

Hart, the former AllAmerican at Texas A and M, said the youthful team has the foundation to contend in the near future.

“I thought it was really good. We had young guys performing at this level for the first time. You had the big crowd, it was a field with world champions, record holders, guys running low 19s, alot of sub 20 runners and we did well for the first time, no fumbling, no signs of nerves. We’re only looking up from here, all of these guys are under 24,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Canadians were able to gain a reprieve after a disqualification in the 4x100m and the near false start in the prelims.

“It did not go well [Saturday] but I’m glad we were able to break the curse, get the monkey off our backs and show the world what we are able to do in the relays,” Brown said.

De Grasse said: “It was a great run by all of us. We just wanted to keep the stick today, but we told each other to trust each other and be patient. If we could do that, we could come away with the gold today.”

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, April 24, 2017, PAGE 7

MESSI GETS 500TH CAREER GOAL FOR BARCA IN 3-2 WIN VS MADRID

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Lionel Messi scored his 500th career goal for Barcelona to give the Catalan club a dramatic 3-2 win over 10man Real Madrid in the last minute of the “clasico” yesterday, leaving the Spanish league title race wide open.

Messi netted his milestone goal — his second of the night — with a low left-footed shot from inside the area after a cross by Jordi Alba two minutes into stoppage time.

That goal left the two rivals level at the top on 75 points. Barcelona leads on the head-to-head tiebreaker but Madrid has six games left — one more than Barcelona.

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer PEP Guardiola’s first season in English soccer with Manchester City will end without a trophy.

He’s even facing a battle just to qualify for the Champions League.

Alexis Sanchez’s extra-time goal earned Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley Stadium yesterday.

While Arsenal can look forward to an FA Cup final against Chelsea next month, City’s unravelling season will now be defined by finishing in the top four of the Premier League.

With five league games to go, that’s far from certain.

City lies in fourth place and is now just one point ahead of bitter rival Manchester United, which made light of the absence of injured striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in winning 2-0 at Burnley yesterday.

City and United meet in a derby match at Etihad Stadium on Thursday that assumes huge importance for two teams who were expected to be challenging for the title this season, not scraping into the top four.

Guardiola won at least one trophy — often many more — in each of his seasons with Barcelona (2008-2012) and Bayern Munich (2013-16) but

he’s found it harder at City, where he arrived as the most coveted coach in world soccer.

City was eliminated from the Champions League by Monaco at the last-16 stage, while Guardiola gave up on winning the Premier League back in January while Chelsea was embarking on a stunning run of victories.

Both City and United were helped by third-placed Liverpool losing 2-1 at home to relegation-threatened Crystal Palace, leaving the three teams separated by three points.

Liverpool is two points clear of City and three ahead of United, but has played two more games than both the Manchester clubs.

FA CUP: ARSENAL 2, MANCHESTER CITY 1 The FA Cup is again proving to be a comfort blanket for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal is languishing in seventh place in the Premier League, and is set to miss out on the Champions League, but is back in the FA Cup final after coming from behind against City.

After Sergio Aguero put City ahead in the 62nd minute, Nacho Monreal equalised in the 71st before Sanchez struck in the 101st to secure an all-London May 27 final against Chelsea. It gives Wenger a

shot at a seventh FA Cup triumph, at the end of a season that might be his last at a club he has managed since 1996.

PREMIER LEAGUE: BURNLEY 0, MAN UNITED 2 United manager Jose Mourinho needs his forwards to step up in the absence of Ibrahimovic, who sustained a serious knee injury on Thursday, and two did so at Turf Moor. Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney were handed rare starts and responded with first-half goals in what proved to be a comfortable win for United against a team with a strong home record. United extended its unbeaten run to 23 games dating to October 23 and has its old aura back heading into the derby against City on Thursday.

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 60° F/16° C

TAMPA

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Partly sunny with a shower in spots

A shower early; partly cloudy

Sunny and pleasant

Mostly sunny

Partly sunny with a stray shower

Sunshine and patchy clouds

High: 87°

Low: 71°

High: 86° Low: 70°

High: 86° Low: 72°

High: 88° Low: 73°

High: 87° Low: 73°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

100° F

75° F

92°-73° F

97°-73° F

95°-76° F

92°-73° F

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

N

almanac

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ABACO

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High: 79° F/26° C Low: 72° F/22° C

8-16 knots

S

WEST PALM BEACH High: 88° F/31° C Low: 66° F/19° C

8-16 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 68° F/20° C

N E S

E

W

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 68° F/20° C

MIAMI

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 68° F/20° C

10-20 knots

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 77° F/25° C Low .................................................... 73° F/23° C Normal high ....................................... 82° F/28° C Normal low ........................................ 70° F/21° C Last year’s high ................................. 89° F/32° C Last year’s low ................................... 73° F/23° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.08” Year to date ................................................. 2.24” Normal year to date ..................................... 5.84”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 71° F/22° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 75° F/24° C

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KEY WEST

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 72° F/22° C

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7-14 knots

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High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

6:38 a.m.

7:07 p.m.

2.8 3.1

12:35 a.m. -0.2 12:55 p.m. -0.5

Tuesday

7:27 a.m.

7:56 p.m.

2.9 3.3

1:27 a.m. -0.5 1:41 p.m. -0.7

Wednesday 8:17 a.m.

8:45 p.m.

3.0 3.5

2:18 a.m. -0.7 2:28 p.m. -0.9

Thursday

9:06 a.m.

9:35 p.m.

2.9 3.5

3:09 a.m. -0.8 3:17 p.m. -1.0

Friday

9:57 a.m.

10:27 p.m.

2.9 3.5

4:01 a.m. -0.8 4:07 p.m. -0.9

Saturday

10:50 a.m.

11:21 p.m.

2.8 3.4

4:55 a.m. -0.7 4:59 p.m. -0.8

Sunday

11:47 a.m.

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2.6 -----

5:51 a.m. -0.5 5:55 p.m. -0.5

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:40 a.m.

7:37 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

5:26 a.m.

5:54 p.m.

New

First

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Last

Apr. 26

May 2

May 10

May 18

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 74° F/23° C

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 75° F/24° C

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High: 83° F/28° C Low: 74° F/23° C

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LONG ISLAND High: 81° F/27° C Low: 75° F/24° C

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insurance management tracking map

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tiDes For nassau

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 74° F/23° C

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Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

CAT ISLAND

E

W

MONACO (AP) — As the first men’s tennis player in the Open era to win the same title 10 times, Rafael Nadal showed yesterday he’s likely the best ever on clay after easily beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3 in an all-Spanish final at the Monte Carlo Masters.

It was Nadal’s 50th career title on his favoured surface, moving him one clear of Argentine Guillermo Vilas. The next big challenge for Nadal will be winning a 10th French Open title. The last of his 14 Grand Slams was three years ago in Roland Garros.

“I want,” Nadal said after Sunday’s game, a smile breaking across his face. “I really want it too.”

It was Nadal’s 70th career title but the first of the season, having lost his previous three finals — two of those to Roger Federer.

uV inDex toDay

TONIGHT

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 67° F/19° C

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writer

LIVERPOOL 1, CRYSTAL PALACE 2 Christian Benteke was sold by Liverpool to Palace for 27 million pounds (now $34.6 million) in August as he didn’t fit into coach Juergen Klopp’s plans. He is proving the perfect fit at his new club.

The Belgium striker returned to Anfield and scored twice for Palace, the equaliser to cancel out Philippe Coutinho’s free kick and then a close-range winner from a 74thminute corner.

THE WEATHER REPORT

W

NADAL WINS 10TH MONTE CARLO MASTERS

Guardiola’s 1st season at Man City to end without a trophy

8-16 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 81° F/27° C Low: 76° F/24° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS RAGGED ISLAND High: 80° F/27° C Low: 74° F/23° C

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 75° F/24° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 82° F/28° C Low: 77° F/25° C

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W

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W

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6-12 knots

4-8 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday:

WINDS SW at 8-16 Knots W at 10-20 Knots W at 7-14 Knots W at 7-14 Knots SW at 7-14 Knots W at 6-12 Knots WSW at 7-14 Knots WSW at 4-8 Knots SSW at 8-16 Knots W at 7-14 Knots W at 8-16 Knots W at 8-16 Knots SW at 8-16 Knots W at 4-8 Knots SW at 4-8 Knots W at 4-8 Knots SW at 7-14 Knots WNW at 4-8 Knots SW at 7-14 Knots SSW at 4-8 Knots SW at 6-12 Knots WNW at 8-16 Knots SW at 6-12 Knots W at 4-8 Knots SW at 8-16 Knots W at 6-12 Knots

WAVES 4-8 Feet 4-7 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 3-5 Feet 2-4 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 3-6 Feet 3-5 Feet 2-4 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-2 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 0-1 Feet 4-8 Feet 3-6 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-2 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet

VISIBILITY 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 74° F 74° F 79° F 78° F 76° F 76° F 78° F 78° F 75° F 75° F 76° F 76° F 78° F 76° F 80° F 78° F 79° F 77° F 78° F 78° F 76° F 76° F 79° F 77° F 77° F 76° F

PAGE 8, Monday, April 24, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Cavaliers sweep Pacers 4-0, into the 2nd round

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — LeBron James stuck to the old script yesterday.

Again, he bailed out the Cleveland Cavaliers. And again, he sent the Indiana Pacers home for vacation.

On yet another milestone day for basketball’s king, James’ crowning achievement was making the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:08 to play and helping the defending champions hold on for a series-clinching 106-102 victory at Indiana.

“You have to mentally challenge yourself every year and go out and try to do what’s right — putting your body on the line, putting your team on the line and trying to be successful,” James said.

“It’s very hard.”

But the four-time MVP makes it look easy. He finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.

By winning his 21st consecutive first-round game, James broke a tie with Michael Cooper, Magic Johnson and James Worthy for the longest streak under the NBA’s current playoff format.

By sweeping a series for the 10th time, James broke a tie with Tim Duncan for the most in a career,

according to Elias Sports Bureau.

By going 13 of 25 from the field, he pulled into a tie with Kobe Bryant for the fourth highest postseason field goal total with 2,014.

And by holding on for the win, James improved to 52-0 in the playoffs when his team takes a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter.

James considered the milestones a footnote on a day the Cavs blew a 13-point lead and allowed the Pacers to come all the way back and take a 102-100 lead with 1:31 to go.

“They were giving it all they had,” James said. “Obviously, a loss would have ended their season. We just had to weather the storm once again.”

Of course that’s when James took the cue and came to the rescue.

He made the long 3 to give Cleveland the lead, poked the ball away from Young on the next possession, grabbed the rebound when Paul George missed a 3 with 1.9 seconds to go that could have forced overtime and, of course, made 1 of 2 free throws to seal the win.

Now Cleveland takes a sevengame winning streak into the conference semi-finals against either Milwaukee or Toronto.

For Indiana, it will go down as

CAVALIERS’ KYRIE IRVING, front left, goes to the basket against Pacers’ Jeff Teague during Game 4 of their firstround playoff series yesterday.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings) yet another tormenting chapter in their rivalry with James.

James’ teams have eliminated the Pacers four times in six years and completed the first-four game sweep in Indiana’s NBA history.

Cleveland finished the season 7-1 against the Pacers, winning the last four with a defensive stand, a rare 25-point game from three players, the largest second-half comeback in playoff history and now James’ knockout punch.

Lance Stephenson led the Pacers with 22 points. George had a series-low 15.

“It’s real frustrating to continue on losing to the same team or same person,” George said. “Ultimately, he (James) is who I’m always going to have to see and face.”

The Pacers sure didn’t make it easy, though.

They charged back from a 96-83 deficit with a 7-0 spurt early in the in the fourth quarter. Then they methodically continued chipping away until Young tied the score at

100 and then gave them the lead.

But James answered with the go-ahead 3.

TIP-INS Cavaliers: Improved to 8-0 when taking a 3-0 series lead. ...

Kyrie Irving added 28 points, Deron Williams added 14 and Kevin Love had 16 rebounds. ...

Tristan Thompson grabbed 11 rebounds, giving at least 10 in all four games.

Pacers: Have lost five straight postseason games and six of their last eight. ... Indiana lost the four games by a total of 16 points, tying the smallest margin in a fourgame sweep in league history. ...

Teague scored 15 points and was the catalyst in the final spurt, including blocking one of James’ shots. ...Myles Turner had 20 points and nine rebounds, while Young had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

UNCERTAIN FUTURE Now the Pacers’ attention

turns to the future of George, the 26-year-old All-Star who can become a free agent in 2018. He didn’t drop any hints about which way he’s leaning after the game and there has been rampant speculation he could be traded this summer. “I’m not at that point yet. Next question,” George said.

GETTING PHYSICAL Things got physical and painful Sunday.

James stayed down on one knee after taking a shot to the head in the first half. George was writing in pain after taking a knee to the groin. Teague also remained on the ground briefly when he got hit in the head, too.

All three finished the game.

UP NEXT Cleveland gets some extra rest before finding out who it will play in the second round. Indiana embarks on a crucial offseason that could dictate the franchise’s future.

NENE’S 28 LEAD ROCKETS PAST THUNDER FOR 3-1 SERIES LEAD

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — James Harden’s shot was off, and one of the most unlikely players on Houston’s roster came to the rescue.

Nene scored 28 points on perfect shooting from the field, and the Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-109 yesterday to take a 3-1 lead in their firstround playoff series.

The 6-foot-11 centre from Brazil made all 12 of his shots and had 10 rebounds. It was an impressive performance from a reserve who averaged about nine points per game in the regular season.

“He puts the work in,” Harden said. “He’s a true vet. He’s in the weight room. He’ doing all the proper things to get his body and his mind right to go out there and compete at a high level every single night. Tonight, it paid off.”

Harden finished with 16 points on 5-for-16 shooting, but he had other help, too. Eric Gordon and Lou Williams each scored 18 points, and Trevor Ariza finished with 14.

Houston can close out the series Tuesday at home.

“That’s what a team is for,” Harden said. “It’s not just one guy. I’ve believed in trusting these guys all year long. We say it every game that it’s not going to

NBA PLAYOFF CAPSULES

By The Associated Press GRIZZLIES 110, SPURS 108 MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Marc Gasol hit a 12-foot floater with 0.7 seconds left in overtime, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the San Antonio Spurs 110-108 Saturday night to even up their first-round series at 2-2.

The Grizzlies won despite blowing a 10-point lead with 7:38 left in regulation and 23 turnovers that San Antonio turned into 31 points.

Mike Conley set a franchise postseason record with 35 points, and Gasol

ROCKETS centre Nene (42) shoots in front of Thunder guard Victor Oladipo (5) in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series yesterday.

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

be just one or two guys that win this game. On different nights, it’s going to be

different guys that step up.

That was the case tonight.”

Oklahoma City star

Russell Westbrook had a triple-double by halftime and finished with 35 points,

finished with 16 points after shooting 5 of 12 for the game. He also had 12 rebounds.

The Grizzlies overcame another postseason personal best from Kawhi Leonard who had 43 points. He rallied the Spurs by scoring the last 16 points of regulation, but missed a 21-footer short of the rim with James Ennis defending him just before the buzzer. Leonard tied it at 108 with 17 seconds left with a 3 from the left corner.

Game 5 is Tuesday night in San Antonio.

State Warriors overcame a slow start to take a 3-0 lead in their playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Blazers led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but couldn’t hold off the Warriors, who can clinch the series with a win tonight in Game 4 at the Moda Center.

Golden State was without Kevin Durant, who was sitting for a second straight game cause of a left calf strain, and coach Steve Kerr stayed back at the team hotel because of illness.

The Warriors took a 108100 lead after Andre Iguodala’s dunk with 4:05 to go. Noah Vonleh’s dunk got Portland within four at 110106 with 1:29 left, but Curry answered with a 3-pointer that all but sealed it, send-

ing fans streaming for the exits.

CJ McCollum led the Blazers with 32 points, while Damian Lillard added 31.

WARRIORS 119, TRAIL BLAZERS 113 PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 34 points, Klay Thompson added 24 and the short-handed Golden

HAWKS 116, WIZARDS 98 ATLANTA (AP) — Paul Millsap scored 29 points, Dennis Schroder had 27 and the Atlanta Hawks delivered an early knockout blow against Washington, cruising to a victory that sliced the Wizards’ lead to 2-1 in the opening-round playoff series.

After two tight losses in Washington exposed some bad blood between the teams, Atlanta returned home and built a 25-point lead by late in the first quarter. The Hawks were never seriously challenged by the

14 rebounds and 14 assists.

The Thunder said Westbrook joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to claim three consecutive playoff triple-doubles.

Steven Adams scored 18 points for Oklahoma City, and Victor Oladipo had 15.

The Thunder again struggled when Westbrook rested in the second half, and Westbrook wasn’t interested in explaining why.

He took over a question directed at Adams and defended the team.

“Don’t split us up,” Westbrook said. “Don’t try and split us up. Don’t try to make us go against each other or make it ‘Russell and the rest of the guys, Russell against Houston.’

I don’t want to hear that.

We’re in this together. We play as a team. That’s all that matters.”

Westbrook had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists at the break. He grabbed the 10th rebound in the final second of the second quarter, and the Thunder led 58-54 at intermission.

Meanwhile, Harden made just 2 of 9 shots and scored just six points in the first half.

The Thunder opened the second half with a 10-2 run, but Houston closed to 77-73 at the end of the third quarter. Houston pulled ahead in the fourth, but Adams made the first of two free throws with 21.7 seconds remaining to cut Oklaho-

ma City’s deficit to four. He rebounded his missed second free throw and found Westbrook for a 3-pointer that cut Houston’s lead to one point. But the Thunder lost track of Nene on the other end, and he converted a three-point play.

Gordon’s two free throws with 6.2 seconds remaining made it a four-point game.

Wizards, who were essentially a one-man team. John Wall kept up his dazzling play in the series, scoring 29 points, but the point guard got no help from his teammates.

The other Washington starters combined to score 30 points on 14-of-45 shooting. Millsap also had 14 rebounds, while rookie Taurean Prince chipped in with 16 points. Game 4 is tonight in Atlanta.

Kyle Lowry had 14 of his 18 points in the second half for the Raptors, who turned up their intensity before a hostile road crowd after getting embarrassed in a 27-point loss to Milwaukee in Game 3. Toronto’s tested backcourt reverted to its playmaking form, especially the resurgent DeRozan.

He was 12 of 22 from the field after missing all eight of his attempts in Game 3.

The Raptors seized home-court advantage back in the best-of-seven series.

Game 5 is tonight at the Air Canada Centre.

The game was tied at halftime before Toronto slowly edged away in the second half, building a 10-point lead with 4 minutes left on Norman Powell’s 3-pointer.

Tony Snell led Milwaukee with 19 points.

RAPTORS 87, BUCKS 76 MILWAUKEE (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks in a defensive slugfest to tie their firstround Eastern Conference playoff series at two games apiece.

STAT LINES Westbrook continues to average a triple-double for the series — 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11.3 assists.

But he is shooting 37.3 per cent from the field. He went 10 for 28 on Sunday, including 5 for 17 in the second half.

HACK-A-’DRE Houston fouled Andre Roberson in the fourth quarter, and he made just 2 of 8 free throws in a 42-second stretch. The Thunder trailed 94-92 when the Rockets started fouling him, and they trailed by five when he shot, and missed, his last attempt.

“It’s not great for basketball, but it’s a rule, and we’ll take advantage of it,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said.

QUOTABLE Nene on the style of play: “This series is a lot of physicality. It’s a healthy physicality. There’s no dirty players out there. We stick with it.”