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Boucher says his three-point success is down to hard work
Chris Boucher hit five three-pointers against Portland and after the Raptors narrow loss, he revealed he worked a lot on his shooting beyond the arc in the off season and in training camp.
Chris Boucher hit five three-pointers against Portland and after the Raptors narrow loss, he revealed he worked a lot on his shooting beyond the arc in the off season and in training camp.
The Raptors exacted their revenge with a gritty blowout win over the Miami Heat in the second of a double-header.
John Tavares scored the winner on a PP in the third frame as the Maple Leafs beat the Oilers 4-2 on Friday.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was cleared Friday from the league's concussion protocol after his third consecutive day of practice.
The Nets have allowed 272 points in 2 games against the Cavs, one of the worst offenses in the NBA.
"We'll get him ready for the next one."
MLB players and other celebrities react to Hank Aaron's death at age 86.
The Texans know their latest head-coaching candidate pretty well. He was on the team's roster down the stretch in 2020.
Considered one of the best closers in the big leagues just two seasons ago, Kirby Yates is looking for a bounceback showing after an elbow injury limited his 2020 campaign to just six appearances.
Matt Patricia had a lot of success as the Patriots' defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2017.
Shaq's awkward interview with Donovan Mitchell has been criticized by many.
The 22-year-old's relationship with the Blue Jackets might be coming to an end after John Tortorella enthusiastically endorsed his benching.
There were a number of significant developments this week, both good and bad for fantasy hockey managers.
A racist country carved a piece of his heart away, but Henry 'Hank' Aaron always had plenty to spare.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Gabriel Landeskog scored 1:38 into overtime, Mikko Rantanen extended his goal-scoring streak to four games, and the Colorado Avalanche topped the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Friday night. Landeskog was initially stopped by Anaheim goalie John Gibson on a breakaway, but he got his own rebound and converted a wraparound for his third goal of the season. “I wasn’t happy with the first shot. I have to raise the puck more knowing Gibson is going to take away the low shots,” Landeskog said. “But I was able to stay with it, come around the net and stuff it as fast as I could.” Joonas Donskoi also scored for Colorado and Phillip Grubauer stopped 36 shots. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar wasn't pleased with the way his team played the first two periods. “I didn’t think we deserved to win but the goaltending was outstanding and we got a couple timely goals,” Bednar said. "We were trying to skill our way through things and they were outworking us the first two periods. But our top guys were outstanding the final 20 minutes." Hampus Lindholm and Adam Henrique got their first goals of the season for Anaheim. Gibson made 30 saves. The game went to overtime after the teams traded goals during an 82-second span in the third period. Rantanen gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 6:20 with a one-timer in front of the goal after a great pass from rookie defenceman Bowen Byram. Rantanen has four goals and two assists in the last four games. Henrique tied it again at 7:42 after Danton Heinen fed him with a centring pass. Donskoi got the Avalanche on the board with a power-play goal 2:56 into the game. The left winger put it into the short side of the net after Samuel Girard's pass caught Gibson out of position. Lindholm evened it 47 seconds into the second with a one-timer that Grubauer was unable to get his glove on. Anaheim played much better compared to Wednesday's loss against Minnesota when coach Dallas Eakins ripped his team for lack of effort. The Ducks had 18 shots during the first period and ended up with a 38-32 advantage for the game. “It is so disappointing not to get both points when you play well. With a tiny bit of detail that’s a 2-0 game for us,” he said. “It was going our way in overtime and then we fumbled it at the blue line. We don’t want to be a team going into overtime. We want to lock it down in regulation and get both points.” FIRST POINT Byram, who was the fourth-overall pick in the 2019 draft, made his NHL debut Thursday against Los Angeles but appeared tentative. The nerves were gone one night later as he picked up his first NHL point in his second game. “I just got the puck on the top of the blue line there and tried to move my feet to create some space," he said. "It was a big goal in a tight game, and it helped us get a win.” POWERING UP Donskoi's score was Colorado's 10th power-play goal, which leads the league. It is also the most the Avalanche have had through five games in franchise history. The previous record was eight, which happened six times. STOPPED Gibson stopped Nathan MacKinnon on his short side during a penalty shot at 8:31 of the third period. Colorado was awarded the shot after Lindholm was called for covering the puck up in the Ducks crease. “It’s like a whole bunch of air being exhaled at the same time,” Eakins said about seeing Gibson's save. "Gibson handled it like it was nothing. It was a massive save at a key point in the game. UP NEXT The teams meet again Sunday night. ___ More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Joe Reedy, The Associated Press
TORONTO — The Maple Leafs needed all hands on deck without two-thirds of their top line. Minus both Auston Matthews and Joe Thornton, Toronto didn't miss a beat Friday. John Tavares scored the winner on a third-period power play and Frederik Andersen was stellar in making 30 saves as the Leafs picked up a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Adam Brooks, with his first in the NHL, Jimmy Vesey, and Mitch Marner, into an empty net, had the other goals for Toronto (4-2-0), which went 2 for 2 with the man advantage. William Nylander added a pair of assists, while Marner chipped in with one of his own. "A great effort by the group," said Vesey, whose team lost 3-1 to the Oilers on Wednesday. "No Auston, no (Thornton). Guys came in and stepped up. "It was a gutsy effort. We didn't like our game the other night." Matthews is day-to-day with upper-body soreness, while Thornton will miss at least four weeks after fracturing a rib. "We've got to play a little bit differently," Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "The group's really got to recognize the importance of every shift and how important it is to stay with the structure, stay with the plan. I thought we did that really well." Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl replied for Edmonton (2-4-0), which got 25 stops from Mikko Koskinen. "A good offensive team, you give them a little sniff, they're going to figure it out," McDavid said. "We made one too many mistakes." Down 2-1 through 40 minutes, the Oilers got even 50 seconds into the third when McDavid, who grew up just north of Toronto in Newmarket, Ont., scored his second-ever goal at Scotiabank Arena when he deftly tipped Ethan Bear's point shot past Andersen for his fourth of the campaign. The Leafs got a power play midway through the period when Toronto's new top line of Tavares, Marner and Zach Hyman started buzzing, with the latter forcing Koskinen to stretch for a great save. But the Edmonton goalie could do nothing on the Tavares winner — his fourth overall and second in as many games — at 11:46 on a redirection of Marner's shot after making another terrific stop on Toronto's captain moments earlier. Andersen shut the door from there before Marner iced it with his fourth into an empty net as Toronto held on for its fourth victory in six outings to open the abbreviated 56-game schedule. "To get a good, hard-fought win like that you need the whole group," Tavares said. "We got a good bounce-back." Most of the talk heading into the Leafs-Oilers showdown was about two offensive juggernauts, but despite all the star power, there was very little room at 5 on 5. "You get very familiar with your opponent, tendencies, adjustments that are being made game to game," Tavares said of a season featuring division-only play. "Things might be a little tighter than people expected. "There's a lot of respect on both sides knowing the capabilities." Andersen, who recorded his 139th victory with Toronto to pass Curtis Joseph for fourth in franchise history, said it was a good sign the Leafs managed to limit McDavid and Draisaitl's chances over the two games. "When you're facing two of the better players in the league it's a great task," he said. "It's been great to see the team respond and really take that role seriously, and not give them anything for free." With the Leafs missing Matthews and Thornton, Keefe went back to 12 forwards and six defenceman after dressing an extra blue-liner the last two games. Brooks, Pierre Engvall and Alexander Barabanov drew in up front, while Mikko Lehtonen was scratched on the back end. The Leafs got a power play early in the second, but the Oilers grabbed a 1-0 lead at 5:12 when Kailer Yamamoto threw the puck in front where Draisaitl fished it out of Nylander's skates and jammed home his second of the season. But Toronto got that one back on the same man advantage 43 seconds later when Jason Spezza fired a puck into the slot that glanced off Brooks and in for the Winnipeg native's first NHL goal in his eighth appearance. "That was the first game I've played in like 330 days or something like that, so it's been a long time," said the 24-year-old, who was part of Toronto's taxi squad before Friday. "It's nice to get that bounce, and nice for it to come from a guy like Jason Spezza. "A great moment I'll remember forever." Andersen then made a good stop outwaiting Jesse Puljujarvi on a break before Toronto pushed in front at 11:16 when Alexander Kerfoot intercepted an Adam Larsson pass behind Edmonton's net and quickly fed Nylander, who in turn patiently found Vesey to bury his second. "Those have been hard to come by," Keefe said of scoring at 5 on 5. "It was good to get one." Friday's opening 20 minutes weren't nearly as tight-checking as Wednesday's chess match, with a couple of chances at either end. Yamamoto, who was credited with the opening goal two nights earlier after the Leafs flubbed the puck into their own net, forced a good stop out of Andersen less than 30 seconds in. Leafs winger Wayne Simmonds then had an opportunity denied by Koskinen from the slot. Edmonton's Zack Kassian took a pass off the rush from McDavid that Andersen just got a piece of with the shaft of his stick. McDavid had another rebound effort denied by Andersen before Simmonds saw his redirection smothered by Koskinen. "Our best guys led us," Keefe said. "Just a real good team win — which we knew going in it was going to have to be." Notes: Toronto placed Thornton on long-term injured reserve, where he joined rookie winger Nick Roberston (knee). ... Edmonton activated winger James Neal, who was previously on the NHL's list of unavailable players due to COVID-19, off injured reserve for his first action of the season. ... The Oilers now head to Winnipeg for two against the Jets beginning Sunday before hosting the Leafs for another two-game set starting Thursday. ... Toronto opens a four-game Alberta road trip Sunday in Calgary against the Flames. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2021. ___ Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, Paul George added 29 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-106 on Friday night for their sixth straight win. Serge Ibaka had 17 points and 11 rebounds to help the Clippers improve to 12-4, tying the Lakers for the NBA’s best record. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 30 points and eight assists against his former team. Luguentz Dort added 19 points. The Thunder were in catch-up mode most of the way before dropping their second straight and fourth in five games. They were just 14 of 42 from 3-point range and only got to the free-throw line 13 times. The Clippers grabbed control in the first half, scoring 36 points in the first quarter and 34 in the second on 63% shooting. They had scoring runs of 21-2 and 11-4 in the first. They opened the second quarter with a 19-10 spurt, including George’s steal and dunk followed by his consecutive 3-pointers, for their largest lead of 27 points. From there, the Thunder put together a 25-15 surge, hitting five 3-pointers, to trail 70-53 at halftime. The Thunder worked to reduce a 23-point deficit to 10 points in the third. They outscored the Clippers 15-2 during one stretch, helped by eight points from Dort and Mike Muscala’s first 3-pointer after he missed four attempts in the first half. But Leonard quickly put the Clippers ahead 91-75, running off six in a row. Muscala hit another 3-pointer that left the Thunder trailing by 13 going into the fourth. George scored 11 points in the fourth against his old team, when Gilgeous-Alexander had 10 for the Thunder. TIP-INS Thunder: It took until the second half, but Dort and Muscala continued their streaks of both hitting at least one 3-pointer in each game they’ve played this season. Dort leads the team with 34 3-pointers and Muscala is second with 26. ... They dropped to 1-6 against the West. Clippers: Lou Williams recorded his 249th career game with at least five assists off the bench, tying J.J. Barea for the most such games in NBA history. UP NEXT The teams meet again Sunday at Staples Center. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Beth Harris, The Associated Press
We've heard of crashing the boards but this is ridiculous.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Conor Garland had a goal and an assist, Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 shots and the Arizona Coyotes handed the Vegas Golden Knights their first loss of the season, 5-2 on Friday night. The Coyotes bounced back from a drubbing two nights earlier in Vegas with one of their best games of the early season. Kuemper made some spectacular saves and Arizona got contributions throughout the lineup after losing the first two games of four straight against the Golden Knights. Nick Schmaltz scored for the third straight game and had an assist. Christian Dvorak also had a goal and an assist. Derick Brassard scored his first of the season and Jordan Oesterle closed it out with an empty-net goal. Vegas' Shea Theodore scored his third goal in two games and had an assist. Cody Glass scored his first goal and Robin Lehner allowed four goals on 25 shots for the Golden Knights (4-1), who had been off to the best start in the franchise's four-year history. Vegas rallied from a two-goal deficit to win the first game against Arizona 4-2 and blew out the Coyotes 5-2 in Wednesday before heading across the desert. Theodore scored on the Golden Knights' first shot to start the rout on Wednesday. Dvorak scored on Arizona's second shot Friday, knocking in a rebound on a power play 3 1/2 in. Theodore tied it 1:19 into the second period, picking off a turnover in Arizona's end and beating Kuemper stick side with a wrister. Brassard, one of six forwards signed by the Coyotes to add some grit, made it 2-1 with a slapshot from the left faceoff midway through the second period. Schmaltz took a more patient route on his goal, holding the puck until Lehner went down before lifting in a shot from a tough angle. Garland made it 4-1 less than two minutes into the third period, deking Lehner with a nifty move and slipping it between the goalie's pads. Glass scored midway through the third period late in a double-minor high-sticking penalty on Jason Demers. WHAT'S NEXT The Golden Knights and Coyotes close out the four-game stretch Sunday in Arizona. ___ More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL John Marshall, The Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Luka Doncic had 36 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks withstood a late rally to beat the San Antonio Spurs 122-117 on Friday night. San Antonio lost starting point guard Dejounte Murray in the opening minute. The severity of the injury is unknown. DeMar DeRozan had 29 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 26s, and Keldon Johnson had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs. Dallas won its second straight after a three-game losing streak. San Antonio is 2-5 at home. After trailing by as many as 18 points, the Spurs pulled to 113-107 with four minutes remaining on a turnaround left-handed hook by Aldridge. Two minutes later, DeRozan cut the advantage to 113-111 with a pair of free throws. DeRozan made one of two free throws to pull the Spurs within 113-112, but Doncic made an 11-footer and then assisted on Jalen Brunson’s 3-pointer. Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 21 points each for the Mavericks. Murray’s absence had a big impact on San Antonio’s perimeter defence in the first half. The Mavericks were 14 for 39 on 3-pointers, including 10 for 21 in the first half. Dallas entered the game averaging 12.6 3-pointers on 37.6 attempts. TIP-INS Mavericks: Doncic fell a rebound shy of his sixth triple-double of the season. In just his third season with the Mavericks, Doncic is the franchise leader in triple-doubles with 30. … Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell and Josh Richardson were because of health and safety protocols. Spurs: Starting guard Derrick White missed his 11th straight game after fracturing his left second toe. … The Spurs trailed by 15-plus points for the fifth time this season. They have lost each of those games. ... San Antonio made seven 3-pointers in the first quarter tonight, which is one shy of its franchise record for a single quarter. … Tre Jones entered the game in the first quarter for his earliest action in his rookie season. Jones, who is averaging 2.8 points in 3.6 minutes through five games, did not return after playing two minutes. UP NEXT Mavericks: Host Houston on Saturday night. Spurs: Host Washington on Sunday. Raul Dominguez, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Knowing they'd be without Alex Ovechkin and three other prominent players for their home opener, the Washington Capitals talked about the gaping holes left in the lineup and then rallied around them. Playing without Ovechkin, centre Evgeny Kuznetsov, defenceman Dmitry Orlov and goaltender Ilya Samsonov because of pandemic protocols, the Capitals gutted out a 4-3 shootout victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night to snap an early-season losing streak. “Sometimes when you’re faced with adversity, those are the sweetest wins: the ones where you have to overcome some obstacles,” first-year coach Peter Laviolette said. “We certainly missed the guys that aren’t in there, but we felt good about the lineup and it was a really good win — a really good, hard-fought win for us.” It was even more hard-fought because top-line winger Tom Wilson left early in the third period with a lower-body injury. Wilson's status will be re-evaluated Saturday, another blow for a team that will have to still play three more games without Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, Orlov and Samsonov. Those players' absences Friday meant rookie goalie Vitek Vanecek getting a second consecutive start with recently signed 39-year-old Craig Anderson backing up and unheralded forward Brian Pinho making his regular-season NHL debut. Vanecek made 24 saves in regulation and overtime and was perfect in the shootout to pick up his second victory of the season, as defenceman John Carlson scored the shootout winner. “I wasn’t thinking about it," Vanecek said of his first NHL shootout. “I want to just catch every shootout and win the game.” Nicklas Backstrom and Nic Dowd also scored for the Capitals, who had lost their previous two games at Pittsburgh: one in overtime and the other in a shootout. This kind of game wasn't by design, but it counts as two points just the same. “We want to win hockey games in good ways and feel good about ourselves,” Dowd said. “Yeah, we'll have to grind games out but that’s not the intent." Buffalo rookie Dylan Cozens scored his first NHL goal on a top-shelf snipe past Vanecek in the second period. Eric Staal and Riley Sheahan each scored his first goal since joining the Sabres. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves and was spotless in the shootout until Carlson beat him. Buffalo hast lost four times in five games. “You’ve got to realize that we’re going to need a little bit more,” Staal said. “Losing is never acceptable. It doesn’t matter when it is. But there’s also a process to how you win. We’re working at that." ULLMARK RETURNS Ullmark was playing his first game since learning of the death of his father at age 63. He found out after a morning skate earlier in the week and decided it was best to take a few days away from playing. “I thought all that he’s gone through in the last week, the emotions that he’s gone through kind ... him dealing with the passing away of his father, we’re really pleased with where he’s at,” coach Ralph Krueger said. ”He seems to be managing it quite well.” NO NEW COVID ABSENCES Washington did not have any more players added to the NHL’s list of those unavailable because of COVID-19 protocols beyond the four missing Russians. The Capitals were fined $100,000 Wednesday for breaking league rules since those four players were together in a hotel room not wearing masks. INJURY UPDATES Before getting injured, Wilson picked up his sixth point in five games and has been one of Washington's best players so far this season. Laviolette said, “Hopefully it’s not too bad.” Buffalo forward Kyle Okposo, considered a game-time decision, remained out with a lower-body injury. Goaltender Carter Hutton didn’t travel with the team because of an apparent head injury from a collision Tuesday in Philadelphia. UP NEXT These teams face off again Sunday afternoon in their fourth meeting in 11 days. Puck drop was moved up four hours to 3 p.m. so it wouldn’t conflict with the Buffalo Bills playing in the AFC championship game. ___ More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press