by George Devine, Sr.

In a decisive 104-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder won game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals and the right to move on.

MVP Kevin Durant was the main man for the visitors, playing almost the entire game (44:06). He scored 39 points, had 16 key defensive rebounds and 5 assists. Russell Westbrook poured in 19 and had 12 assists. Serge Ibaka had 6 points and Steven Adams 10.

For Los Angeles, despite the enthusiasm of their home court crowd, the evening was disappointing. They dominated in the first frame, 30-16, but trailed in the remaining quarters, despite playing three of their key men for practically the whole night: Chris Paul (40:18) had 25 points, contributing 11 assists and 7 boards. Matt Barnes (42:18) had 9 points and Blake Griffin (40:53) had 22 points and 9 rebounds. J.J. Redick was good for 18 points but was ineffective when sent to defend against Durant, who at one point scored two three-pointers in a row off him.

Another key factor was the free throw percentage, where OKC was way ahead, 87.7% to 60%.

In off-court news, Clippers coach Doc Rivers was fined $25,000 by the NBA for criticizing the officiating in Game 5. Meanwhile, on the fine front, team owner has said through his attorney that he will not pay the fine of $2.5 million levied by the league for reported racist remarks, and that there will be litigation to stop a forced sale of the franchise.

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, May 15, 2014

The Oakland Athletics used their day off to do some wheeling and dealing, sending minor league outfielder Jake Goebbert and a player to be named later to San Diego in exchange for outfielder-first baseman Kyle Blanks.

To clear a spot for Blanks on the active roster, the A’s designated first baseman Daric Barton for assignment. Blanks will join Oakland Friday when the Athletics begin their weekend series at Cleveland.

Blanks appears to have some pop in his bat. He hit nine home runs with 20 RBIs and a .265 batting average in 27 games at Triple-A El Paso before being called up by San Diego on May 5. Blanks has spent parts of the last six seasons with the Padres, hitting .228 with 28 home runs and 98 RBIs in 239 games.

In 31 games at Triple-A Sacramento, Goebbert was batting .257 with six homers and 25 RBIs. He was acquired by Oakland in a deal with Houston in April 2013.

Barton was part of a 2004 trade with St. Louis that sent pitcher Mark Mulder to the Cardinals. The A’s gave Barton all kinds of opportunities to stick, as the converted catcher spent parts of the last eight seasons with Oakland. A .247 hitter in 551 games, Barton was hitting .158 with five RBIs in 30 games with the A’s this season.

Daric Barton is merely the latest in a long list of high draft choices that baseball executives continually try to justify giving chance after chance to, when the results dictate otherwise.

Oakland sports a 25-16 record and has won six of its last seven games going into its series against the Indians. On Friday night, Sonny Gray (4-1, 2.13 ERA) is on the mound for the A’s, while the Tribe counters with Zach McAllister (3-3, 3.89) in a battle of righthanders.

by George Devine, Sr.

The Los Angeles Clippers managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Game 5 of the semifinal series at Oklahoma City, losing 105-104.

Chris Paul, one of the Clippers’ mainstays, turned out to be somewhat the goat of the game, in that he committed the foul that led to the three free throws that put the Thunder ahead, and then failed to make the shot neededfor Los Angeles at the last. With 50 seconds to go in the game, the Clippers were ahead by 7 points, but the home team literally thundered ahead. A key possession call gave OKC the ball, despite the ire of L.A. coach Doc Rivers. Paul then fouled Russell Westbrook who was in the act of shooting a trey, and all three charity shots went in with 6.4 seconds to play. Then Paul got the ball and drove for an inside shot that would have won the game, but the Thunder defense stopped him: Reggie Jackson stole the ball and the game was over.

Westbook was the star for the home team, scoring 38 points. Kevin Durant accounted for 27, 10 of them within the last 4 minutes. Prior to that point the Clippers led, 101-88, but once more it was demonstrated that virtually no lead is safe in the NBA.

Despite his unfortunate performance at the end, Paul scored 17 points and contributed 14 assists. Jamal Crawford had 19 points. Blake Griffin poured in 24 points and had 17 boards.

Los Angeles led the scoring, 34-25, in the initial frame. Oklahoma City outscored them, 27-24, in the second, but the visitors still led at halftime, 58-52. The third period was even at 28, but it was in the final quarter that OKC came out strong, 25-18.

Game 6 will be on Thursday, May 18 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Oklahoma City can win the round with a victory in that matchup.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Ryan Vogelsong was cruising all the way into the top of the sixth inning, but it was in that inning that his night began to unravel.

Freddie Freeman hit a sharp single into right field, and Hunter Pence came up throwing and despite the fact that the ball beat Jason Heyward to the plate, Heyward was able to get under the tag.

The run scored by Heyward was huge, as it helped the Atlanta Braves defeat the Giants 5-0 before a sellout of 41,506, the 263rd consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

Bruce Bochy challenged the call, but after just 35 seconds, the play stood and the San Francisco Giants fell to 6-3 on the season in challenge

B.J. Upton then singled in Freeman, who advanced to second on the Pence throw to the plate and the Braves scored their final run of the inning, as Andrelton Simmons singled to left field to score Chris Johnson, who reached on a Fielders’ Choice that retired Evan Gattis at second base.

It was a Gattis triple to the right-center alley that got the Braves on the board in the top of the fourth inning, as Freeman scored all the way from first base after he walked with one out.

The other big story of the game was the pitching of left-hander Mike Minor, who entered the game with an 0-2 record and 6.97 earned run average.

All Minor did was allow just three hits in 6.2 innings of work, walked two and struck out six on his way to his first win of the 2014 season.

Vogelsong went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out a career-high tying eight; however his record fell to 1-2 on the season.

It was the sixth time in Vogelsong’s career that he struck out eight in a game, and the first time since April 21, 2012 against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

The Giants attempted to get a rally together in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Angel Pagan walked with two outs, breaking a streak of 16 in a row retired by Minor and then Pence doubled to left field; however Posey struck out to end the inning.

When Posey struck out to end the sixth inning, it was first time he struck out since April 29 against the San Diego Padres, a span of 52 plate appearances.

The Braves added another run in the top of the seventh inning, as Freeman beat out a throw from Brandon Crawford throw.

Originally Freeman was called out by first base umpire Lance Barrett; however Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez challenged the call and it was overturned after a 1:04 review.

Justin Upton was retired on the play on the attempted double play at second base on a great throw by Hector Sanchez, but the Crawford throw pulled reliever David Huff off the bag.

Tyler Pastornicky, who led off the inning with a single against Huff scored from third base.

By George Devine, Sr.

The Los Angeles Clippers left Staples Center tied in the western division semifinals with the Oklahoma City Thunder, 2 games apiece, thanks to some last-minute dramatics.

The visitors dominated the first period, 32-15. Even though the Clippers outscored them in the second, 31-25 — including a 14-3 run at one point — OKC led 57-46 at the half and it did not look good for L.A. In the third, it got tighter, with the Thunder leading only by a point, 18-17. Then, in the final frame, Darren Collison scored 8 of his 18 points for the evening and the Clippers took charge, 38-24. Even then, the home team did not lead until 1:21 left to play. And as the final buzzer was about to sound, Russell Westbrook had a three-pointer headed to the net, which swirled around one side of the rim and fell away, at 01.4 seconds to go, and Los Angeles won, 101-99.

Kevin Durant led for the Thunder, with 40 points, playing almost all of the game (44:54); he also had 7 boards. Westbrook had 27 points and 8 assists. Reggie Jackson had 10 points and Serge Ibaka 8. Oklahoma City was 44% with 29.2% on treys and 76.5 from the line.

For Los Angeles, Chris Paul played almost the entire time (44:58), scoring 23 points and contributing 9 rebounds. Blake Griffin scored 25 and had 9 rebounds as well. Collison, in addition to 18 points, was good for 7 boards. Jamal Crawford also scored 18. DeAndre Jordan had 7 points and twice as many rebounds.

The next game in the tied series will be at 6:30 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, May 13 at Oklahoma City.

By Jeremy Kahn

After seeing their closer do something unseen this season, the San Franicsco Giants were able to end their three-city, 10-game road trip on a high note.

Pablo Sandoval and Hector Sanchez drove in runs in the top of the 10th inning, as the Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 at Dodger Stadium.

With the victory, the Giants ended their trip through Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles with a 7-3 record and now return home for the first time since April 29 to face the Atlanta Braves and the Miami Marlins.

Hanley Ramirez sent the game into extra innings, as he hit a Sergio Romo hanging slider into the left field pavilion to tie up the game.

It was the first blown save of the season for Romo, who entered the bottom of the ninth inning 12-for-12 in save opportunities on the season.

After seeing their closer blow the save in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Giants did not waste anytime getting back on the board in the top of the 10th inning.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen came on in the top of the inning and promptly walked Angel Pagan, then Hunter Pence singled to center.

Jansen then unleashed a wild pitch that sent Pagan to third and Pence to second base, and it was decided to walk Buster Posey intentionally, Sandoval came to the plate.

Sandoval picked up his third hit of the afternoon in five at-bats to score Pagan and advance Pence and Posey an additional 90 feet.

Brandon Hicks struck out for the first out of the inning, and then Sanchez singled to left to score Pence from third and the bases stayed loaded.

Jansen was then replaced by J.P. Howell, but he was unable to keep the Giants at bay, as he unleashed a wild pitch with Michael Morse at the plate to score Posey with the third and final run of the inning.

Jean Machi came on to replace Romo in the bottom of the 10th inning, and was able to strike out Matt Kemp and then Andre Ethier grounded out; however the Dodgers did not go quietly.

Justin Turner walked, and then Scott Van Slyke singled to bring the tying run to the plate in the presence of Miguel Olivo.

Machi then did the unthinkable, as he threw a wild pitch that sent Turner to third and Van Slyke to second with two outs.

Olivo was unable to be the hero, as Machi struck out Olivo looking and the Giants left Los Angeles with a four and a half game lead over their rivals.

Sandoval got the Giants on the board in the top of the first inning, as he doubled in Pagan, who led off the game with a single off of Clayton Kershaw, who was making his season debut at Dodger Stadium.

Yasiel Puig tied up the game with one swing of the bat, as he planted a Tim Hudson pitch into the left field pavilion, a home run measured at 394 feet.

Hudson then gave up a double to Ramirez and then a single to Adrian Gonzalez that scored Ramirez and put the Dodgers into the lead ofr the first time on the afternoon.

That would be the score for a half-inning, as Brandon Hicks hit a two-run home run, measured at 414 feet off of Kershaw.

Sandoval came up with a huge hit in the inning, as he picked up his second hit of the game just prior to Hicks unloadig on a Kershaw pitch.

Posey gave the Giants what looked like a comfortable two-run lead, as he singled off of Chris Withrow in the top of the eighth inning to score Pagan, who walked and advanced to second on a Pence groundout.

Hudson went six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out two, as he did not fare in the decision.

Kershaw, who pitched in just his third game of the season after a stint on the disabled list, went seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, did not walk and a batter and struck out nine.

By Jeremy Kahn

This was a game that the San Francisco Giants could have won, but their usual stellar bullpen was unable to hold onto the lead and eventually the game.

Dee Gordon and Yasiel Puig snapped a 2-2 tie with consecutive RBI doubles in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Matt Kemp hit an opposite field home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Giants 6-2 at Dodger Stadium.

Once again, Zach Greinke was up to his dominant self, as he allowed just two runs on six hits, walking three and striking out eight in seven innings of work.

By allowing fewer than three runs or less once again, Greinke extended his streak to 20 consecutive starts, the longest streak by any pitcher in the “dead ball” era.

Greinke raised his record to 6-1 on the season, and move within three and a half games of the NL West leading Giants, who remain in first place.

After loading the bases in the first inning, Greinke was able to strike out Pablo Sandoval, as he last drove in a run on April 16 at AT&T Park against the Dodgers, a span of 20 games and 68 at-bats.

To make matters even worse for Sandoval, over his last 26 at-bats with runners in scoring position, Sandoval has just two hits.

The Giants loaded the bases in the top of the second inning with nobody out, they scored what proved to be their only runs of the game.

Hunter Pence drove in Angel Pagan with a sacrifice fly, and Brandon Hicks scored on a Buster Posey single to give them a 2-0 lead.

Cain pitch into the sixth inning, and was pulled from the game after two walks and a single to Puig in between that loaded the bases with nobody out.

Dee Gordon scored the Dodgers first run of the game on a double play off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez and then Kemp tied up the game with a single.

Cain pitched five runs, allowing two runs on three hits and walked four in his first start since coming off the disabled list earlier in the day.

This was the first start for Cain since April 23, and missed two starts due to cutting his right finger with a knife while trying to catch the knife in the clubhouse prior to a start at AT&T Park against the San Diego Padres.

Brian Wilson was able to get out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the eighth inning, as retired Pence on a popup to Drew Butera behind the plate.

By Jeremy Kahn

On a night where Madison Bumgarner pitched eight innings, and Brandon Crawford went deep for the third time on this trip, those things were overshadowed by one pitch.

Brandon Belt was hit by a Paul Maholm pitch in the top of the second inning, and after receiving X-Rays, it was confirmed that Belt suffered a broken left thumb.

Belt could be lost to the team for six weeks due to the injury, and this will be the second time on the disabled list for Belt, who missed time due to a broken arm in 2011.

As for the game, Crawford hit a two-run home run off of Maholm in the top of the fifth inning, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 at Dodger Stadium.

This was the 12th win in the last 15 games for the Giants, and increase their lead to 2.5 over the Colorado Rockies and 4.5 over the Dodgers.

It was the third home run of the road trip for Crawford, who hit two in Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

Bumgarner pitched a great game, as he went those eight strong innings, allowing one run on four hits, with eight strikeouts and won for the second consecutive game after losing three in a row.

Over his last six starts at Dodger Stadium, Bumgarner is now 5-2 with a 1.45 earned run average and over that span, Bumgarner has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of those starts.

Joaquin Arias, who replaced Belt at first base, drove in the third and final run of the game for the Giants, as he hit an infield single that scored Hunter Pence.

The lone mistake by Bumgarner came off the bat of Yasiel Puig in the bottom of the sixth inning, but on the home run trot by Puig, there was chirping from both Bumgarner and Puig.

After Puig hit his long home run over the center field wall, he flipped his bat and as he crossed home plate, there were things said between the two.

Luckily for both Buster Posey and home plate umpire Will Little, things did not escalate beyond the yelling between the two.

Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth inning to pickup his 12th save in 12 opportunities this season.

By George Devine, Sr.

With the series returning to Staples Center, and the angst over team ownership winding down, the Clippers had an opportunity to take the lead in the second round. They just were overpowered by the Oklahoma City Thunder, 118-112.

It was a tightly played contest in which Los Angeles led in the first and third quarters, and the lead went back and forth throughout the evening. But Oklahoma City pulled ahead in the fourth, and the rest was history.

For OKC, MVP Kevin Durant played almost the entire game (45:48) and led the scoring with 36 points. He contributed 8 rebounds — all defensive — and 6 assists, enough to make the difference. Russell Westbrook had 25 points, 13 assists and 8 boards. Serge Ibaka had 20 points and 6 rebounds. Reggie Jackson, who was poorly defended, was able to score 14 points, as was Caron Butler. The team as a whole shot 85.7 from the free throw line, well over the typical NBA pcrcentage.

For the Clippers, Blake Griffin was on the court for 42:16, pouring in 34 points; he also was responsible for 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. Chris Paul was in for almost as long (42:01) and scored 21 points. More importantly, he contributed a spectacular number of assists with 16. Jamal Crawford had 20 points, Matt Barnes 14 and DeAndre Jordan 10, with 11 boards.

The next game is at 12:30 p.m. PDT on Sunday, May 11.