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2B – Daily News – Saturday, April 23, 2011 Sharks look to close out Kings 49ERS SAN JOSE (AP) — From an epic comeback to a pair of six-goal out- bursts to the two big road wins that gave the San Jose Sharks control of their first-round series, it was all in all a pretty successful trip to Los Angeles. The task for the Sharks now is clos- ing out the Kings at home in Game 5 on Saturday night and avoiding anoth- er trip to Southern California. ‘‘When you have the opportunity to win that fourth game you have to take advantage of it,’’ defenseman Dan Boyle said. ‘‘We’re at home, we don’t want to have to get back on a plane and go back there and fight for another 60- plus minutes. You want to take care of business when you can, get the extra rest. When you can put a team away, put them away.’’ Most of the Sharks took the day off Friday to get some rest a day after tak- ing a 3-1 series lead with a 6-3 victory at Staples Center. It marked the second straight six-goal game on the road against a team known for its tight defense and moved the Sharks to the brink of the second round. San Jose had scored that many goals in a playoff game just five times in 142 postseason contests before doing it twice in a row. Despite the out- burst, Kings coach Terry Murray is sticking with goaltender Jonathan Quick for Game 5. ‘‘They have three lines that are as good as any three lines in the NHL,’’ Murray said. ‘‘If we’re going to have success against them, and whenever we do have success against them, we’re playing a solid game, everyone is on the same page doing the right things with the puck and we have good defen- sive posture.’’ The contributions have come up and down the roster as 12 players have recorded points in each of the past two games. The top line delivered the game-winning goal in overtime on “You want to take care of business when you can, get the extra rest. When you can put a team away, put them away.’’ Tuesday when Patrick Marleau set up Devin Setoguchi to cap just the fourth comeback ever from a four-goal deficit in a playoff game. The line also got the key goal early in the third period Thursday from Joe Thornton that made it 4-2. Ryane Clowe has back-to-back two-goal games from the second line, where Logan Couture also scored a key goal to fuel the comeback in Game 3. Joe Pavelski got the tying goal in Game 3 and joined linemate Torrey Mitchell with a goal in the third period Thursday. The defense has even chipped in with one goal and 11 assists the past two games, making the Sharks a very difficult team to match up with defen- sively. ‘‘We’ve got three pretty sick scoring lines,’’ forward Scott Nichol said. ‘‘We’ve got a threat when those guys get out there. It’s hard to check. If you have a checking line, who do you check? You’ve got to leave one of those three lines exposed. And that’s what you want in the playoffs. You don’t want just one line going or one player. We’ve got a whole unit together, pulling the same way.’’ Nichol, the fourth line center, is one of the few players who didn’t record a point the past two games but found his own way to make a mark. He enticed Kings star defenseman Drew Doughty into a matching roughing penalty in the second period Thursday that led to a pair of four-on-four goals that opened the scoring. Nichol also drew a double minor on a high stick by Matt Greene that led to a third goal, leading Murray to call him the reason the Sharks won the game. San Jose Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle ‘‘He’s definitely not fun to play against but he’s certainly fun to play for and with and watch,’’ Boyle said. ‘‘The guy just never quits. He’s the energizer bunny out there. He was obviously a big part of the win yesterday. I don’t believe he was on the score sheet, but he was a big reason why we won and he’s just one of those guys you love to have on your team.’’ The Kings will try to regain the form that led them to a 4-0 win in San Jose in Game 2 and the 4-0 lead the fol- lowing game, eliminating the give- aways and other mistakes that have helped fuel the Sharks’ offense. Despite being outscored 12-4 since taking that big lead, the Kings still have their confidence. ‘‘We saw the things we can do to them, we have moments of domina- tion,’’ Doughty said. ‘‘We just need to clean up our D zone. If we clean that up, really focus hard on that, and just keep getting the goals we’re getting, we should be fine.’’ While the Kings are trying to keep their confidence up, the message from the Sharks coaching staff was to avoid getting complacent. Coach Todd McLellan said his team struggles when the players start feeling comfortable and stop doing some of the little things such as blocking shots, managing shift length and getting the puck in deep that have made them successful. ‘‘If we let up or take our foot off the gas pedal for any little bit it’s going to cost us,’’ McLellan said. ‘‘I’d like to think we’re growing up as a team and are able to put some of those lapses behind us. Tomorrow will be a reflec- tion on whether we’ve learned a lesson or whether we’ll be taught a lesson.’’ Celtics grab 3-0 lead over New York NEW YORK (AP) — No fantastic finish needed for the Boston Celtics this time. They simply spoiled Madi- son Square Garden’s postseason home- coming party right from the start. Paul Pierce scored 38 points, Ray Allen added 32, and Rajon Rondo had a Celtics’ playoff-record 20 assists as Boston beat the New York Knicks 113- 96 on Friday night to take a 3-0 in their first-round playoff series. Rondo had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who pulled out two close games in Boston but never trailed in this one, dominating the first playoff game at Madison Square Garden in seven years. They will go for the sweep Sunday afternoon, and no NBA team has ever lost a series after winning the first three games. Boston coach Doc Rivers said he rarely talks to his team about the crowd environment, but the former Knicks player made an excep- tion Friday knowing the stage. ‘‘My main concern is this was not entertainment coming in here today. This was a competition and I thought we came with that mentality,’’ Rivers said. After winning the two games in Boston despite trailing in the final half- minute of both, the Celtics scored the first nine points of this one and never really let it get much closer. ‘‘You can’t give them that big an opening that they can smell blood,’’ Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. Carmelo Anthony had 15 points and 11 rebounds but shot 4 for 16 for the Knicks, who were booed as they walked off the court trailing by 23 points after three quarters. Exactly 10 years to the day since their last home playoff victory, the Knicks were outclassed in the same way they have been so many times in their forgettable decade since. With Chauncey Billups sidelined again with a knee injury, Amare Stoudemire limited by his back spasms and Anthony unable to duplicate his 42-point performance from Game 2, the Knicks lacked the firepower to ATLANTA (AP) — Jamal Crawford banked in a 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left to cap a brilliant second half, leading the Atlanta Hawks to an 88-84 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night and a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series. The Hawks led most of the game, but things got close and testy in the final minutes. Zaza Pachulia of Atlanta and Jason Richardson of Orlando were both ejected with 2:22 remaining after a confrontation under the bas- ket. The teams swapped the lead four times after that near-brawl until Al Horford put the Hawks ahead for good with 46.6 seconds remaining. PGA The Heritage At Harbour Town Golf Links Hilton Head, S.C. Purse: $5.7 million Yardage: 6,873; Par 71 (36-35) Second Round Leaders Luke Donald 67-65— 132 -10 Garrett Willis 64-69— 133 -9 Camilo Villegas 66-68— 134 -8 Jim Furyk Jason Day 68-66— 134 -8 69-65— 134 -8 Chad Campbell 65-69— 134 -8 Ben Crane Ian Poulter Chris Couch 68-68— 136 -6 Brandt Snedeker 69-67— 136 -6 D.J. Trahan Nick O’Hern 70-66— 136 -6 Tim Herron 69-67— 136 -6 65-71— 136 -6 Mark Wilson 66-70— 136 -6 69-66— 135 -7 69-66— 135 -7 But Crawford, who scored 18 of his 23 points after halftime, hit the biggest shot of all. With the shot clock winding down, he put up a jumper over Jameer Nelson that struck high on the backboard and went in. The physical game turned ugly when Dwight Howard drove the lane and was hammered by Pachulia, who took on the thankless job of guarding Orlando’s big man after Jason Collins went out with a back injury in the first half. Howard swung a fore- arm, Pachulia flung an elbow, then Richardson charged into Pachulia’s face. As they jawed, Pachulia NHL PLAYOFFS First Round Best-of-7 Friday’s results Buffalo 4, Philadelphia 3, OT Buffalo leads series 3-2 Nashville at Anaheim, late Series tied 2-2 Saturday’s games Los Angeles at San Jose,7:30 p.m.,CSNC San Jose leads series 3-1 Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh, 9 a.m., VS Pittsburgh leads series 3-1 N.Y. Rangers at Washington, Noon, NBC Washington leads series 3-1 Montreal at Boston, 4 p.m., VS Series tied 2-2 Sunday’s games Philadelphia at Buffalo, Noon, NBC Buffalo leads series 3-2 Anaheim at Nashville, 3 p.m. Series tied 2-2 Vancouver at Chicago, 4:30 p.m., VS Vancouver leads series 3-2 Other series Detroit beat Phoenix 4-0 match the defending Eastern Confer- ence champions. ‘‘It’s tough knowing that Amare’s not 100 percent, Chauncey’s not 100 percent and we’re just trying to find our way on the fly right now,’’ Anthony said. ‘‘That’s a tough situation but I think that would be making excuses if I sit here and say that they beat us because we’re not at full strength. We’ve still got guys that have to go out there and play and that is going out there and playing, so I don’t want to use that as an excuse.’’ Stoudemire was just 2 for 8 for seven points, admitting he was trying to avoid contract on drives to the bas- ket. He said he wasn’t 100 percent and knows he won’t be Sunday, either. ‘‘I felt good enough to play but I wasn’t 100 percent,’’ he said. ‘‘I just wanted to show some courage out there for the fans of New York. They deserved it and my teammates, also.’’ Allen, who made the go-ahead 3- pointer in the Celtics’ 87-85 victory in Game 1, was 8 for 11 behind the arc and is a sizzling 15 for 20 in the series. Crawford’s big 3 gives Hawks win over Magic appeared to deliver at least one headbutt to Richardson, who responded by slapping Pachulia in the jaw with his left hand. After looking at replays to sort things out, the officials ejected both Pachu- lia and Richardson and gave Howard a technical, too. Pachulia, with two long scratches on his upper right arm, was given a standing ovation on his way to the locker room. With order restored, Nel- son put the Magic ahead at 82-81 with a jumper after stealing an extra possession for the Magic, coming up from behind to strip the ball from Crawford. NBA PLAYOFFS First Round Best-of-7 Friday’s results Boston 113, New York 96 Boston leads series 3-0 Atlanta 88, Orlando 84 Atlanta leads series 2-1 L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, late Series tied 1-1 Saturday’s games Chicago at Indiana, 11:30 a.m., TNT Chicago leads series 3-0 Dallas at Portland, 2 p.m., TNT Dallas leads series 2-1 San Antonio at Memphis, 4:30 p.m., ESPN Series tied 1-1 Oklahoma City at Denver, 7 p.m., ESPN Oklahoma City leads series 2-0 Sunday’s games Miami at Philadelphia, 10 a.m., ABC Miami leads series 3-0 Boston at New York, 12:30 p.m., ABC Boston leads series 3-0 Orlando at Atlanta, 4 p.m., TNT Atlanta leads series 2-1 L.A.Lakers at New Orleans, 6:30 p.m., TNT Series tied 1-1 Joe Johnson responded for Atlanta, driving the lane, drawing a foul on Howard and hitting both free throws to put the Hawks up 83-82. The Magic pulled ahead for the final time when Brandon Bass swished an open jumper with 1:01 remaining after Hedo Turkoglu drib- bled around to lure away the defense. Horford put the Hawks ahead to stay, Turkoglu missed a tough jumper from near the 3- point line with Horford in his face and Crawford made his improbable 3 to clinch it. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Salt Lake 4 0 0 12 8 1 Galaxy 3 1 3 12 7 7 Colorado 3 2 0 9 8 6 Portland 2 2 1 7 9 10 Vancouver 1 2 3 6 9 10 Seattle 1 2 3 6 6 7 QUAKES 12 2 5 5 7 FC Dallas 1 3 1 4 6 8 Chivas USA 0 2 3 3 3 5 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA New York 3 1 2 11 9 2 Philadelphia 3 1 1 10 4 2 Houston 2 1 2 8 6 4 Columbus 2 1 2 8 4 3 D.C. 2 3 1 7 9 12 N. England 1 2 3 6 5 7 Toronto FC 1 2 3 6 6 9 Chicago 1 3 1 4 8 11 Kansas City 1 2 1 4 8 9 ————————————————— Friday’s result Seattle FC at Colorado, late Saturday’s games Chivas USA at San Jose, 1 p.m.,CSNC Columbus at Toronto FC, 1 p.m. FC Dallas at Vancouver, 4 p.m. Kansas City at New England, 4:30 p.m. Houston at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Portland at Los Angeles, 8 p.m. (Continued from page 1B) considering teams can’t sign free agents during the lockout. The 49ers also hold one pick in each of the second and third rounds with a total of 12 selections, most of any NFL team. San Francisco has two of its core players on either side of the ball locked up to long-term deals: linebacker Patrick Willis and tight end Ver- non Davis. Baalke orches- trated those contracts last year in what became a productive first few months as the team’s top personnel chief. He cer- tainly showed something to team president Jed York, who this winter said he would launch a nation- al search for a new GM and wound up elevating Baalke right from within the building. Then, Baalke lured the biggest recruit of all — Harbaugh — to move some 10 miles down the freeway from Stanford four days after football’s hottest commodity had led the Cardinal to a 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl and a school-record 12 wins. Everybody involved is eager to get going, and at KINGS (Continued from page 1B) Sacramento rolled out a purple carpet for the NBA while they could. The business community encouraged fans with all kinds of specials for patrons wearing purple. Everything from margaritas and san- grias to ice cream and pop- corn were dyed purple and there were a slew of signs downtown and around the state Capitol asking the NBA for support. ‘‘Stand up for Our Town. Our Fans. Our City,’’ one poster read. It was hard to walk any- where around Sacramento and not see Kings colors the past two days. A few dozen Sacramento supporters even rallied with signs outside NBA headquarters in New York, part of social-net- working effort that took shape with even those no longer in Sacramento. ‘‘I’m wearing purple cause we (are) trying to keep the Kings in Sacra- mento!’’ former Kings star and TNT analyst Chris Webber wrote on his Twit- ter page. There’s also an effort led by a Sacramento political consultant to thwart a $75 million financing plan that Anaheim’s City Council approved to lure the Kings to the Honda Center. In a MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Angels 12 7 .632 — Texas A’s 12 7 .632 — 910 .474 3 Seattle 7 13 .350 5.5 East Division WL Pct GB New York 10 6 .625 — Toronto 9 10 .474 2.5 Tampa Bay 9 11 .450 3 Baltimore 8 10 .444 3 Boston 7 11 .389 4 Central Division WL Pct GB Cleveland 13 6 .684 — Kansas City12 8 .600 1.5 Detroit 10 10 .500 3.5 Chicago 8 12 .400 5.5 Minnesota 7 12 .368 6 ————————————————— Friday’s results Oakland at Seattle, late Detroit 9, Chicago 3 Texas 11, Kansas City 6 Toronto 6, Tampa Bay 4, 11 innings Boston at Los Angeles, late Cleveland at Minnesota, ppd., rain New York at Baltimore, ppd., rain Saturday’s games Oakland (Cahill 2-0) at Seattle (Vargas 0-1),6:10 p.m.,CSNC+ Tampa Bay (Price 2-2) at Toronto (Morrow 0-0), 10:07 a.m. Cleveland (Carmona 1-2) at Minnesota (Duensing 1-0), 10:10 a.m. Chicago (E.Jackson 2-1) at Detroit (Penny 0-2), 1:10 p.m. New York (Sabathia 0-1) at Baltimore (Bergesen 0-2), 4:05 p.m. Kansas City (Davies 1-1) at Texas (Ogando 2-0), 5:05 p.m. Boston (Matsuzaka 1-2) at L.A. (E.Santana 0-2), 6:05 p.m., MLBN Sunday’s games Oakland (Anderson 1-1) at Seattle (Fister 1-3), 1:10 p.m.,CSNC Chicago (Danks 0-2) at Detroit (Scherzer 3-0), 10:05 a.m., WGN Tampa Bay (Shields 1-1) at Toronto (R.Romero 1-2), 10:07 a.m. New York (F.Garcia 1-0) at Baltimore (Tillman 0-2), 10:35 a.m. Cleveland (C.Carrasco 1-1) at Minnesota (Liriano 1-3), 11:10 a.m. Kansas City (Chen 3-0) at Texas (C.Wilson 2-0), 12:05 p.m. Boston (Lackey 1-2) at Los Angeles (Palmer 1-0), 12:35 p.m. this point the draft is the first and only step until the lockout ends. York has vowed to return this downtrodden franchise to its glory days of the past when San Francisco was a perennial contender in not only its division but for Super Bowl titles. ‘‘We’re doing every- thing we can to prepare for the season and we’re moving full steam ahead as if we’re playing,’’ York told fans in a call-in forum Wednesday night. ‘‘I’m really looking forward to seeing what Jim can do with this team. I know it’s going to be very special.’’ With the unsettled labor situation, it’s hard for Baalke to compare running this draft to going through the process a year ago after he took over top executive duties following the abrupt departure of then-GM Scot McCloughan. Still, there were experiences he gained. ‘‘I think the No. 1 thing I learned through the process is you’ve got to stick to your beliefs. Every time you make an exception, you usually get burned,’’ Baalke said. ‘‘I think you learn a little bit every year. You stick to the core values of what you’re looking for.’’ letter to Benjamin, Sacra- mento political strategist Rob Stutzman said he will turn in more than 11,000 signatures to Anaheim offi- cials Monday that supports a referendum to reverse the financing package, possibly forcing a public vote that wouldn’t take place until June 2012. The Maloofs maintain they have no issue with the efforts by Johnson or Sacra- mento. They also don’t believe their relationship in Sacramento is strained to the point they couldn’t return. ‘‘I think the Sacramento fans appreciate the Maloof efforts over the past several years,’’ Maloof said. ‘‘We’ve spent several mil- lion dollars and hundreds of man hours in trying to find a solution for a new arena in Sacramento. It’s not like we were there one, two, three, or even four years. ‘‘We’ve tried and tried again, in conjunction with city leaders and politicians and city leaders. I think the fans will definitely wel- come us back because we’ve been fair. The ques- tion I always ask fans is, ’What would you do?’ We’ve been honest.’’ MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Colorado 13 6 .684 — GIANTS 10 8 .556 2.5 Dodgers 11 10 .524 3 Arizona 8 10 .444 4.5 Padres 8 11 .421 5 East Division WL Pct GB Florida 12 6 .667 — Philadelphia12 6 .667 — Washington 9 9 .500 3 Atlanta 8 12 .400 5 New York 7 13 .350 6 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 10 9 .526 — St. Louis 10 9 .526 — Milwaukee 9 9 .500 .5 Chicago 9 10 .474 1 Pittsburgh 8 11 .421 2 Houston 7 12 .368 3 ————————————————— Friday’s results Atlanta at San Francisco, late Florida 4, Colorado 1 Los Angeles 12, Chicago 2 New York 4, Arizona 1 Houston at Milwaukee, late Cincinnati at St. Louis, late Philadelphia at San Diego, late Washington at Pittsburgh, ppd., rain Today’s games Atlanta (T.Hudson 2-2) at San Fran.(Lincecum 2-1),1:10 p.m.,FOX Los Angeles (Lilly 1-2) at Chicago (Dempster 1-2), 10:05 a.m. Arizona (Enright 0-1) at New York (Gee 1-0), 10:10 a.m. Cincinnati (T.Wood 1-2) at St. Louis (Carpenter 0-2), 1:10 p.m. Washington (L.Hernandez 2-1) at Pittsburgh (Karstens 1-0), 4:05 p.m. Colorado (Hammel 1-1) at Florida (Vazquez 1-1), 4:10 p.m. Houston (Myers 1-0) at Milwaukee (Marcum 2-1), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Blanton 0-1) at San Diego (Stauffer 0-1), 5:35 p.m. Sunday’s games Atlanta (Beachy 1-1) at San Fran.(J.Sanchez 2-1),1:05 p.m.,CSNB Arizona (Galarraga 3-0) at New York (Niese 0-3), 10:10 a.m. Colorado (Rogers 2-1) at Florida (Jo.Johnson 3-0), 10:10 a.m. Washington (Marquis 1-0) at Pittsburgh (Correia 3-1), 10:35 a.m. Houston (W.Rodriguez 1-2) at Milwaukee (Wolf 2-2), 11:10 a.m. Los Angeles (Kuroda 2-2) at Chicago (Zambrano 2-0), 11:20 a.m., TBS Philadelphia (Halladay 2-1) at San Diego (Undecided), 1:05 p.m. Cincinnati (LeCure 0-1) at St.Louis (Undecided), 5:05 p.m., ESPN San Jose Sharks Boston 113 New York 96 BOS 3-0 Orlando 84 ATL Atlanta 88 2-1