Midday Recap teaser

THE KING HAS IT HIS WAY

Miami Herald

Jim Rassol | Sun Sentinel via Florida Times-Union

At the end of the first quarter, it looked like it would be a close and tight game.

By the end of the third quarter, it became apparent that LeBron James and company will play again this month as they jumped out to a 76-55 lead.  They would go on to win 99-76.

Turnovers became a big issue for the Pacers, turning the ball over 21 times, most of them coming in the first half.  And although many of those turnovers didn't equate to points for the Heat, it prevented the Pacers from keeping pace with the Heat, who started taking control of the game in the 2nd quarter

Paul George, Game 6's hero, could only muster 7 points on two-for-nine shooting before fouling out of the game.  George Hill didn't fare much better, going 1 for 7 inside the arch and 3 for 7 behind the line for a combined 4 for 14.  He finished with 13 points.  Roy Hibbert was the top player for the Pacers, scoring 18 points on 7/11 shooting, grabbing 8 rebounds.

James went 15/16 from the line on his way to 32 points for the game, and Dwayne Wade backed him up with 21 points.

After winning their fourth conference title since 2006 [Miami Herald], the Heat now advance to face the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, with Game 1 set for Thursday night, 8PM (10ABC, WTEN).  [NBA Finals Schedule]

SIX FOR SIX
It was an amazing day on the local diamonds yesterday as State Regionals were held throughout the state.  Six Section 2 teams took to the field with the hopes of making it to the state finals this weekend in Binghamton (Baseball) and Queensbury (Softball).

All 6 teams won.  We'll offer a brief recap, but if you want to know more about the games yesterday, we'll link you to the articles written by those who were there.

BASEBALL
Class A: Queensbury 12, Massena 0 - The Queensbury Spartans started quick, then blew the game open with a 6 run fifth inning as they defeated Massena to set up today's meeting with Cortland at 4PM at the Plumeri Sports Complex in Albany.  [The Post-Star's Greg Brownell Recap]

Class B: Schalmont 10, Beekmantown 3 - A four-hitter from Greg Musk propels Schalmont to the next round, where they face Ogdensburgh Free Academy at Bleecker Stadium today at 4PM.  [Daily Gazette, need log-in for full article]

Class C: Voorheesville 6, Norwood-Norfolk 1 - The Voorheesville Blackbirds advance as they now face Ticonderoga this afternoon at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam.  [The Press-Republican (Plattsburgh) with a preview of today's game - editor's note: Can't seem to locate recap of yesterday's game]

SOFTBALL
Class A: Troy 6, Jamesville-DeWitt 1 - In a game that Troy Record's sportswriter Laura Amato said was "one of their most fundamentally-sound games" this season, the Troy Flying Horses made it one step closer to Queensbury with their 6-1 win over Jamesville-DeWitt.  They'll play Malone tomorrow at SUNY Potsdam. [The Troy Record's Laura Amato article w/video]

Class B: Chatham 12, Canton 0 - Chatham rolls past Canton at SUNY Plattsburgh to set up today's match with Saranac tomorrow at the SUNY Plattsburgh Fieldhouse Complex. [no recap found]

Class C: Greenwich 4, Ticonderoga 1 - The Greenwich Witches are one win away from the State Final Four after Mariah Linnett and Sarah Heimbach shut down Ticonderoga.  They'll play Wednesday against St. Lawrence at SUNY Potsdam [Pete Tobey's recap for The Post-Star]

BRUIN...
The Boston Bruins have taken away the home advantage for the Pittsburgh Penguins with a dominating 6-1 win on Monday.

Brad Marchand silenced the Pittsburgh crowd quickly as his 3rd of the playoffs came 28 seconds after the opening faceoff.  He would bookend the period, scoring the 4th Boston goal with 9 seconds left in the period to bring about a quiet 1st intermission for the Penguins.

The Bruins would tack on two more in the 3rd Period as they take a 2-0 series lead home to Boston, where Game 3 will be on Wednesday night.

TRIBED
Andy Pettitte, fresh back from being on the Disabled List, lasted only 4 2/3rd innings as the Cleveland Indians put up 3 runs in the 5th to tie their game against the New York Yankees.

But the Indians were unable to take the lead, and the bullpen shut down their batters as the Yankees would score 2 in the 6th and 1 in the 7th to beat the Indians 7-4.  Shawn Kelley would get the win for the Yankees, and Mariano Rivera would gain his 20th save of the season.

Mark Teixeira made his presence felt, hitting a grand slam in the 3rd inning to finish with four RBIs.

HARPER-LESS
The New York Mets begin a three-game series with the Washington Nations this evening.  The Mets will be trying to erase the memories from their series against the Miami Marlins.

The Nationals will be trying to keep pace with the Atlanta Braves, but will have to do so without Bryce Harper, who landed on the 15-day DL.  They also may be without Stephen Strasburg, who suffered a Grade 1 lat strain in the game against the Atlanta Braves Friday night.  He's slated to pitch Thursday opposite Shaun Marcum.

Tonight, the Mets send Jeremy Hefner, who earned his first win of the season against the Yankees last week, giving up 9 hits in six innings pitched.  Jordan Zimmerman struck out four in 5 innings pitched the last time he faced the Mets, but got rocked for 7 earned runs and 10 hits against the Baltimore Orioles his last time out.

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