Saturday Roundup

 SPORTS

NBA Playoffs:  Hawks, Pelicans Win To Get Crack At Respective Conferences Top Seeds

The preliminary round of the NBA Playoffs concluded on Friday with two games.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

At Cleveland:

Trae Young scored 38 points and dished out nine assists as the Atlanta Hawks held off the homestanding Cleveland Cavaliers 107-101 to advance to the Eastern Conference's quarterfinal round and a series with the top-seeded Miami Heat.

Bogdan Bogdanovic helped the Hawks' cause by scoring 19 points off the bench

Lauri Markkanen scored 26 points (and grabbed eight rebounds) while Darius Garland added 21 to lead the Cavaliers.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

At Los Angeles:

Brandon Ingram scored 30 points as the New Orleans Pelicans, a club that started the season at 1-12, knocked off the Los Angeles Clippers 105-101 on the road for the right to face the Phoenix Suns, a team that had the best record in the entire league, in a Western Conference quarterfinal series.

That ex-Portland Trail Blazer, C.J. McCallum, added 19 points to the Pelicans' coffers.

Reggie Jackson (with seven rebounds and eight assists) and Marcus Morris (who pulled down nine boards) topped the Clips with 27 points apiece.

Solid Pitching Helps Giants Hold Off Guardians In Cleveland

At Progressive Field, Cleveland:

Carlos Rodon pitched a solid seven inning of one-run ball while Joey Bart hit a two-run homer on Friday as the San Francisco Giants (5-2) spoiled the Cleveland Guardians' (formerly Indians; 4-3) home opener 4-1.

Soccer Roundup

At Rennes, France:

Wissam Ben Yedder scored the game winner in the 57th minute on Friday as AS Monaco defeated Rennes 3-1 on the road in French Serie A action.

At Milan, Italy:

Rafael Leao (11') and Junior Messias (87') each scored once on Friday as AC Milan blanked visiting Genoa 2-0 in Italian Serie A action.

At Belfast, Northern Ireland:

Conor McMenamin's equalizer in the 37th minute lifted Glentoran to a 1-1 Friday Northern Irish Premiership road Championship Group draw with Linfield.

Jordan Stewart tallied for the league-leading Blues in the 31st minute.

At Oswestry, England:

Jordan Williams delivered a hat trick (45', 61', 86') as The New Saints leveled visiting Flint Town United 7-0 in Friday play from the Championship Group of the Welsh Premier League.