Sports 411: November 5, 2017, Part 2
EDITOR’S NOTE: Without any further delays, here’s the second half of Sports 411 for Sunday, November 5…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Corey Crawford made 24 saves for his second consecutive shutout as the Chicago Blackhawks skated to a 2-0 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Artem Anisimov’s power-play goal off a deflection of Duncan Keith‘s shot with 5:42 remaining in the third period held as the game-winning goal. Chicago had a four-minute power play after a high-sticking call on Wild forward Luke Kunin.
It was the fifth goal of the year for Anisimov, who now has a goal in four straight games. Alex DeBrincat added an empty-net goal with 1:37 remaining.
Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced.
Minnesota nearly scored the game’s first goal on the first power play of the night as forward Nino Niederreiter redirected a pass that hit off the left post. Niederreiter raised his arms in celebration and the goal horn momentarily went off in Xcel Energy Center.
There was no indication of a goal by the officials, though, as play went on and the game remained scoreless.
Crawford made his best save of the night early in the third period. Wild forward Eric Staal had a good look at the net on a breakaway, but Crawford got enough of his glove on the puck to deny Staal.
The Wild had several good scoring chances in the third but Crawford stood tall. Defenseman Jan Rutta helped Crawford out on one of Minnesota’s chances by clearing a loose puck in the crease.
Minnesota finished 3-3-0 on its six-game homestand. The Wild now leave town for a four-game road trip, beginning Monday in Boston.
Chicago returns home to host Montreal on Sunday, the fourth back-to-back already this season for the Blackhawks.
The first time these teams met this season yielded quite a bit more scoring. Minnesota won that game by a 5-2 final back on Oct. 12 in Chicago.
NOTES: Wild D Kyle Quincey returned to the ice after sitting out the last two games as a healthy scratch. Quincey skated alongside Mike Reilly on Minnesota’s third defensive pairing. … Chicago is now 1-2-1 in the first game of back-to-backs this season. … LW Zach Parise, D Gustav Olofsson and C Landon Ferraro were scratches for the Wild on Saturday. … D Gustav Forsling, C Tanner Kero and D Jordan Oesterle were Chicago’s scratches.
DENVER — Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Stephen Curry had 22 points and 11 assists, and the Golden State Warriors routed the Denver Nuggets 127-108 on Saturday night.
Draymond Green had 15 points, eight assists and seven assists and Klay Thompson scored 15 points for Golden State, which has won three straight and six of its last seven.
Will Barton had 21 points and eight rebounds and Emmanuel Mudiay scored 15 points for Denver, which lost the second game of a home back-to-back. No Nuggets starter scored in double figures.
The Warriors (7-3) blitzed the Nuggets with a dominant third quarter. Denver had owned the quarter its previous four games, outscoring opponents 146-78, but the Warriors turned the tables, outscoring the Nuggets 43-21 in the third.
It was the most points Denver has allowed in a quarter this season, and it couldn’t match the Warriors’ offense. The Nuggets made nine shots and committed seven turnovers. Golden State was 16 of 23 from the field and hit 6 of 11 3-pointers.
The Warriors outscored the Nuggets 27-6 during a stretch where it turned a five-point lead into an 87-61 advantage halfway through the quarter.
The Nuggets (5-5) called two timeouts to try to stop the run but couldn’t turn the momentum. Curry converted a four-point play with a 3-pointer and a free throw, and Durant scored 13 points in the quarter.
Durant hit three free throws with 32 seconds left in the third to make it 103-74 and then watched the fourth quarter on the bench with Curry.
The Warriors have been guilty of slow starts this season but took a 36-23 lead after the first quarter.
Denver’s second unit sparked a run in the second quarter that wiped out a 13-point deficit and gave the Nuggets a 47-41 lead. Golden State started the quarter 1 of 13 from the field but got hot in the last five minutes to lead 60-55 at intermission.
NOTES: Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo sat behind the Warriors’ bench. He coached Denver SG Gary Harris and Golden State PF Draymond Green in college. …Golden State coach Steve Kerr said he regretted using offensive language toward a referee in Thursday’s win over San Antonio. “That was embarrassing,” he told reporters at Saturday morning’s shootaround. “My daughter sent me the meme of it. It was all over the Internet. I just hung my head in shame.” … Nuggets F Juancho Hernangomez (mononucleosis) has started practicing but is still not close to returning. … Golden State G Shaun Livingston was inactive for rest.
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