Morning Box Score: Blackhawks Escape Elimination In OT
By Tim Bearden in News on Apr 22, 2012 2:30PM
The series has been a battle since Game 1, and Game 5 was no different. Jonathan Toews scored the game-winning goal in overtime to extend the Hawks' series against the Coyotes to Game 6. Gilbert Brule of the Coyotes scored early in the second period to give Phoenix the lead, but Nick Leddy scored midway through the third to tie the game, which help extend it into overtime. It was a defensive battle throughout the game and the Hawks, even though outmatched physically, found a way to win in OT thanks to Captain Toews, which Quenneville was looking for all along from his top line. The Hawks' win helps bring the series back to Chicago with the hopes of extending the series to seven.
The Bulls were good from the beginning, outscoring Dallas 21-8 in the first period. Derrick Rose came back after missing three straight games with an ankle injury, but didn't light up the court the same way Luol Deng did. Deng had 22 points against the Mavericks and sank a couple three-pointers late in the game to keep the Bulls on top. Rose had 11 points in 32 minutes. The Bulls now have a 2 1/2 game lead on Miami and still need to beat Cleveland and Indiana to secure the number one seed in the playoffs over the Heat.
The Cubs won their fourth game of the season Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds to extend their record to 4-11. Paul Maholm snapped a six-game losing streak for his first win in nine months, which helped the Cubs snap their own six game skid. First baseman Bryan LaHair hit a sacrifice fly in the first to tie the game at one and the Cubs drove in four runs in the second to secure the lead. Starlin Castro had a double and a triple in the win against the Reds. Darwin Barney and Steve Clevenger each had three hits in the Cubs victory Saturday. Castro still committed two errors, extending his error streak to seven, but the Cubs still pulled ahead for the "W."