Shoutbox » Panthers (16-21-6) outshot Montreal 16-10 in the final frame,

INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George spent much of Friday worried about whether hed be suspended for Game 7 against Atlanta. Not a chance. Less than an hour after wrapping up practice, an NBA spokesman confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that league officials reviewed the tapes from Thursday nights altercation and determined none of the players who stepped onto the court would be punished for the decisive game of this first-round series. It was no surprise to the Pacers. "Were planning for him to be here until were told hes not going to be in there," coach Frank Vogel said shortly before the decision was made public. "I think he stayed in the vicinity of the bench." Players who leave the "vicinity" of the bench during a fracas can be suspended under league rules. Few, including Stu Jackson, the leagues former disciplinarian, expected that to happen with George, who took two slow, short steps onto the court before he was pushed back by assistant coach Popeye Jones. Jackson wrote on Twitter that he didnt expect the league to suspend George, Indianas best player and an All-Star starter. Losing George would have been a major blow to the Pacers comeback hopes. George has topped 20 points in all six games, has double-doubles in five of them and has been the one Pacers defender able to slow down quick, shifty Hawks guard Jeff Teague. And it was George and David West who saved the Pacers season with a late Thursday night in Atlanta, too. All the leagues best regular season home team must do now to reach the second round and avoid the distinction of becoming the sixth No. 1 seed in league history to be eliminated in the first round is protect its home court. Lately, thats been a problem. "My thing is that three of the last four times weve played these guys (in Indy), they built 20-point leads and beat us pretty good," Vogel said. "So I dont think anyone from this team can think were going to be OK just because were back home." The eighth-seeded Hawks understand. They had a chance to wrap up the best-of-seven series at home and rallied from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter to take a five-point lead late in the fourth. Yet they still lost. "Weve responded well all year when weve been in difficult situations," coach Mike Budenholzer said Friday. "Part of our response is going to have to be better execution. I think we have a lot of positive reference points from all year. Our group has been very good and very resilient. I have a lot of confidence in our group." But this is going to be different. The Pacers, who spent all season chasing the Eastern Conferences top seed, expect a raucous crowd for the first Game 7 to be played at home in the franchises NBA history. Plus, they appeared to find a defensive solution to Atlantas spread offence by going small in Game 6. The Hawks, meanwhile, have only a day to adjust to Vogels new rotations and are on their own historic quest. A win Saturday would give Atlanta the distinction of having the fewest regular-season wins (38) of any second-round team since Detroits 36-win team beat Milwaukee in the first round of the 1976 playoffs, according to STATS. "Weve won on that floor before, so we know we can do it," Teague said. "We just have to go out there and do what we do and play our style of basketball, and it will take care of itself." George has plenty of motivation after a stressful week that included ceding home-court advantage for the second time in the series, losing his 2014 All-Star ring in a burglary that took place while he was playing Game 5, two elimination games and speculation that his 24th birthday celebration might be marred by the announcement of a one-game suspension. Theres only one thing that really would help him relax -- getting a second straight win and setting up Nike Shox Outlet Clearance . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. Wholesale Nike Shox Shoes . Correia pitched six innings of one-run ball, Eduardo Escobar homered, and the Minnesota Twins pulled away late to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-3 on Saturday. http://www.cheapnikeshoxireland.com/ . Plata blasted a rising shot to the upper left corner for his team-leading seventh goal of the season. He got the kick after referee Allen Chapman ruled Chris Tierney fouled John Stertzer in the penalty area. Nike Shox Clearance Wholesale . 1 status and was unable to prevent a late season collapse, James Reimer said he wants to put the past behind him and is looking forward to spending the next two years in a Maple Leaf uniform. Nike Shox Cheap Wholesale . The Detroit Tigers closer blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night against the Dodgers.NEW YORK -- When the ball went up, Brian McCann thought it was the second out of the inning. And when it came down, the Yankees had a three-game sweep. Jacoby Ellsbury got four hits and scored the winning run in the ninth on McCanns pop-fly single that dropped near three Cincinnati Reds in shallow right field, giving New York a 3-2 victory Sunday. "Ill take it, for sure," McCann said with a laugh. "I saw that everybody was looking at each other. So there was a chance, and luckily for us it fell." Ellsbury and Derek Jeter each had an RBI single in the fifth inning for the Yankees. Hiroki Kuroda outpitched Cincinnati ace Johnny Cueto and left with a 2-1 lead before Todd Fraziers tying homer off Dellin Betances in the eighth. Ellsbury also stole two bases and made a sliding catch in centre field that saved a run. "He can do anything on the baseball field. He showed all his tools today. He does this on a nightly basis," McCann said. Ellsbury reached safely all five times up, including a leadoff single in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman (0-3). Before that, left-handed hitters had been 1 for 18 with 12 strikeouts against the hard-throwing Cuban this season. Ellsbury got a great jump and swiped second without a throw. He reached third on a wild pitch before Chapman struck out Mark Teixeira with a 101 mph fastball. McCann, another left-handed batter, lifted a popup that barely reached the outfield grass behind first base. But with the infield playing in, Frazier and second baseman Skip Schumaker scurried back trying to get under the ball as Jay Bruce rushed in from right field. "It is anybodys ball," Frazier said. "If you can get to it, it is your ball." All three appeared to have a hard time finding it in the air, however, and the ball landed untouched. Ellsbury alertly saw what was happening and dashed home easily as McCann stood on first base with his arms raised. "You dont see that too often," Ellsbury said. "Its just a read that you have to make pretty quick." Chapman stared out toward shallow right field, where Frazier, Schumaker and Bruce were practically frozen in disbelief. "Just one of those things -- I thought I was under it and I was not," Frazier said. "By the time the ball was coming down it was already too late so, I made a mistake, turned my body the wrong way and, one of those things where I should have caught it." Centre fielder Billy Hamilton had trouble with the sun earlier, allowing Ellsburys seventh-inning flyy to fall for a double.dddddddddddd David Robertson (1-2) pitched a perfect ninth. It was New Yorks second walk-off win this season and the fifth game-ending hit for McCann -- his first since a home run for Atlanta against Houston on May 17, 2011. The 39-year-old Kuroda gave up three hits and no earned runs over 6 2-3 innings in his 200th major league appearance. "He was great," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Did a wonderful job today." After losing their sixth straight road game, a season high, the Reds are 2-5 without injured sluggers Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips. Cueto threw 112 pitches in five innings, matching his shortest start this season. "I felt really strong today," he said through a translator. "I would have kept going even with the amount of pitches I had." Frazier won a matchup of All-Stars when he lofted Betances full-count pitch into the left-field corner, just beyond the 318-foot sign. It was the first home run at Yankee Stadium for Frazier, who grew up about 85 miles away in Toms River, New Jersey. He pumped his fists at home plate and received hearty high-fives in the dugout. Betances has allowed two homers in 58 1-3 innings this season. "I think we were all a little bit shocked when it happened," Girardi said. Moments earlier, Schumaker made a costly baserunning mistake. He singled to start the inning and, with Frazier at the plate, took off trying to steal second before Betances began his delivery. The big right-hander stepped off the rubber, and Schumaker was tagged out after a long rundown. Schumaker, just off the seven-day concussion disabled list, had an RBI double with two outs in the fifth. It was Cincinnatis only hit in 22 at-bats with runners in scoring position during the series. "They just outplayed us," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "Some of the things that happened in the series (were) unfortunate." NOTES: Frazier, an All-Star third baseman this season, made his eighth start of the year at first and robbed Teixeira of a first-inning hit with a diving stop at the bag. ... Cincinnati is 3-8 in interleague games. ... Yankees RF Ichiro Suzuki snapped an 0-for-18 slump with a sixth-inning single. ... New York rookie Shane Greene (2-0, 1.32 ERA) starts Monday night against Texas RHP Miles Mikolas (0-2, 10.05). ... Mariano Riveras son, drafted by the Yankees in the 29th round last month, did not sign with the team before Fridays deadline. Mariano Rivera III was a sophomore starting pitcher at Iona last season. ' ' '