Two Western Conference Finals games Friday and both road favorites left winners. NHL: Vegas pushed Colorado to the brink with a 3-1 Game 2 win at Ball Arena; Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev (two goals) scored in the third period. Cale Makar missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury and the Avalanche offense visibly dried up; a 45-game scoring streak (consecutive games with at least one goal in regulation) ended. Golden Knights take a 2-0 stranglehold heading home to T-Mobile Arena for Game 3 Sunday. Knights are now near pick-em to win the Cup. NBA: Oklahoma City took a 2-1 series lead with a 123-108 Game 3 road win at Frost Bank Center; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 26/12ast led the way, but the headline was the OKC bench dropping 76 points (the franchise's highest playoff bench output since relocating to OKC in 2008-09). Jared McCain 24 off the bench. Thunder trailed 15-0 early and never panicked. Wembanyama 26 for SAS. Game 4 at Frost Bank Center Sunday 5/24. Tonight (Saturday 5/23): NHL CAR-MTL G2 at PNC Arena + NBA NYK-CLE G3 at Rocket Arena; both home teams trying to defend court after dropping the openers.
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