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What Dallas, Edmonton mayors are wagering for Stars-Oilers meeting in West finals
Stars’ Jim Nill named finalist for Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award
The NHL’s Western Conference finals have arrived.
Game 1 between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at American Airlines Center. Dallas secured its spot in this round by eliminating Colorado in six games, while Edmonton advanced by defeating Vancouver in seven.
Can the Stars make the most of home ice to open this round of postseason action?
Follow along below for live updates, game coverage and more from our writers and photographers on scene at AAC.
Stars’ expected lines:
Robertson-Johnston-Stankoven
Marchment-Duchene-Pavelski
Benn-Seguin-Dadonov
Faksa-Steel-Smith
Harley-Heiskanen
Lindell-Tanev
Suter-Petrovic
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Oettinger
— Longtime friends Jim Nill, Ken Holland reunite as dueling GMs in Stars-Oilers series
— Stars forward Roope Hintz remains out of lineup for Game 1 of Western Conference finals
— Stars coach Pete DeBoer has respect of team, opponents: ‘The type of guy you cheer for’
— Dallas rallying around Stars, Mavs during conference finals runs: ‘The city is buzzing’
— What Dallas, Edmonton mayors are wagering for Stars-Oilers meeting in West finals
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
The first match for FC Dallas under interim manager Luccin was a rollercoaster of a win.
Last Sunday, FC Dallas announced the departure of third-year manager Nico Estévez after a start to the season that saw them second from bottom in the MLS’ Western Conference and without a singular road win.
Looking for a new manager bounce on Saturday, and their first win since May 12, FC Dallas got that with a 2-0 win over fellow Western Conference bottom dweller St. Louis City SC.
The win was far from pretty, as with just 20 minutes gone in the match, St. Louis’ midfielder Célio Pompeu suffered a gruesome ankle injury that stopped the match for multiple minutes. Pompeu left the field on a stretcher and with an air cast affixed to his foot. Both sides were visibly shaken afterward.
FC Dallas gets first win under interim manager Peter Luccin
In the 28th minute, FC Dallas’ Paul Arriola went down after a physical challenge in the St. Louis penalty area, winning a penalty kick. FCD’s Jesús Ferreira stepped up to bury the penalty past St. Louis’ Roman Bürki.
The same St. Louis defender that gave up the penalty, Joakim Nilsson, left the match in the 36th minute shortly after he pulled up with a hamstring injury.
In the second half, FCD was thoroughly outplayed by St. Louis, having to bunker in and rely on keeper Maarten Paes to make heroic save after save to keep the visitors at bay and their narrow one-goal lead intact. Through the 2024 season, Paes has been incredibly reliable in goal, despite FCD’s poor form.
Against the run of play, FC Dallas’s record-signing Petar Musa found the back of the net in the 72nd minute, only for the goal to be ruled out after a brief VAR review.
St. Louis struggled to take advantage of their stranglehold of possession for the remainder of the second half. Spurning chance after chance, with seldom opportunities coming for FCD on the break. That was until the 81st minute when FCD defender Nkosi Tafari headed in a cross for Dallas’ second goal on the evening. Tafari after scoring sprinted over to the FCD touchline and celebrated with interim manager Peter Luccin.
FC Dallas’ win on the season brings them to 17 points — one shy of St. Louis’ 18 — and more importantly, starts Luccin’s reign on a positive note.
The real test for FC Dallas will come this upcoming Wednesday when they face Minnesota United at Toyota Stadium. Minnesota is in third place in the Western Conference. The last time the two clubs matched up was former manager Estévez’s final game in charge, ending in a 1-1 draw at Allianz Field.
Find more FC Dallas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
DALLAS – Dallas police are investigating an early morning shooting in the popular Bishop Arts District on Saturday.
Officers responded to a shooting just before 3 a.m. at the corner of N Madison and W 8th Street.
A male victim was shot in the leg and was taken to the hospital with what police say are non-life threatening injuries.
The suspect left the location before police arrived.
Police say the shooting is under investigation.
When you send the series back to Boston.
THE LINEUP 🏀
What’s inside today’s edition?
Start To Finish: Dallas opened the game hot and never cooled off in a 38-point win
Luka Leads The Way: After fouling out of Game 3, Doncic drove Dallas in Game 4
Dallas Defense: How the Mavs held the Celtics to a season-low 84 points
All-Access: Go behind-the-scenes from Game 4 with our on-the-ground correspondents
Game 4 Frames: Some of our favorite photos from Friday in Dallas
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Game 4 and the remaining Finals schedule …
It’s a travel day as the NBA Finals shift back to Boston for Game 5 on Monday night. Stay tapped in on the NBA App for the latest news and exclusive access all weekend.
Trivia Time: Test your knowledge with today’s NBA Play: Expert Mode challenge, and list the five all-time leaders in Finals 3-pointers made.
1. MAVS DOMINATE FROM START TO FINISH
In Game 3, Dallas got off to a hot start, building a 13-point lead midway through the 1st quarter before the Mavs cooled off, and the Celtics regained their poise and got back in the game.
In Game 4, with their season on the line, the Dallas hot start never stopped.
Their 13-point lead after the 1st quarter became 20, then 30, then 40, before ending with the third-highest margin of victory in Finals history (+38) in a 122-84 win over Boston. | Recap
Lively II (11 pts, 12 reb) posted his second straight double-double, joining Magic Johnson (5x in 1980) as the only players to record multiple double-doubles in the NBA Finals before turning 21 years old.
At the half, the Mavs had doubled their 13-point first-quarter lead to 26 and still didn’t let up after the break. Just 48 hours earlier, the Mavs had gone on a 22-2 run in just five minutes to erase a 20+ point lead, so they kept their foot on the gas.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Mavs had racked up 122 points (after being held under 100 in each of the first three games) and had only allowed 84 points — tying Boston’s lowest mark under Mazzulla.
Teams often preach playing for 48 minutes. With their season on the line, the Mavs delivered one of the most dominant 48 minutes in NBA Finals history.
2. LUKA LEADS MAVS TO SEASON-SAVING WIN
All Luka Doncic could do was watch.
With the Mavs’ season on the line 48 hours later, how would the scoring champ respond to lowest-scoring game in a month, and his first Playoff foul-out?
The answer: quickly.
Doncic hit three of Dallas’ first four buckets of the game, finishing the 1st quarter with 13 points as the Mavs built a lead of the same amount — on the way to a game-high 29 pts with 5 reb, 5 ast & 3 stl.
Luka and the Mavs kept rolling in the 2nd quarter, with Doncic adding another dozen points to give him 25 at the half, along with four assists and three rebounds.
Luka added four more points, two steals and one half-court alley-oop dime to Daniel Gafford in the 3rd quarter before exiting the game for good with 1:29 left in the period.
Once again, all Luka could do was watch. This time for the final 13:29 of game time, after he and the Mavs had built a historic lead (+48), accomplishing their mission to keep the season alive.
3. DALLAS DEFENSE STANDS UP
In the regular season, the Celtics boasted an offensive rating of 122.2, the highest in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98).
In Game 4 of the Finals, the Mavericks held the Cs to a season-low 84 points with one of the best defensive efforts by any team this season.
Blitzing Boston from the start, the Mavs entered the break up 61-35, marking the fewest points Boston has scored in a half since Joe Mazzulla took over as head coach.
Leading the way? The scoring champ and the Mavs’ 20-year-old rook.
All-Around Effort: Boston entered the night with a 113.6 offensive rating in the Finals, but Dallas held that mark to 87.5 in Game 4.
4. ALL-ACCESS PASS TO GAME 4
Game 4 Like Never Before: Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski and Content Creator Jenna Bandy served as NBA Correspondents for Game 4 in Dallas, where they experienced the electricity of the Finals.
Dive deeper with Podz, Jenna and our All-Access team, from watching shootaround alongside 2024 NBA Draft prospect Alex Sarr to hearing Luka’s immediate thoughts after the win.
5. OUR FAVORITE FRAMES FROM GAME 4
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