What Happened This Weekend

When the Cleveland Cavaliers need LeBron James to do it all, he responds.

James scored 45 points, had nine rebounds and seven assists and the Cavs topped the Indiana Pacers 105-101 Sunday in the seventh game of their first-round NBA playoff series. James left the court at the end of the third quarter with leg cramps, having already scored 38 points. His teammates (we didn’t know he had them, either) picked up the slack and helped hold off the comeback-minded Pacers.

In the first game of a second-round Western Conference series, the Houston Rockets pounded the Utah Jazz 110-96. James Harden scored 41 for the Rockets.

In a Game 7 on Saturday night, the Boston Celtics advanced by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 112-96. Also on Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors opened their second-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans with a 123-101 victory.

NHL: Kevin Fiala’s backhander gave the Nashville Predators a 5-4 win in double overtime over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday to even their series at 1-1. The Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1, knotting that series at a game apiece. The Boston Bruins went up 1-0 on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday with a 6-2 win while the San Jose Sharks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in double overtime to tie that series at a game apiece.

NASCAR: Joey Logano would be looking at a year without a win on Monday had he not triumphed on Sunday at Talladega in the GEICO 500. Logano had gone 36 races without a victory. Kurt Busch was second. “It feels so good to be back in Victory Lane,” Logano said. “There is no feeling like this.”

GOLF: Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy won the Zurich Classic at New Orleans. Horschel had been having a terrible season, missing five of six cuts at one point.

BASEBALL: The New York Yankees extended their winning streak to nine games, best in the game right now, by beating the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 on Sunday night. CC Sabathia pitched seven strong innings and Gary Sanchez hit a monster home run of 447 feet with Giancarlo Stanton on base for the team’s only runs. … The Boston Red Sox ended the Tampa Bay Rays’ eight-game winning streak, defeating them 4-3 and becoming the first MLB team to 20 victories.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman