Real-time unfolded in slow motion on Sunday night

Kawhi Leonard put up a jump shot from the corner and it caromed high off the rim. It hit the rim again, seeming to bound out the far side. Then it came down close enough to the inside of the cylinder, hit it twice more and dropped through the twine.

A buzzer-beating game winner to decide a series? Yep.

Leonard’s dramatic shot gave the Toronto Raptors a 92-90 win on the first buzzer-beater in a Game 7 in NBA history. Leonard led all scorers with 41 points.

In Sunday’s earlier game, the Portland Trail Blazers rode CJ McCollum’s 37 points to a 100-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Blazers trailed by as many as 17 in the second quarter. They now advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2000.

McCollum stepped up as team leader Damian Lillard struggled from the floor, hitting only 3 of 17 shots.

Also: The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to be ready to hire to the University of Michigan’s John Belein as their next head coach.

NHL:
The Boston Bruins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals series. Matt Grzelcyk scored twice for the winners.

The San Jose Sharks topped the St. Blues 5-2 on Saturday in Game 1 of their Western Conference series. They resume play on Monday night at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Elsewhere:
Sung Kang earned his first career PGA Tour victory, winning the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas, Texas. His 23-foot putt for birdie on the 15th hole gave him the lead for good on Sunday.

The Houston Astros stretched their winning streak to five games, the last four at the expense of Texas, sweeping the Rangers with a 15-5 victory on Sunday. George Springer hit two home runs for the Astros, who had a season-high 18 hits.

The Chicago Cubs won for the 12th time in 14 games, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1.

Oklahoma (49-2) was seeded No. 1 in the NCAA softball tournament.

Brad Keselowski won NASCAR’s Digital Ally 400 on Saturday night at Kansas Speedway.

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