A Sports Filled Weekend It Was

Basketball, they say, is a game of runs. And the Golden State Warriors went on a memorable one Sunday.

Down 25 points at home in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference finals, the Warriors scored 18 straight points in the third quarter and rallied for a 113-111 win over the San Antonio Spurs, who were never the same after forward Kawhi Leonard (26 points) left in the third quarter after aggravating an ankle injury.

Stephen Curry scored 40 points for the Warriors and Kevin Durant added 34 for the Warriors, who were down 20 at halftime.

“I think we were a little bit too relaxed,” Durant said. “Instead of taking the game, we let it come to us a little bit. I think that’s good sometimes, but against a team in the Western Conference finals, you just got to go.”

In the Eastern Conference, the Washington Wizards visit the Boston Celtics on Monday night for Game 7 of their series. The winner plays the Cleveland Cavaliers.

MLB: The New York Yankees retired former shortstop Derek Jeter’s No. 2 jersey, meaning every Yankees number from 1-10 is now immortalized. A large plaque bearing Jeter’s number also went up in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium, before the Yankees fell 10-7 to the Houston Astros for their fourth loss in five games…Yadier Molina homered twice as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-0 and relieved them of first place in the National League Central Division.

NHL: The Anaheim Ducks beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Sunday night to even their Western Conference finals series at 1-1. The Ottawa Senators, up 1-0 on the Pittsburgh Penguins, meet them again on Monday night in the ‘burgh.

ELSEWHERE: Si Woo Kim of South Korea, 21, became the youngest player to win The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Kim finished at 10-under par to top Ian Poulter and Louis Oosthuizen by three strokes. … Martin Truex Jr. won his second race of the season and first at Kansas Speedway, roaring off in the final restart with two laps left Saturday night in the Go Bowling 400…Brad Keselowski was second and Kevin Harvick third.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman