A Sports Filled Weekend It Was

The Boston Celtics barely had a chance with star guard Isaiah Thomas in the lineup? With him out for the rest of the playoffs because of a hip injury? Looked like an easy ride to the NBA Finals for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

So it seemed for the better part of three-quarters on Sunday night. Then the Celtics warmed to their task, erased a 21-point deficit and beat the Cavaliers 111-108 on Avery Bradley’s 3-pointer with one-tenth of a second left. Bradley’s shot bounced around the rim and dropped through, and the Celtics had cut the Cavaliers’ lead in the series to 2-1. Cleveland saw a 13-game playoff winning streak end.

The San Antonio Spurs have had less luck covering up the absences of guard Tony Parker and forward Kawhi Leonard. They trail the Golden State Warriors 3-0 with Game 4 on Monday night.

HORSE RACING: Cloud Computing won the Preakness Stakes after favorites Always Dreaming and Classic Empire dueled early for the lead. Always Dreaming, who won the Kentucky Derby, finished eighth; Classic Empire was fourth. No Triple Crown this year. The Belmont Stakes is June 10.

NHL: The Pittsburgh Penguins crushed the Ottawa Senators 7-0 on Sunday to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals series. The Nashville Predators lead the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in the Western Conference and close it out on Monday night to reach their first Stanley Cup finals.

ELSEWHERE: Billy Horschel won the AT&T Byron Nelson in Irving, Texas, beating Jason Day on the first playoff hole to pick up his first victory since winning the Tour Championship and the FedExCup in 2014. Horschel had missed the cut in four straight tournaments. … Scott Dixon posted a four-lap qualifying time of 232.164 mph, the fastest in 21 years, to win the pole for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. … Alexander Zverev beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 in the Italian Open. At 20, Zverev is the youngest winner of a Masters event since Djokovic in 2007. … The Texas Rangers had their 10-game winning streak stopped on Saturday in a 9-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers, who hit three solo home runs in the first inning. The Rangers started a new streak on Sunday, beating the Tigers 5-2.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman