The Sportsletter - Heat Stroke 🥵

BY JEFF YODER

MAY 30, 2023 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 👋

We hope you enjoyed your holiday break with some warm weather, cookouts, family, friends, and plenty of sports. Three days of racing, playoffs, tennis, golf and soccer produced a never-ending highlight reel, so we’ll do our best to recap the action.

From the Indy 500’s frenetic finish to locking down the NBA and Stanley Cup finalists, let’s catch you up on 96 hours of sports in about five minutes or less.

Letter Rip!

NBA PLAYOFFS

Heat Stroke 🥵

Image via Giphy

After Surrendering 3-0 Series Lead to Celtics, Heat Avoid Collapse, Catch Fire in Game 7 to Reach NBA Finals (103-84)

The Celtics almost did the unthinkable... Almost. The Eastern Conference Finals entered the holiday weekend with the Heat holding a 3-2 series lead over the Celtics. Miami watched their grip on the series continue to slip. Boston won its third straight game on Saturday night via Derrick White’s tip-in game-winner, forcing a Game 7 and setting the stage for the biggest comeback in NBA playoff lore. No team in NBA history had ever come back to win a series after trailing 3-0, and the Celtics were heading back to Boston with a shot. Almost...

Game 7: Jimmy Butler (28 points) and the Heat finally put the series to bed with a Game 7 runaway (103-84) and a sharpshooting performance for the ages. Miami shot 50 percent from beyond the arc (14-for-28, 3pt) while the Celtics were an ice-cold 21 percent (9-for-42, 3pt). Boston started the game 0-for-12 from deep, and the trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart shot a combined 3-for-19 from 3. That cold shooting start gave Miami control, and they never looked back. It was a wire-to-wire Game 7 closeout for Erik Spoelstra's squad, and the Heat, after sweating it out for four games, are officially heading to the NBA Finals for a showdown with the Denver Nuggets.

Eastern Conference Finals Highlights

Gm 6: Celtics def. Heat (104-103) | *White Game-Winner

Gm 7: Heat def. Celtics (103-84) | MIA Wins Series (4-3)

Game 7 Statistics

J. Butler (MIA): 28 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals

C. Martin (MIA): 26 points, 10 rebounds

J. Brown (BOS): 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 8 turnovers

J. Tatum (BOS): 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists

🔥 Heat of History (Miami's Incredible Playoff Run)

Lost 1st Play-In Game to Hawks
Beat Bulls for 8-Seed Play-In Game
Knocked Out 1-Seed Bucks in 5
Knocked Out 5-Seed Knicks in 6
Knocked Out 2-Seed Celtics in 7
1st Play-In Team to Reach NBA Finals
2nd 8-Seed to Ever Reach NBA Finals (1999 Knicks)

NBA Finals Schedule

Gm 1: Heat at Nuggets (Thursday, 8:30 pm ET)

B/R: Jimmy Butler Wins Eastern Conference Finals MVP (Video)

SI: The Heat Wouldn’t Have Had A Chance Without Caleb Martin

INDY 500

Newgarden Wins 1st Indy 500

Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Josef Newgarden Strikes Late in Crash-Filled, Chaotic Finish to 107th Indianapolis 500

The marquee event of Memorial Day Weekend did not disappoint. And at the end of 500 miles, a chaotic finish to the Indy 500 saw three red flags in the final 16 laps, one where tires and debris flew into the stands, and one driver stood alone at the yard of bricks. Josef Newgarden claimed his first Indianapolis 500 victory with a last-lap pass in the third red-flag restart of Sunday’s race. He used a stunning maneuver to jet past race leader Marcus Ericsson in a mad dash for the checkered flag. Ericsson, who was gunning for back-to-back Indy 500 wins, led for much of the late stages until the final-lap fireworks.

Red Flags of Race Day

The Indy 500 was pretty much smooth sailing for three-quarters of the race. With 16 laps to go, Felix Rosenqvist slid into the wall and Kyle Kirkwood clipped him from the side, sending Kirkwood’s back tire vaulting into the stands. Luckily, the tire missed the fans and only struck a car in the parking lot. That was the first of three red-flag restarts down the stretch. With 5 laps to go, race leader Pato O’Ward surrendered the lead before getting squeezed into the grass and causing more chaos...

An Epic Finish

Two more cars traded paint on the straightaway with 2 laps left, setting the stage for a shootout between Ericsson (1st) and Newgarden (2nd) in a final-lap, winner-take-all restart full of controversy. Newgarden quickly swiped the lead before Turn 1 and went full 'dragon move' down the final straightaway to avoid letting Ericsson grab any draft and momentum. He crossed the bricks and took his victory lap before jumping out of the car and going into the stands to celebrate face-to-face with the fans. Pure emotion for a 32-year-old driver who finally won the big one. It was the first win for Team Penske / Roger Penske since he purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2019. Newgarden also started the race in the 17th spot, the lowest starting position for an Indy 500 winner since Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014.

Indy 500 Results (Starting Position / Laps Led)

1. Josef Newgarden (17th / 5 Laps)

2. Marcus Ericsson (10th / 30 Laps)

3. Santino Ferrucci (4th / 11 Laps)

4. Alex Palou (1st / 36 Laps)

5. Alexander Rossi (7th / 4 Laps)

Watch: 2023 Indianapolis 500 Highlights

Motorsport: How Newgarden Rose to be a Thorn in Ericsson’s Double Indy 500 Bid

Racer: Newgarden Says Late ‘Dragon Move’ A Necessary Evil

Yahoo! Sports: Indy 500 Fan Whose Car Was Hit by Flying Tire Gets Brickyard Visit, Ride Home

NHL PLAYOFFS

Vegas, Victors of the West

Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images

Golden Knights Blow Out Stars in Game 6 (6-0) to Reach Stanley Cup Finals

Leave no doubt! Much like the Heat, the Golden Knights saw a 3-0 series lead start to dwindle in the West Finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Stars won Game 5 on Saturday (4-2) to force a Game 6 on Memorial Day, but this one was never in question. Vegas blanked Dallas in Game 6 (6-0) after scoring three goals in the first 14 minutes and demoralizing the Stars on their home ice. William Karlsson (2 goals, 1 assist) was the offensive catalyst while Vegas goaltender Adin Hill (18 saves) delivered his second shutout of the series. Vegas is heading back to the Cup Finals against the underdog Florida Panthers.

Coming Back for the Cup: In Year 6 after the franchise’s inception (2017-18), the Golden Knights are making their second Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Vegas went to the Finals in that inaugural season before losing to the Capitals. Now, they’re back with another shot at the franchise’s first Cup.

Western Conference Finals Highlights

Gm 5: Stars def. Golden Knights (4-2)

Gm 6: Golden Knights def. Stars (6-0) | VGK Wins Series (4-2)

Stanley Cup Finals Schedule

Gm 1: Panthers at Golden Knights (Saturday, 8:00 pm ET)

NHL: 2023 Stanley Cup Finals Primer: Golden Knights vs. Panthers

TENNIS

French Open 1st Round

Photo: Tim Clayton-Corbis / Getty Images

Alcaraz, Djokovic & More Cruise Through Round 1 at Roland-Garros

Tennis is back in the spotlight as the next major is underway from France. The French Open began on Monday with top seeds advancing unscathed. Only two of the top-10 seeds (both men and women) went down in Round 1, and they were both No. 10 seeds — #10 Felix Auger-Aliassime and #10 Petra Kvitova. We’ll have full coverage from Roland-Garros as the tournament progresses over the next two weeks.

French Open Highlights

M: #1 C. Alcaraz def. F. Cobolli (6-0, 6-2, 7-5)

M: #3 N. Djokovic def. A. Kovacevic (6-3, 6-2, 7-6)

W: S. Stephens def. #16 K. Pliskova (6-0, 6-4)

Today’s Top Matches

M: #2 D. Medvedev vs. T. Seyboth-Wild (6:00 am ET)

W: #6 C. Gauff vs. R. Masarova (6:00 am ET)

W: #1 I. Swiatek vs. C. Bucsa (8:00 am ET)

USA Today: Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff Finally Get Started on Day 3 at Roland Garros

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

⚾️ MLB: Hendriks Returns for ChiSox After Cancer

Amid a full weekend of highlights from the diamond, one moment stood tall. White Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks made a short late-game appearance to a standing ovation after making his return from a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The White Sox lost to the Angels (6-4).

🏀 WNBA: Fever End WNBA’s Longest Losing Streak

The Indiana Fever ended their two-season losing streak at 20 games — dating back to last season — with Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Dream (90-87). Indiana’s 20-game skid was tied for the WNBA record.

⛳️ PGA: Grillo Wins After Floating Ball Fiasco

The Charles Schwab Challenge was won by Emiliano Grillo (-8) in a playoff with Adam Schenk (-8) after one of his shots floated down a stream for more than five minutes. It was the 30-year-old Argentinian’s second career PGA Tour victory, but his first in nearly eight years.

🏎️ NASCAR: Blaney Takes Delayed Coca-Cola 600

Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 was rain-delayed into Memorial Day before Ryan Blaney held on to the lead following multiple late restarts similar to the Indy 500. Blaney snapped a 59-race winless streak, and he earned the second holiday weekend win for Team Penske.

NEWS 📰