It’s over. Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought ended with an electrifying 93-89 victory over Golden State to give the Cavaliers their first NBA title. The Cavs are also the first NBA team to rally from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals.
As usual, LeBron James led the way and was a unanimous choice as NBA Finals MVP. James became the third player in league history to record a triple-double in a championship Game 7, joining Jerry West and James Worthy of the Lakers. James finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Kyrie Irving added 26 points and six rebounds. He hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 53 seconds left.
Draymond Green was high man for the Warriors with 32 points and 15 boards. But league MVP Stephen was held to 17 points on six of 19 shooting. Klay Thompson added 14 for the Warriors, who set a league record with 73 regular-season wins but were denied a second straight NBA title. Cleveland had been without a championship in the four major sports since the Browns won the NFL title in 1964. As NBA Commissioner Adam Silver put it during the award ceremony, “The curse is over.”
. James accepted his trophy from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after Cleveland beat Golden State 93-89 in Game 7, saying: “This is what I came back for.” James returned to Cleveland, the team he broke in with, after winning two NBA titles and two finals MVPs with the Miami Heat in 2023 and 2024. He has played in six straight NBA Finals, two with Cleveland. Said teammate Kyrie Irving of James: “Best player on the planet.”
In baseball, in the American League, Boston topped Seattle 2-1, Minnesota won against the Yankees 7-4, Kansas City edged Detroit 2-1 in 13 innings, the Angels blanked Oakland 2-0, Baltimore bested Toronto 11-6, and Cleveland slid past the White Sox 3-2 in 10 innings.
In the National League, Atlanta shut out the Mets 6-0, Arizona beat Philadelphia 5-1, the Dodgers won against Milwaukee 2-1, San Diego doubled up Washington 6-3, Miami blanked Colorado 3-0, and it was the Cubs over Pittsburgh 10-5.
In interleague play, San Francisco bested Tampa Bay 5-1, Houston shut out Cincinnati 6-0, and it was Texas over St. Louis 5-4.
Julio Teheran tossed a one-hit masterpiece and did not allow any other baserunners, pitching the Atlanta Braves to a 6-0 victory that capped their surprising three-game sweep of the scuffling New York Mets. Freddie Freeman matched his career high with four hits as the Braves finally mustered some offense for Teheran, who yielded only Michael Conforto’s clean single leading off the third inning.
Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a mid-back strain. The 8-4 Chatwood left Saturday’s start at Miami after 1 2/3 innings because of the injury. He has made 14 starts this season after returning from his second Tommy John surgery.
Dustin Johnson earned his first major title with a three-shot victory in the 116th U.S. Open. The long-hitting Johnson shot a final-round 1-under 69 to win at Oakmont. Scott Piercy, Jim Furyk and Shane Lowry tied for second. He finished four under for the tourney — just one of four players to post sub-par scores for the Open. That was even being assessed a one-shot penalty following his round for slightly moving his ball on the fifth green.
After finishing in a tie after 72 holes Carlotta Ciganda and Sei Young Kim needed an extra hole to determine the winner of the Meijer (MY’-ur) LPGA Classic. The duo completed play at 17-under and on the first playoff hole Kim was the winner. The win is the second of the year for Kim and fifth in her career. In playoffs she is 3-0. Defending champion Lexi Thompson had a 1-over-72 on the last round to finish three shots back of the lead.
