Today’s sports highlight in history:
In 1991, the Chicago Bulls won the first NBA championship in the team’s 25-year history with a 108-101 Game 5 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. MVP Michael Jordan scores 30 points, Scottie Pippen has 32 and John Paxson has 20.
On this date:
1920 — Man o’ War wins the Belmont Stakes, which was run at 1 3/8 miles, in 2:14 1/5. He breaks the world record by 3 1/5 seconds and sets the American dirt track record for that distance.
1930 – Max Schmeling beats Jack Sharkey on a fourth-round foul for the vacant heavyweight title in New York. Schmeling becomes the first German – and European – world heavyweight champion.
1939 – Byron Nelson wins the US Open in a three-way playoff with Craig Wood and Denny Shute.
1948 – Citation, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Belmont Stakes and Triple Crown with an eight-length victory over Better Self. It is Arcaro’s second Triple Crown. He set up Whirlaway in 1941.
1948 — Ben Hogan wins the U.S. Open with a record 276, five shy of Ralph Guldahl’s 1937 record.
1954 – Milwaukee Braves starting pitcher Jim Wilson throws the first no-hitter in County Stadium history to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0.
1979 — Bobby Orr becomes the youngest player in NHL history to be selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The 31-year-old is inducted months after officially ending his NHL career, as the Hall waives the usual three-year waiting period.
1981 – Larry Holmes defeats Leon Spinks in the third round for the WBC heavyweight title in Detroit.
1983 — Patty Sheehan wins the LPGA championship by two strokes over Sandra Haynie.
1984 – 38th NBA Championship: The Boston Celtics beat the LA Lakers 4 games to 3 to win the championship title.
1990 – Egypt, with a shot at 500-1, surprise the Netherlands when Magdi Abdel-Ghani takes a penalty with eight minutes remaining, drawing the World Cup favorites 1-1.
2002 – NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Jersey Nets 113-107 for a 4-0 sweep and third consecutive title; MVP: Shaquille O’Neal for the third consecutive Finals series.
2005 – Annika Sorenstam closes with a 1-over 73 for a three-stroke victory over Michelle Wie at the LPGA Championship. Wie, 15, shoots 69 to finish second. It’s the highest placing by an amateur in a major since 20-year-old Jenny Chuasiriporn lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak at the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open.
2008 – The Boston Celtics overcame a 24-point deficit and beat the Los Angeles Lakers 97-91 to take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals. No team overcame a deficit of more than 15 points after the first quarter, and the Celtics posted the biggest Finals comeback since 1971.
2009 – Pittsburgh’s Max Talbot scores two second-period goals as the Penguins beat the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 to win the Stanley Cup at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.
2011 – The Dallas Mavericks win their first NBA title by winning Game 6 of the Finals in Miami 105-95. Jason Terry scores 27 points and Dirk Nowitzki adds 21 as the Mavericks win four of the last five games in the series.
2013 – Andrew Shaw scores on a deflection in triple overtime to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins in a riveting Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Blackhawks scored third period goals from Dave Bolland and Oduya to erase a 3-1 deficit.
2016 – Sidney Crosby scores Kris Letang’s go-ahead goal midway through the second period and the Pittsburgh Penguins win the fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history by defeating the San Jose Sharks 3-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
2017 – Kevin Durant ends his spectacular first season with the Warriors by bringing home an NBA championship. Durant, who joined Golden State last July, scored 39 points in the final 129-120 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
2019 – Stanley Cup Final, TD Garden, Boston, MA: St. Louis Blues beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 for a 4-3 series win; first title in the history of the franchise.
2021 – Danish football midfielder Christian Eriksen suffers a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a Euro 2020 match with Finland in Copenhagen. Eriksen is revived with a defibrillator and the game remains controversial with Finland winning 1-0.
2023 – NBA Finals: Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 94-89 to win the franchise’s first championship; win the series 4-1; MVP: Denver C Nikola Jokic.
