Sports

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. And I wait all week to say: time for sports.

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SIMON: Finals time - on ice and the hardwood. The Heat and the Spurs are tied at two games each in the NBA Finals. And tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Boston Bruins in game two of hockey's Stanley Cup. Howard Bryant of ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine joins us from the studios of New England Public Radio in Amherst. Howard, thanks for being with us.

It's not often an 11-year-old boy gets to sing the national anthem twice during the NBA Finals.

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Now, to last night's spectacular performance in San Antonio.

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UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Green, bad pass stolen by Wade. Gets in and throws it down. He avoided two Spurs after the steal. What a performance from Dwyane Wade.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

With a 109-93 win, the Miami Heat evened their championship series against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night.

As The Miami Herald put it, the game served as a dazzling display for Miami's Big Three:

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Conventional wisdom holds that LeBron James of the Miami Heat is the best basketball player on the planet. But despite all that talent, he's had some struggles on the court, most notably now in the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. James has failed to crack 20 points in any of the three games so far and at times he's looked indecisive against a very good Spurs defense.

As NPR's Tom Goldman reports, tonight's game is a moment of truth, as LeBron James and the Heat try to even the series.

After being suspended less than two hours after the first players teed off, play is set to resume early Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Open golf championship, which this year is being held at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., outside Philadelphia. Heavy rains forced the delay.

The U.S. Open golf tournament gets underway Thursday near Philadelphia. Several inches of rain have soaked the course since last Friday. To preview the tournament, Linda Wertheimer talks to Christine Brennnan, a sports columnist for USA Today.