Elvis Andrus’s RBI single with two outs completed the Rangers’ final-inning comeback, ending the game with a 7-6 win over the Kansas City Royals.
The Royals were up 6-5 in the top of the ninth, following a sacrifice-fly RBI by Alcides Escobar, but the Rangers rallied when Nelson Cruz tied the score with a single home run. Mike Napoli then singled, and ran home under the attempted tag of Brayan Pena.
“I thought they might hold me,” Napoli said. “But when they tell me to go, I go. I was caught in-between, and I had to do something there. I was going to try to kick it out of his glove. I thought that was my best chance.”
Meanwhile,
the Miami Heat surged past the Chicago Bulls to advance to the NBA finals. The final three minutes saw a 77-65 deficit to Chicago, but Miami’s Big Three stepped up to end the series at 4-1.
James missed nine shots in a row before dominating at the end of the game, leading the Heat with 28 points.
Of the win, James said “Defense. Staying together. Just buckled down defensively and executed.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said “We’ve had several of these games, in the playoffs and the regular season where we’ve finished with our defense on 12-0, 14-0 runs. We’ve been through a lot together. We’ve been through the fire together.”
In the Western Conference,
the Dallas Mavericks rallied in the fourth quarter to overcome an eight point deficit, ending the game with a 100-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder for a spot in the NBA finals.
Nowitzki said of the Thunder “They played a small lineup and really tried to jumo the game up. They drilled us on transition all night long and you’ve got to give them credit. They left it all out there today. We just had to get some stops down the stretch. We finally got away with a little zone, a little man-to-man, and got some stops. That was big.”
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said “All of us, including all of our fans, believe. We believe in each other. This is a great moment but we’ve got a lot of work left.”
