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NBA playoffs, French Open, Champions League finale, Indy 500 pack sports schedule

The New York Rangers will face the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Stanley Cup playoff series Saturday in New York. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI
1 of 5 | The New York Rangers will face the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Stanley Cup playoff series Saturday in New York. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo

MIAMI, May 27 (UPI) -- The NBA conference finals, the Champions League soccer final and the 2022 Indianapolis 500 lead this weekend's sports slate. Third- and fourth-round French Open tennis matches and NHL playoffs also highlight the slate.

Dozens of regular-season MLB and MLS games, a PGA Tour golf tournament, a trio of NASCAR races and Formula 1's Monaco Grand Prix also air Friday through Sunday.

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Boxing fans can even tune in Saturday for a title fight between lightweights Gervonta Davis and Rolando Romero.

But the basketball and hockey postseasons, the finale of Europe's most prestigious soccer tournament and the premier IndyCar event will be the main draws.

NBA conference finals

The Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday in Miami. They now have a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

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Game 6 will tip off at 8:30 p.m. EDT Friday in Boston. The Celtics can clinch a spot in the NBA Finals with another win. A Heat victory would force a Game 7, which would be Sunday in Miami. The conclusion of the Heat-Celtics series will air on ESPN.

"If you want to break through and punch a ticket to the Finals, you're going to have to do some ridiculously tough stuff," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters Wednesday.

"Getting on to Boston and figuring that out collectively, those are the emotions and the breakthroughs that you have to remember the rest of your life."

The winner of the series will face the Golden State Warriors next week in the NBA Finals.

Indy 500

The 106th edition of the Indianapolis 500 will air Sunday on NBC. Coverage will start at 11 a.m. EDT from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which holds more than 300,000 racing fans. The green flag is expected to wave at 12:45 p.m. to signal the start of the race.

Pole winner Scott Dixon is the favorite. Pato O'Ward, Rinus VeeKay, Josef Newgarden and Will Power are among other expected contenders for the 200-lap event. Defending champ Helio Castroneves also is in the 33-car field, but will start 27th.

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Champions League

Spanish La Liga winner Real Madrid will battle Liverpool, of England's Premier League, in the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League Final on Saturday at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France.

Liverpool is favored to capture the crown. The game will start at 3 p.m. EDT and air on CBS.

Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in the 2017-18 Champions League Final. Madrid has a record 13 titles overall at the tournament. Liverpool claimed its sixth Champions League title in 2019.

Madrid staged a vicious comeback to beat Manchester City in the Champions League semifinals to advance to Saturday's finale. The Spanish league title winners also beat defending Champions League champion Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain en route to Saint-Denis.

Liverpool beat Villarreal, Benfica and Inter Milan in the knockout rounds to reach the Final.

"If we would only take the last 10 minutes of all the last knockout stage matches [Madrid] had, then you would say they are pretty much unbeatable, clear, no chance," Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told reporters Wednesday.

"The comebacks they had are really special. But these games were all longer than only these last 10 minutes and obviously they had to come back in moments, that is like it is."

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Weekend schedule (all times EDT)

Friday

Tennis

French Open: Third round from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tennis Channel

Golf

Charles Schwab Challenge: Second round from 4 to 7 p.m. on Golf Channel

MLB

Orioles at Red Sox at 7 p.m. on Apple TV+

Blue Jays at Angels at 8 p.m. on Apple TV+

Stanley Cup playoffs

Game 6: Avalanche at Blues at 8 p.m. on TNT

NASCAR

Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at 8:30 p.m. on FS1

NBA playoffs

Game 6: Heat at Celtics at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday

Tennis

French Open: Third round from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tennis Channel; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC; 2 to 6 p.m. on Peacock

NASCAR

Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 at 1 p.m. on FS1

Soccer

Champions League: Real Madrid vs. Liverpool at 3 p.m. on CBS

MLS: San Jose at LAFC at 6 p.m. on TUDN/Twitter

MLS: Columbus at Atlanta at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

MLS: DC United at New York Red Bulls at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

MLS: Chicago at Toronto at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

MLS: Cincinnati at Montreal at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+

MLS: Philadelphia at New England at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+

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MLS: Dallas at Orlando at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+

MLS: Portland at Miami at 8 p.m. on ESPN+

MLS: NYCFC at Minnesota at 8 p.m. on ESPN+

MLS: Nashville at Colorado at 9 p.m. on ESPN+

MLS: Vancouver at Kansas City at 9 p.m. on ESPN+

MLS: Houston at Salt Lake at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN+

MLB

Guardians at Tigers at 4 p.m. on FS1

Dodgers at Diamondbacks at 7 p.m. on Fox

Phillies at Mets at 7 p.m. on Fox

Cubs at White Sox at 7 p.m. on Fox

Golf

Charles Schwab Challenge: Third round from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on CBS

Stanley Cup playoffs

Game 6: Hurricanes at Rangers at 8 p.m. on ESPN

Boxing

Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero at 11:30 p.m. on Showtime

Sunday

Tennis

French Open: Fourth round from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tennis Channel; noon to 6 p.m. on Peacock

Formula 1

Monaco Grand Prix at 9 a.m. on ESPN

IndyCar

Indianapolis 500 at 11 a.m. on NBC

MLB

Giants at Reds at 11:30 a.m. on Peacock

Phillies at Mets at 7 p.m. on ESPN

Golf

Charles Schwab Challenge: Final round from 2 to 6:30 p.m. on CBS

Soccer

MLS: Austin at Los Angeles Galaxy at 6 p.m. on TUDN/Twitter

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MLS: Charlotte at Seattle at 9:30 p.m. on FS1

Stanley Cup playoffs

Game 7 (if necessary): Blues at Avalanche at 8 p.m. on TNT

NASCAR

Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at 6 p.m. on Fox

NBA playoffs

Game 7 (if necessary): Celtics at Heat at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN

Moments from the French Open tennis tournament

Rafael Nadal of Spain holds his trophy after his French Tennis Open's final match against Casper Ruud of Norway, at Roland Garros, outside Paris, France, on Sunday, June 5, 2022. Nadal won the title 6-3, 6-3, 6-0. Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo

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