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NBA Finals, Belmont Stakes, golf tourneys, NHL playoffs fill weekend sports schedule

American Phil Mickelson tees off in the first round of the LIV Golf Invitational London on Thursday in Hemel Hempstead, England. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
1 of 5 | American Phil Mickelson tees off in the first round of the LIV Golf Invitational London on Thursday in Hemel Hempstead, England. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

MIAMI, June 10 (UPI) -- The NBA Finals, rival LIV Golf and PGA Tour tournaments, and the Stanley Cup playoffs lead this weekend's sports schedule. The Belmont Stakes, final leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, also will air.

Two UFC title fights, dozens of MLB and professional soccer games, two NASCAR races and a Formula 1 race in Azerbaijan offer even more variety.

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But the NBA's postseason finale and the big horse race likely will be the most-watched events.

The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. They now have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

NBA Finals

The Celtics will host the Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at 9 p.m. EDT Friday at TD Garden in Boston. ABC will air any remaining games.

The Celtics took control of the series when they won Game 1 in San Francisco. Their win Wednesday in Boston eliminated the Warriors' home court advantage, if the series goes to seven games.

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"We're on the road in a must-win Game 4," Warriors guard Stephen Curry told reporters Wednesday. "We had a must-win game after a tough one in Game 1. And we got Game 2. The flow, obviously we still feel like we can win the series. Got to come out with the right intensity and focus in Game 4."

Curry leads all players with 31.3 points per game in the series. Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum averaged 22.7 and 22 points, respectively, through the first three games.

Game 5 will be Monday in San Francisco. Game 6, if necessary, will be Thursday in Boston. Game 7 could be held June 19 in San Francisco.

Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes, the finale of horse racing's Triple Crown, will air Saturday on NBC. Early coverage and undercard races will air from 3 to 5 p.m. EDT on CNBC. NBC's main broadcast is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m., with the race is expected to start at 6:44 p.m.

We the People, Mo Donegal and Rich Strike are among the favorites.

Rich Strike, the 2022 Kentucky Derby champion, skipped May's Preakness to prepare for the Belmont. Nest and Creative Minister are the only other competitors with single-digit odds in the eight-horse field.

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Skippylongstocking, Golden Glider and Barber Road will be the long-shot bets.

Rival golf tourneys

A unique weekend is set up for golf fans, with the PGA Tour and the rival LIV Golf Invitational Series hosting events at the same time.

The PGA Tour's RBC Canadian Open teed off Thursday and will run through Sunday at St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto. The LIV Golf Invitational London also teed off Thursday, but will end Sunday at the Centurion Club in Hemel Hempstead, England.

Five of the Top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are in Toronto. Seven of the Top 100 golfers are in the 48-player LIV Golf field.

No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 6 Justin Thomas, No. 8 Rory McIlroy, No. 9 Sam Burns and No. 4 Cameron Smith are among the favorites to win the RBC Canadian Open. The winner of the four-day tournament will receive $1.56 million of the $8.7 million prize purse.

No. 15 Dustin Johnson is the favorite to win the LIV Golf event. No. 21 Louis Oosthuizen, No. 35 Talor Gooch, No. 34 Kevin Na and No. 57 Sergio Garcia are among the other expected contenders.

No. 72 Phil Mickelson is among the other top golfers who will compete for a $4 million prize for first place in the individual competition. He also is the captain for one of a dozen teams, which will compete for an additional $1 million prize in a competition between foursomes.

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Seventeen players in the LIV Golf tournament were suspended Thursday by the PGA Tour for violating the league's regulations.

The second round of the RBC Canadian Open will air from 3 to 7 p.m. EDT Friday on Golf Channel. Early third- and fourth-round coverage will air Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel and continue from 3 to 6 p.m. on CBS.

LIV Golf London coverage will start at 9 a.m. EDT Friday and Sunday and air on LIVGolf.com and on the league's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Weekend schedule (all times EDT)

Friday

Golf

LIV Golf London: Second round at 9 a.m. on LIVGolf.com, Facebook, YouTube

RBC Canadian Open: Second round from 3 to 7 p.m. EDT on Golf Channel

MLB

Rays at Twins at 8 p.m. on Apple TV+

Mets at Angels at 9:30 p.m. on Apple TV+

NBA

Game 4: Warriors at Celtics at 9 p.m. on ABC

Soccer

USMNT vs. Grenada at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

Saturday

Golf

LIV Golf London: Final round at 9 a.m. on LIVGolf.com, Facebook, YouTube

RBC Canadian Open: Third round from 1 to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel; from 3 to 6 p.m. on CBS

Horse racing

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Belmont Stakes: Early coverage from 3 to 5 p.m. on CNBC; from 5 to 7 p.m. on NBC

Soccer

MLS: New York Red Bulls at Charlotte at 3 p.m. on abc

MLS: San Jose at Nashville at 8 p.m. on Twitter/TUDN

MLB

Athletics at Guardians at 4 p.m. on FS1

Dodgers at Giants at 7 p.m. on Fox

Cubs at Yankees at 7 p.m. on Fox

NASCAR

Truck Series DoorDash 250 at 7:30 p.m. on FS1

Stanley Cup playoffs

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

UFC 275 on ESPN+

Jack Della Maddalena vs. Ramazan Emeev at 10 p.m.

Rogerio Bontorin vs. Manel Kape after first fight

Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk after second fight

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos after third fight

Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka after fourth fight

Sunday

Formula 1

Azerbaijan Grand Prix at 5:30 a.m. on ESPN

MLB

Athletics at Guardians at 11:30 a.m. on Peacock

Mets at Angels at 7 p.m. on ESPN

Golf

RBC Canadian Open: Final round from 1 to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel; from 3 to 6 p.m. on CBS

Soccer

MLS: New England at Kansas City at 3 p.m. on ABC

NASCAR

Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at 4 p.m. on FS1

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Moments from the LIV Golf Invitational

South African Charl Schwartzel lifts the inaugural LIV trophy at the Centurion Club in Hemel Hempstead, England, on June 11, 2022. Schwartzel won $4 million for winning the event. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

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