Busch ends skid on home track

LAS VEGAS — Luck finally fell Kurt Busch’s way at his home track, where he pulled out an upset Sunday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to sneak his way into the third round of the NASCAR Cup playoffs. Busch ended an 0-for-21 losing streak at Las Vegas with good timing and then three tremendous restarts. He entered the race 12th in the standings and in danger of elimination from title contention, but the victory earned him an automatic berth into the next round. The win, the first of the season for the 2004 Cup champion, was celebrated alongside younger brother, Kyle. The reigning NASCAR champion slammed doors with his big brother on the cool-down lap. Busch then took the checkered flag to the finish line and smacked it on each of the letters in Las Vegas. “This is what kids grow up when they are racing,” Busch said. “They grow up dreaming of winning on their home track and for two decades it has kicked my butt.”

GOLF

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic —

Hudson Swafford lost control of the tournament without ever losing any confidence he could hit the right shot when it counted. Standing in the 13th fairway Sunday in the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, he had a four-shot lead. Walking off the 15th green, he was tied. “Honestly, I one bad golf shot all day,” Swafford said of his 9-iron that he didn’t finish and led to the bogey on the 15th. With the tournament on the line, he delivered. Swafford hit a three-quarter 6-iron on the par-3 17th to 10 feet for birdie to regain the lead, and then reminded himself how well he had been putting when he stood over an 8-footer for par on the final hole for the victory. “It’s like, ‘Man, just hit another solid putt. Just one more solid putt,’” Swafford said. He closed with a 3-under-par 69. The birdie on the 17th allowed him to break out of a tie wit Tyler McCumber and Mackenzie Hughes, and the par putt on the 18th avoided a playoff with McCumber. It was his second career victory on the PGA Tour, the other coming at the Desert Classic in January 2017. That was a year before he missed time with a rib injury, which was followed by foot surgery in the summer of 2019. Former Baylor School golfer

Luke List finished at 12 under. He shot 71 Sunday and earned $117,00 and tied for eighth.

Keith Mitchell, also a former Baylor School player, finished tied for 61st at 3 under.

TENNIS

PARIS — No. 9 seed, Coco Gauff stayed steady at the most crucial moments to beat Johanna Konta 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday and reach the second round of the French Open. This was already Gauff’s fourth victory over an opponent ranked in the Top 20. Top-seeded Simona Halep won 10 straight games in beating Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 6-0 to reach the second round of the French Open on Sunday and extend her winning streak to 15 matches. Over on Court Suzanne Lenglen, U.S. Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka beat Danka Kovinic 6-1, 6-2. She next faces Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who won 6-4, 6-4 against American veteran Venus Williams. The 40-year-old Williams exited in the first round at Roland Garros for the third straight year and is 0-3 in Grand Slam tournaments this year following the Australian Open and the U.S. Open. Since the start of 2018, the seven-time Grand Slam champion has lost in the first round in seven of the past 11 major tournaments. Coronavirus restrictions mean only 1,000 people are allowed per day at the tournament in western Paris.

BASKETBALL

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals — surprising many, perhaps, but not themselves. Bam Adebayo scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Butler scored 22 points and the Heat won the Eastern Conference finals for the sixth time by topping the Boston Celtics 125-113 on Sunday night. The Heat won the series 4-2 — and now, they’ll see LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers for the title. Game 1 of that series is Wednesday night.