The Thunder destroyed the Warriors, the Raptors got a win over the Cavs, and Nyquist was denied a Triple Crown shot. We get to those stories, as well as the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a man jumping over a house, and much more here at a loaded Monday Cheat Sheet…
Thunder dismantle Warriors, have 2-1 series lead
Welp, the Warriors are in trouble. The Thunder took a 2-1 series lead on Sunday night… and did so in dominating fashion. A 133-105 Thunder victory, and OKC had 117 points after three quarters.
The Warriors allowed 117 points in a game 12 times this season. The Thunder just scored 117 in 3 quarters
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 23, 2016
/switches over from Game of Thrones to Warriors-Thunder pic.twitter.com/ECpcQMo8zw
— SB Nation (@SBNation) May 23, 2016
Checking out the Thunder – Warriors score like… pic.twitter.com/9AjUEssBoe — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) May 23, 2016
Quick recap of tonight’s #Thunder #Warriors game: pic.twitter.com/Z6DX6XrsW0 — Robert Flores (@RoFlo) May 23, 2016
Our Basketball Power Index gives the Thunder a 57% chance to win their series with the Warriors
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 23, 2016
Highlights of the Thunder’s ridiculous performance:
Making matters worse for the Warriors, it’s possible Draymond Green could be suspended for Game 4 (I have a post that will be on the site later in the morning with more on this), for kicking Steven Adams in the junk:
Here’s a picture of that Draymond Green kick of Steven Adams groin via @bterryphoto pic.twitter.com/r59TF6j2sy — Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 23, 2016
The Vertical’s Chris Mannix has a great read on how the Thunder have made the Warriors look inferior.
Hey, the Raptors got a win vs the Cavs
The Raptors played a terrific game and came away with a 99-84 win over the Cavs in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Bismack Biyombo was particularly terrific, pulling down a ridiculous 26 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry also did their thing, combining for 52 points. Highlights:
Biyombo also took a shot to the nuts from Cleveland’s Dahntay Jones. That was the big theme of the NBA weekend (unfortunately for the victims):
Jones got a one-game suspension for it. As for the series, if the Raptors play like they did in Game 3 again, they may be able to get another win or two. It would still be stunning if the Cavs didn’t win the series, however. But, good for the Raptors and their fans on the Game 3 win.
Exaggerator is your 2016 Preakness Stakes winner
We will have no Triple Crown winner this year, as Nyquist came in third place at the Preakness Stakes after winning the Kentucky Derby. Exaggerator is the Preakness champ:
Stanley Cup Playoffs: Lightning, Blues get big wins
The Lightning got a wild Game 5 win over the Penguins in overtime to take a 3-2 series lead, putting Tampa Bay just one game away from a return to the Stanley Cup Final. And the way they won was in very #hockey fashion. Check out this winner 53 seconds into overtime:
Incredibly frustrating way to lose if you’re a Penguins fan. As for the Western Conference finals, the Blues played their best game of the series to get a dominant 6-3 win over the Sharks, and even up the series at 2-2. Highlights:
Quick Hits
– Big changes could be coming in MLB regarding the strike zone and intentional walk rule. I’m still waiting for robot umpires/automated strike zones so we don’t have to get calls like this one from Saturday night anymore:
– Larry Bird and Reggie Miller are not fans of the idea of a four-point shot in the NBA. Not sure how I feel about it either… but I would approve some 25-point and 50-point baskets Rock N’ Jock style (skip to the 2-minute mark for those… although I just recommend the whole clip myself for a reminder of how great these games were):
– White Sox ace Chris Sale is owning the American League right now.
– An incredibly unlucky own goal in soccer.
– Astros slugger George Springer caught footballs while wearing a T-Rex costume, because why the hell not?
– The Pittsburgh Steelers are experimenting with robotic tackling dummies in practice.
– A junior hockey player scored an insane between-the-legs goal.
– The complete, costly guide to dressing like Russell Westbrook.
– Yasiel Puig didn’t try to advance on a sacrifice bunt, and left the bunter (A.J. Ellis) quite confused:
Aj Ellis lays down a bunt, Puig doesn’t move, and Ellis is v confused. pic.twitter.com/xJLi9NpZcb — Matt Clapp (@TheBlogfines) May 22, 2016
– UCLA head coach Jim Mora thinks his quarterback Josh Rosen would’ve gone No. 1 in the 2016 NFL Draft, if eligible.
– What should ESPN’s next 30 for 30 be?
– A MILE-LONG PIZZA. New Guinness World Record-holder.
– Thor: Ragnarok has a pretty kick-ass cast.
– More movie casting news: Michael Keaton will be in Spiderman: Homecoming.
– And even more casting news, but this one for TV. Ewan McGregor will have not one, but two starring roles in Season 3 of Fargo. He’ll play two brothers. This is interesting and I can’t wait for this one. Season 2 was amazing.
One last breath of gratuitous procrastination
Oh just jumping over a house. NBD:
Screw it, one more breath of gratuitous procrastination
One of my favorite gifs in a while. Two drivers about to get into a road rage fight and then they call it off due to the police quickly arriving.
