:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46537734/usa-today-8611564.0.jpg)
Game five was close throughout--a one point game at halftime, and still a one point game with just over five minutes left before the Golden State Warriors went on a 10-2 run fueled by Andre Iguodala and Stephen Curry to take control and send them to a 3-2 series lead.
The Warriors once again went small, with Iguodala in the starting lineup and Draymond Green the center, and only spent three minutes with a true center (Festus Ezeli) on the court. This unclogged the middle of the floor and allowed their offense to flow better than it has all series, as they finished shooting 48% from the floor (46% from three). It also forced Timofey Mozgov off the floor--he played only nine minutes, and the game was played much more on Golden State's terms.
For the Cavs, LeBron James once again was everything, finishing with 40, 14 and 11, but they shot under 40% as a team and just don't seem to have the weapons necessary to keep up with a Warriors team that is finding its groove. James, as great as he is, can't do it all, and looked clearly fatigued late in the game during which he played 45 minutes.
Game six is Tuesday night in Cleveland.
Also yesterday, the Lynx lost for the first time this season, falling to the Phoenix Mercury 81-66 and moving to 3-1 on the year. Frankly, the less said about this one the better; the Lynx fell behind early and were never really in the game. They turned the ball over 16 times and it felt like more, Maya Moore continues her cold start (5-18 from the field), the Lynx failed to make a three pointer all game (0-9) while the Mercury went 7-18 from deep, and the bench reverted to (poor) form, with eight total points despite four players getting double figure minutes off the bench. The Mercury got big games from DeWanna Bonner and Candice Dupree, and despite being without Brittney Griner, were just the better team throughout.
In case you missed it yesterday:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">NBA Draft 1st Pick Karl-Anthony Towns -1000 Jahlil Okafor +400 D Angelo Russell +1500 Kristaps Porzingis +1500 <a href="http://t.co/pz6S1xPUe2">http://t.co/pz6S1xPUe2</a></p>— Sportsbook.com ® (@Sportsbook_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sportsbook_com/status/609866922419724290">June 13, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I guess the gamblers are confident it's Towns.
The Wolves have a group workout scheduled today, according to Wolfson:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Twolves?src=hash">#Twolves</a> workout today, I'm told: Vaughn, Pat Connaughton, Trevor Lacey, Bryce Dejean-Jones, Charles Jackson, and Alan Williams.</p>— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) <a href="https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/610422478381256704">June 15, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Women's World Cup resumes today with final group games in two groups, starting at 3:00 pm and 6:30 pm CDT. The U.S. finish off group play against Nigeria tomorrow. It's all on Fox or one of the Fox sports outlets if you are interested.
Today in history
736 BC: Assyrians record a solar eclipse
1215: King John signs the Magna Carta at Runnymede
1664: New Jersey established; someone dreams of opening a corner pizzeria.
1775: George Washington named C-i-C of American forces
1804: 12th amendment (judicial power) ratified
1808: Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain
1844: Charles Goodyear patents vulcanization of rubber
1898: U.S. marines attack Spanish at Guantanamo, Cuba
1911: IBM is incorporated
1916: Boy Scouts of America is founded
1924: J.E. Hoover becomes head of FBI
1940: France surrenders to Germany
1969: Hee Haw premieres on CBS
1982: Supreme Court rules that all children, even if not citizens, entitled to education
Today's musical birthday is pianist Erroll Garner, born in 1923 (d. 1977)
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AA2_6kS45E0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>