Warriors vs. Cavaliers, Lynx in Action

In the end, the Warriors had too much shooting for the Oklahoma City Thunder, making 17 threes (13 by Steph Curry and Klay Thompson) in game seven last night, burying the Thunder in an avalanche of long range shots. The Warriors reminded why they are the defending champs and winners of 73 games this season. with their combination of star power and depth outlasting a much thinner Thunder team.

The Warriors will now take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, a rematch of last season's Finals which the Warriors won in six games. The Cavs are a healthier team this year than last, and are no doubt savoring the opportunity to play the defending champs. The series starts on Thursday from Oakland.

The Thunder no doubt feel that this was a brutal missed opportunity. They looked fantastic all playoffs, beating the Spurs and building a 3-1 series lead behind suffocating defense and the explosive scoring of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. But things fell apart for them over the last three games of this series--the Warriors started making shots, KD and Russ took turns going cold, and their lack of depth ultimately caught up with them.

Cue the speculation about what they will do this summer, and where Durant will wind up. It seems to me most likely that he remains in Oklahoma City, but there will be a lot of rumoring between now and then. One thing is clear: they need to improve their bench options.

No NBA until Thursday, and only a handful of games left, but the Lynx are going strong. They bring their 5-0 record to New York to face the Liberty tonight. The game will air on ESPN2 at 7:00 pm CDT. It will be a battle of the strong Liberty defense against the explosive Lynx offense.

Not too much else happening in the world of basketball. There was a report yesterday that Pau Gasol is among several athletes considering whether to skip the Olympics this summer due to health concerns from the Zika virus. I doubt in the end too many athletes bow out for this reason, but I'm generally in favor of anything that makes the Olympics look bad. What a corrupt, immoral enterprise it has become.

Today in history

• 70 AD: Romans capture first wall of Jerusalem
• 1621: Francis Bacon imprisoned at Tower of London
• 1669: Samuel Pepys makes last entry in diaries
• 1790: U.S. copyright law enacted
• 1868: First Memorial Day (then called Decoration Day I believe) parade held in Irontown, OH
• 1879: Madison Square Garden opens in New York
• 1884: John Harvey Kellogg patents "flaked cereal."
• 1900: U.S. troops arrive in China to help quell Boxer Rebellion
• 1910: Union of South Africa declares independence from Britain
• 1911: RMS Titanic launched in Dublin
• 1912: U.S. marines land in Cuba
• 1913:17th Amendment ratified, provides for direct election of senators
• Communists seize power in Hungary
• 1970: Massive earthquake strikes Peru killing tens of thousands

Today's musical birthday is soprano Nancy Shade, born 1949.

Have a great Tuesday.