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GAME. BLOUSES.
Do we really have to wait three whole days for another one of these games? How fun was Wednesday night? You had Stephen Curry ice-grilling Serge Ibaka (we’ll get to it below), Dion Waiters receiving the full-on Mario Chalmers treatment from Kevin Durant (we miss you, Rio!), Russell Westbrook getting loose before the game and, of course, Draymond Green acting like the champion he is.
There are headlines across the net about the Warriors sending a message Wednesday night and the Thunder wilting under the pressure but the truth is, Wednesday night went as expected. The best player in the world, on the best team in basketball the past two years, played like it and there’s no shame in that. Or in this:
The Thunder stay lit fam.https://t.co/9wZDEdjBv4
— 𝕂𝕠𝕗𝕚𝕖 (@KofieYeboah) April 19, 2016
Sunday night can’t come soon enough.
SOCIAL STATUS
Wednesday night marked the finale of the second season of Fox’s Empire. There were tears, twists and talk of the past coming back to haunt. If you missed it, though, we’ve got you covered. Our own Reese Waters live-tweeted the finale for us:
When your pops marries your baby momma and you paid for it #EmpireFinale pic.twitter.com/BNC9ETk20L
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) May 19, 2016
When you hear Chief Keef new mixtape poppin #EmpireFinale pic.twitter.com/oOqrMAhIBp
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) May 19, 2016
RIP DAB #EmpireFinale pic.twitter.com/64KkdvH5Hc
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) May 19, 2016
BLESSINGS!
Stephen Curry responded to a sluggish second-quarter showing in Game 2 with a Thunder-sized clapback in the opening frame of the second half, scoring 15 straight points in under two minutes.
The man outscored the Thunder on his own, 15-2, over that stretch, en route to a 28-point performance. Oh, and the gif above. Yeah, our own Kofie Yeboah designed it nine hours before tipoff. Talk about great timing.
CATCH THIS
If you haven’t seen it yet, you have to check out the catch New York Mets center fielder Juan Lagares hauled in Wednesday night.
Just Juan doing Juan things in CF. #Mets @juanlagares2 #Juanderful pic.twitter.com/2mpzTzTqkB
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 19, 2016
Many would argue Willie Mays’ famous catch in the 1954 World Series is the best ever — and the man did bolt to the center field wall and make a ridiculous snag — but so much of that memory is about the stakes. The same catch made in a random game in May gets forgotten and Lagares’ incredible grab Wednesday night will too — though it shouldn’t. Proof? How many of these had you forgotten about?
FOR THE CULTURE
Today is the 120th anniversary of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision that upheld state laws allowing racial segregation under the “separate but equal” principle.
Chance The Rapper continues to dole out blessings this week as he confirmed that he and Childish Gambino did do a mixtape together. The question now becomes, “where it at doe?”
Former Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen told a tremendous story about interviewing for the White Sox gig blackout drunk. Salute.
TOP THREE TWEETS
Every morning we’ll hit you here with the best of what we saw on social media the previous night. Why? Why not?
1. You do what you want, when you poppin’
Stephen Curry actually stared in a guy's face before the ball went in. That happened. What the hell man https://t.co/6uHrJ61pEa
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 19, 2016
2. Because I’m bad
When you watched Michael Jackson's "Bad" video before you had to hoop in Game 2 pic.twitter.com/oxfYsGzWR5
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 18, 2016
3. Knicks gonna Knicks
— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) May 19, 2016
#ICYMI
Our own Mike Wise penned a column about the hypocrisy of punishing a player for smoking weed in a league with far worse problems on its hands:
In a league where retired NFL players misuse opioid painkillers at rates four times higher than the general population, where a concussion epidemic is scaring moms from signing their boys up to play, where violence against women is a major issue, Laremy Tunsil was labeled a bad guy because he smoked marijuana and wasn’t smart enough to guard his passwords better.
PICTURE PERFECT
Legend. pic.twitter.com/WorVuDjpmS
— Jordan Ramirez (@JRAM_91) May 19, 2016