The cast of stars hasn’t always been the same, but the Warriors have continued to be great. Golden State rallied to beat the Trail Blazers yet again in Game 4 on Monday night, finishing off a sweep of Portland and advancing to a fifth straight NBA Finals. The Blazers, meanwhile, are left to pick up the pieces after a series where they held a big lead in three of the four games but couldn’t avoid the inevitable Warriors’ storm. Speaking of storms, the one at Lakers headquarters hasn’t slowed down. On the day the team introduced Frank Vogel as its new coach, Magic Johnson called general manager Rob Pelinka a backstabber. Oh, and there’s more basketball tonight, with Raptors-Bucks Game 4 on tap.
The Warriors are the first team to reach five straight finals since the 1966 Celtics. In the days of free agency, that’s an incredible accomplishment.
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
The @warriors win their 5th straight Western Conference title and look to 3-peat in the NBA Finals! 🧹 #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/NxfVGEkvkJ
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 21, 2019
The Blazers, meanwhile, have to be happy with a run to the conference finals, but it seemed like they were capable of at least pushing Golden State a little more.
“The Blazers led for more minutes in this series than the Warriors did, and they could not win a single game.” — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/qclLDBgJAI
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) May 21, 2019
Magic Johnson stepped away from the Lakers, but he certainly hasn’t stopped talking about them. This continues to be a messy situation.
Magic Johnson identifies Rob Pelinka is the person who was backstabbing him. pic.twitter.com/3mul9lJuzi
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) May 20, 2019
Meanwhile, the Raptors won an epic Game 3 to stay in their Eastern Conference finals series with the Bucks. They’ll need another big effort to even up the series tonight.
TUESDAY’S #NBAPlayoffs CLASH!
8:30pm/et: (1) MIL 2-1 (2) TOR, TNT pic.twitter.com/qY00H8pS0b
— NBA (@NBA) May 21, 2019
At 33, Ryan Saunders is now the NBA’s youngest head coach. But his young team seems to love him.
Ryan Saunders candidacy for the ‘Wolves gig was backstopped by strong endorsements from the players—most notably @KarlTowns. Minnesota was up and down after the tumultuous start to the season, but Saunders won over the locker room w/his coaching acumen and work ethic.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) May 20, 2019
TOP STORIES
• Warriors first to 5 Finals in row since 1966 Celtics | ESPN.com
• Blazers swept despite big minutes-led advantage | ESPN.com
• Magic Johnson explains why he left Lakers, says he was betrayed by Rob Pelinka | CBS Sports
• Leonard, Raptors hope to shake off fatigue for Game 4 | Associated Press
• Minnesota Timberwolves make Ryan Saunders, 33, the NBA’s youngest head coach | CBS Sports
