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What Had Happened Was

What Had Happened Was: 6/14/16

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    2016 NBA Finals – Game Five
    Kyrie Irving #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots against the Golden State Warriors in Game Five of the 2016 NBA Finals on June 13, 2016 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
    By Ryan Cortes Rhiannon Walker Kofie Yeboah

    GAME. BLOUSES.

    Here is what it took for LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers to save their season Monday night:

    • For James and Kyrie Irving to combine for more points (82) by teammates in an NBA Finals elimination game than any duo ever.
    • For Irving to become the first player to score 40-plus points while shooting 70 percent or better in a Finals game since Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain.
    • For the Warriors to hit only 16 of their 43 uncontested looks.
    • For the Warriors to miss more 3-pointers (28!) than the Cavs attempted (24).
    • And finally, as Dieter Kurtenbach of Fox Sports pointed out, “the Warriors made only 4-of-19 wide-open (no defenders within 6 feet) 3-pointers … Stephen Curry hit only two of his nine uncontested shots (22 percent) … The Warriors didn’t score in the final 6:39 of the game and only scored 36 points in the second half.”

    OK, then. Good luck with that happening two more times (cue, Draymond Green). To recap: Even with a tamed Curry in this series, the only two times the Warriors have lost, they have missed 49 of their 80 uncontested shots. Make no mistake: James and Irving were spectacular Monday night. James even called Irving’s night ” … probably one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen live.” But also don’t lose sight of this: Even with historic James/Irving games, the Cavs still only win when the Warriors brick open shot after open shot after open shot.

    Don’t count on it happening again, let alone twice more.

    SOCIAL STATUS

    The XXL Freshman Class list dropped Monday and, like every year with this release, Twitter went crazy.

    https://twitter.com/__NeCole/status/742374147653795840

    This year’s list includes …

    The release of the list got some positive feedback …

    https://twitter.com/EarthGang/status/742374924967235584

    … and some very negative feedback

    Nevertheless, we just have to wait until the freestyles and cyphers to tell just how good this class will be. It has a chance to be better than the 2015 class, but that is a considerably low bar compared with other XXL Freshman Class lists of the past.

    BLESSINGS!

    FOR THE CULTURE

    Dates and cities for rapper Kanye West’s tour, called Saint Pablo, have officially been announced.

    Speaking of West, check out a trailer for the man’s upcoming video game.

    Andre Williams of the New York Giants sat down with The Root as part of its video series discussing fatherhood. It’s worth your time.

    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. LOUD NOISES

    2. WE GOOD, BRO

    3. HEAT CHECK

    #ICYMI

    Dave Dennis Jr. wrote about rap, Hollywood, sport and black-male affection, friendship and love. He discussed how he has personally struggled showing affection, in terms of telling his male friends he loves them. He analyzed the personal and societal reasons why that is and also the moment in his life when he first considered expressing it.

    Bun B spoke about friendship and what it’s like to unexpectedly lose someone so close to him. But here’s the part that stood out: “And I loved him, and he loved me, and we’re never ashamed to say it. And I know we’re in the era of ‘pause’ and ‘no h—’ and all that, and that’s all fine and dandy. But if you really love your homie, don’t feel like you can’t tell him you love him.” Those words stuck with me. I’ve never forgotten them. As soon as Bun B spoke them, I picked up my phone to text some of my male friends that I loved them. I started the text: I just want to let you guys know … Then I deleted the message and closed my phone without ever hitting send.

    PICTURE PERFECT

    https://twitter.com/SheaSerrano/status/742570719750422528

    Ryan Cortes is a staff writer for The Undefeated. Lemon pepper his wings.

    Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated. She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album.

    Kofie Yeboah asks for Sweet Tea at every restaurant and recites approximately 2.5 Spongebob lines per hour.

    This Story Tagged: Cleveland Cavaliers Golden State Warriors LeBron James Stephen Curry What Had Happened Was