What Happened in Sports: May 20, 2020

2019: Golden State Warriors completed a sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers to earn their 5th consecutive NBA Finals appearance, joining the 1960’s Boston Celtics as the only teams in NBA history to reach the Finals 5 straight years

2008: After 12 All-Star selections, Oakland Athletics C Mike Piazza announced his retirement at the age of 39

2006: San Francisco Giants OF Barry Bonds hit his 714th career HR, tying him with Babe Ruth for 2nd-most in MLB history

2000: Portland Trail Blazers took “Hack-a-Shaq” to a new level, forcing Los Angeles Lakers C Shaquille O’Neal into 25 FTAs over the game’s final 6:00 (made 12); behind his 41 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST, and 5 BLK, the Lakers prevailed, 109-94

2000: Minnesota Timberwolves SF Malik Sealy was involved in a serious auto accident, tragically passing away at the age of 30

1996: Chicago Bulls SG Michael Jordan received a record 96.5% of the vote to win his 4th career MVP Award

1995: With their Game 7 defeat of the Phoenix Suns, the Houston Rockets became the 1st team in 13 years to successfully come back from a 3-1 series deficit and also snapped a 20-game winning streak by the home team in Game 7’s

1993: Matched up against the reigning DPOY — San Antonio Spurs C David Robinson — eventual MVP PF Charles Barkley drained a buzzer-beating mid-range jumper to send the Phoenix Suns to the Western Conference Finals

1988: Philadelphia Phillies 1B Mike Schmidt hit his 535th career home run, moving him into 8th place on the all-time list

1983: Philadelphia Phillies SP Steve Carlton struck out 4 batters to reach 3,511 career strikeouts, moving him ahead of Walter Johnson for 2nd place and behind only Nolan Ryan

1946: Chicago Cubs P Claude Passeau committed his 1st error since September 1941, ending his record streak of 273 consecutive errorless chances