Month: June 2021

The upcoming Space Jam: A New Legacy seems to be a place where unexpected musical collaborations are occurring. After the Lil Baby and Kirk Franklin were paired over a Just Blaze-produced beat for “We Win,” the first single from the movie’s soundtrack, the latest offering from the soundtrack comes as an effort with Saint Jhn and SZA. The duo joins forces for “Just For Me,” a blissful track that captures the acts in dreamy spirits on cloud nine as they profess their love for each other. The song arrives a little over a month before the movie’s July 16 premiere in theatre.

Both acts on Saint Jhn and SZA have been active in the music world in their own ways over the last few months. Saint Jhn’s 2021 has been quiet, but he concluded 2020 in a very active way thanks to multiple videos from his third album, While The World Was Burning, which he released in November with features from Kanye West, Future, Kehlani, 6lack, and more. As for SZA, she’s been working towards her currently untitled sophomore album that will hopefully arrive sooner than later. Until then, fans can enjoy her recent singles, “Good Days” and “Hit Different” with Ty Dolla Sign as well as her “Kiss Me More” collaboration with Doja Cat.

Press play on the video above to hear “Just For Me.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lauren Boebert has made a name for herself among conservatives in a number of ways since she became a US representative out of Colorado. Not all of them have apparently sat very well with the people who elected her, though. The pro-gun, coronavirus skeptic has made a number of notable comments about Joe Biden and the world at large, becoming a conservative star along the likes of QAnon-believing Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Boebert recently took a trip to the US/Mexico border to put on a show with a cardboard Kamala Harris. It’s the latest publicity stunt that’s made headlines but according to a report the people who elected her are tired of the shenanigans she’s spending so much time on. In a piece about the politician by Politico, a number of people in Pueblo, Colorado seem frustrated by Boebert spending so much time supporting former president Donald Trump and not advocating for the place she represents.

The piece describes an event put on by one of several people already campaigning for her seat, Sol Sandoval. Even people who had voted for Boebert just months ago seem turned off by the insurrection-supporting Boebert and her gun activism.

At least one person at Sandoval’s listening session who voted for Boebert said he had been disappointed by her, and plans to help Sandoval’s campaign. “I thought Lauren would be a great representative for small-business owners because she owns a small business, and she came from a humble lifestyle,” said Gus Garcia, a political independent who also voted for Biden.

“But she has been so terribly disappointing,” continued Garcia, who owns a textile recycling firm. “I am humiliated and embarrassed when she speaks on the House floor. She screams all the time, and she seems to have affiliated herself with white supremacists.”

In many ways it’s an example of how national rhetoric can only take you so far when it comes to local politics. One man quoted, for example, noted that in Boebert’s district sits one of the few American factories where rails are made, which would benefit greatly from a proposed infrastructure bill from the Biden administration that is touting an Amtrak expansion among its many proposals. The point of the piece is that local issues with poverty and a number of culture war touchstones for Republicans may not align with those electing her as much as she hopes.

Other voters here decried a fundraising appeal of Boebert’s exclaiming that Pelosi and Biden “want to take our guns,” which was emailed to supporters hours after a shooting at a Boulder grocery store left 10 people dead.

“People here feel Boebert doesn’t represent their values,” says Colorado state Senate President Leroy Garcia, a Pueblo Democrat who is popular with voters in both parties. “There is a lot of passion around seeing her removed.”

Boebert was just elected in November, and her term isn’t up until 2023. But the early returns on her work for the people who elected her don’t seem to be very positive, and considering the narrow margin she won with last year it may be tough sledding for her to actually stay in congress if that narrative doesn’t change.

Apple TV+’s See helped launch the tech giant’s streaming service less than two years ago, and the show was so wild and wooly that it worked. Jason Momoa stars as Baba Voss, a fierce warrior and leader in a post-apocalyptic world that went blind, long ago, and he’s the guardian of sighted miracle-twins who could be the key to humanity’s future. The show’s jaw-dropping visuals (and here, I’m talking about the scenery, although Momoa is obviously nice to look at, too) stood alongside the world-building put in place by Francis Lawrence (who launched the series as director), and despite all the chaos of the show and in the real world, Season 2 shall soon arrive (on Friday, August 27).

Well, there’s even more news: Apple TV+ officially renewed the show for Season 3 (which is already filming in Toronto), and that announcement went down when Momoa visited Jimmy Fallon on Thursday night. Likewise, this teaser trailer shows more conflict to come with the introduction of Dave Bautista as Edo Voss, the brother of Baba, and the reunion doesn’t look too friendly. Not only do they brandish weapons, but we’ve got a battle of the beards happening. Also, Nesta Cooper’s Haniwa looks awfully surprised to hear Edo’s name, so he’s certainly not a familiar presence to her. Baba’s family has been torn apart, and he’s still fightling to get away from war. Edo’s arrival will probably prove to be a distraction from that goal.

Clashing egos, warring beards, and a fur-clad Momoa (yes, Baba will remind you of not only Game of Thrones’ Khal Drogo but Frontier‘s Declan Harp and the Conan the Barbarian title character) are all on tap. Momoa’s all up in the “echolocation” to get his character through survival scenes, and this show’s both complex and campy but always entertaining.

See will return on August 27 with new episodes arriving weekly.

Polo G is undoubtedly one of the best acts in this generation’s crop of rappers. After making a name for himself with his debut album, 2019’s Die A Legend, the Chicago native took a big step upward with last year’s The GOAT, an effort that was one of the better hip-hop releases in 2020. Now, for the third consecutive year, Polo G steps forth with a new album, one of that stands as his most collaborative effort yet. Hall Of Fame arrives with 20 tracks to its name, one which features a highlight guest appearance from Nicki Minaj who appears on “For The Love Of New York.”

The duo’s first track together is a reggae-influenced effort that sees Polo and Minaj detailing their sides of an unfortunate heartbreak. The former reveals his own faults in the relationship with lines like “Tryna figure out my feelings, I’m confusin’ you / Where I’m from, happy endings are unusual” and “Girl, if I wasn’t so heartless, you could have mine.” Nicki arrives for the final verse of the song to reveal how the failed relationship affected her. “You triggerin’ my anxiety in the worst way,” she says. “Sometimes, the best thing you could do is step away.”

As for the rest of Hall Of Fame, the project is led by Polo’s No. 1 single “Rapstar” and features additional contributions from The Kid Laroi, Lil Durk, Lil Wayne, Scorey, G Herbo, Rod Wave, DaBaby, Young Thug, Roddy Ricch, Pop Smoke, and Fivio Foreign.

Give a listen to “For The Love Of New York” in the video above.

Hall Of Fame is out now via Columbia Records. Get it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The wait for IDK’s upcoming sophomore album has gone on for a year and a half. It tracks back to the release of his major-label debut album Is He Real? at the end of 2019. However, over this duration, the DMV rapper made the wait for album No. 2 fairly easy thanks to his 2020 project, IDK & Friends 2, as well as a boatload of singles that all proved IDK only sharpened his rap skills. Thankfully, good things come to those that wait as IDK finally shared a release date for his sophomore album, titled USee4Yourself, with his new single, “Peloton.”

The track begins with a sample of UGK and Outkast’s classic song, “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)” as IDK raps the first line of his song in the same tune that Andre 3000 did on the 2007 song. “Peloton,” which begins with soulful vocals that sit behind IDK’s raps, sees a quick switch up that brings a jolt of energy to the track as IDK flexes some muscle after a woman labels him as the one for her.

Along with the song, IDK confirmed that USee4Yourself will arrive on July 9, leaving just a few weeks until the project and its 17 songs land in the hands of listeners.

You can press play on the song in the video above.

USee4Yourself is out 7/9 via Clue No Clue/Warner Records. Pre-order it here.

IDK is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Last year was certainly a turbulent 12 months for Megan Thee Stallion, but things ended in her favor as she concluded 2020 with her official debut album, Good News. Months after its release, a few music videos, and some live performances, the Houston native decided to take a break before the next chapter in her career. In what she called a “period of regeneration,” the rapper announced some time off in order to “prepare for what’s next.” Thankfully, it only lasted a little over a month as Megan returns with “Thot Sh*t.”

The new single comes with a video that follows the rapper as she terrorizes a congressman who had some choice YouTube comments about her “Body” video. From pouring coffee on him to interrupting his peaceful bath, Megan successfully makes him regret his ill comments. “Thot Sh*t” marks the Houston native’s return as Tina Snow, a fan-favorite alter-ego of the rapper that was popularized thanks to her 2018 mixtape of the same title. The project featured highlight records like “Big Ol Freak” and “Freak Nasty,” which both flaunt the raunchy agenda that present on her new single.

Prior to the song’s release, Megan spoke about the song on Twitter after a fan asked her for the inspiration behind the song. “I’m really just talking sh*t and taking ownership of the words ‘thot’ and ‘hoe,’” she wrote. “Bc they’re not the drag the men think it is when trying to come at women for doing them.”

You can watch the video for the track above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros played a wild game on Thursday night at Fenway Park, but the weirdest thing that happened was somehow a double play.

What in theory could have been a showdown between pitchers Houston’s Zack Greinke and Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez became a bullpen-filled hitters duel, with six lead changes and the Red Sox pulling away to win, 12-8. It also included one of the weirdest defensive plays of the season, with Houston blowing a chance to make it a seventh lead change in the seventh inning when it squandered a man on first with a very odd infield grounder.

With Yuli Gurriel at the plate, he swung at a 1-2 pitch that bounced right in front of his feet near the batter’s box. The broadcaster on the call initially thought Gurriel fouled the pitch off his foot, but it actually bounced on the dirt in fair territory and got extremely close to his body but stayed in fair territory.

No one seemed to know the play was live except the umpire and Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez, who threw the ball to first for the out and then started orchestrating throws around the infield. The Astros seemed bewildered play wasn’t ruled dead, as the runner on first seems to float into the ether for a bit and eventually finds his way somewhere near second base before he was tagged out to end the inning.

Baker came out to argue the play, and it turns out for good reason. He was ejected, and without him in the dugout the Astros failed to come back. But despite his protestations and how it may have looked from his perspective, it all played out the way it should have: as a very unlikely infield hit.

It just goes to show you that you always have to run things out and keep your head on a swivel, because you really never know when Weird Baseball might strike.

After going on hiatus for a little over a month, Megan Thee Stallion announced her return by bringing back her Tina Snow alter-ego, a persona her fans fell in love with thanks to her 2018 EP of the same title. The project, which housed records like “Big Ole Freak” and “Freak Nasty,” captured the rapper’s raunchy and raw side, one that faded to the background on her debut album, Good News. With her 2021 return, however, it appears that Tina Snow is back in the spotlight, as the rapper will release her upcoming single “Thot Sh*t” on Friday, and just in case you’re not convinced, DJ Khaled arrives to confirm that Tina Snow is indeed here.

In a post shared on Megan’s Instagram account, Khaled appears to be watching the video for “Thot Sh*t. It becomes clear that viewers are in for something wild as Khaled can’t help but laugh while donning a shocked look on his face.

“Yo, they gon’ actually air this?” he asks. “It’s going on YouTube and all that? Nah! Yo. It’s a new world, and it’s definitely a new video. Let me tell you somethin’.” While Khaled got an early preview of the video, we regular fans will have to wait at least a few more hours before getting a look at it.

You can watch DJ Khaled react to the video in the post above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

If measured by total ccs of tears shed, this week’s Top Chef was the greatest Top Chef episode of all time. The crying, my God, the crying. If crying was bread, this episode would’ve been a Panzanella. And all of it because of what the contestants discovered about themselves while trying to please a persnickety supermodel with their elaborate fricassees. HAS THE CRUDO DISPLEASED YOU, MY QUEEN? SPARE MY LIFE AND I SHALL REDEEM YOU!

I don’t think that I’ve ever seen so many people crying without feeling at all moved to cry myself — maybe footage from a North Korean funeral procession. That being said, this had to be one of the most entertaining Top Chef episodes of all time. There have been times in the past few years when I wondered whether this show (now in its 18th season) and this column along with it needed to continue existing. But at some point during this week’s episode it dawned on me that Top Chef really is the only cooking competition show in existence that offers exciting action but doesn’t make me feel like an idiot for watching it.

Maybe it’s because they’re not trying to whip up the studio audience into a frenzy. Top Chef never feels like it’s playing to the cheap seats. It’s ridiculous and absurd at times, because how could a cooking contest not be? And all the people in it — both contestants and judges — know full well how silly it is, but they’re all food people at heart so they can’t help but buy-in. Anyway, this episode, for all its unnecessary tears, kind of reminded me why I still love this dumb show.

PROLOGUE:

Byron defeated Sara in Last Chance Kitchen, saving us from being subjected to any more of Sara’s increasingly desperate-sounding nervous laugh. That thing has really kicked into overdrive on Last Chance Kitchen. I get an awkwardness contact high just from watching it. Then Jamie beat Byron in a head-to-head battle to keep him from returning to the show (and to some extent, nullifying Last Chance Kitchen‘s entire reason for existence in the process). Okay, you’re caught up.

****

The episode began with a Quickfire Challenge, employing a gimmick apparently borrowed from the French version of Top Chef. It was called a “black box challenge,” where the contestants split into teams of two (judge Brooke Williamson had to be on one team since there were only five competitors left) and had to go taste a dish inside a completely dark room. One chef had to taste the dish in the dark, then start cooking. Then when their time was up, they had to stop cooking while a teammate got to go into the box to taste the dish and continue cooking — and they couldn’t communicate. In the last five minutes, they got to see the dish and work together. The goal was to replicate the same dish.

Turns out those snail-eating Jerry Lewis lovers have some good TV ideas from time to time — because this challenge turned out to be entertaining as hell. It was also a bit of a chef flex, because, holy shit, how many people on Earth could identify a carrot-mustard puree on the bottom of a plate in the dark like Dawn did? Insane. Gabe even correctly identified a sauce gribiche, which is some kind of hard-boiled egg thing. Biche, what? This was wizardry.

After that, the contestants got together to open care packages from their families. Now, there are few stock reality show moments that I’m more tired of seeing than the de rigueur person-cries-while-thinking-about-their-family scene. At a certain point, TV producers decided that the best way to humanize their characters was to show them caring (or pretending to care) about their families. Maybe this makes me a monster, but I don’t really care about these people being human. Fixer Upper dedicates at least four minutes of screen time every episode to Chip and Joanna performatively parenting and it’s always like, hey, cut to the shiplap reveal, freaks, no one watches this show for your dumb wiener kids.

Thankfully, Top Chef is an extremely minor offender in this regard. Yes, everyone had to have a good cry (you get emotional when stuck in a reality show petri dish, I get it) but the idea was that everyone’s family sent them a care package, and they’d have to incorporate some of the ingredients into a dish. This led to, yes, boo hoo I love my family-wamily, but also some odd and funny reveals. Like finding out that Jamie’s Vietnamese family loves Jewish food. And Shota’s amazing commentary on his care package. “My note is very short. My family is Asian, so.”

Meanwhile, judge Ed Lee showed up dressed as his take on Carmen Sandiego:

Look at him back there, trying to be sly. You can’t fool us, bro. You’re in Portland.

The wildest thing was that this episode was incredibly entertaining despite turning out exactly the way I imagined. This season has been the easiest rankings I’ve ever done.

RESULTS:

Quickfire Winner: Dawn.

Elimination Challenge Top Three: Shota, Dawn, Gabe*. (*winner)

RANKINGS:

5. (even) ((Eliminated)) Maria Mazon

AKA: Gas Can. Backdraft. James Brown. Mole Maria. Mexican Hot Sauce.

Maria has been a gritty competitor all season, lunchpaling her way all the way to the final five (how many Wes Welker clichés can I use here?). But her journey finally came to an end this week. The quickfire challenge seemed to foreshadow Maria’s exit when she incorrectly imagined some kind of eastern spice on the squab (it was actually squab with roasted carrots, grilled pears, carrot-mustard puree, pistachios, and sauce gribiche) and attempted to recreate it with butter and cream then dunking the whole already-cooked squab in it. The audience was confused.

She also forgot how to butcher a squab. This seemed to mark Maria as out of her depth, but reality check: do I care if my Mexican chef knows how to butcher a squab? Absolutely not. Honestly, it’d probably make me trust them a little less.

Maria’s Care Package:

• Chicken Wings
• Coconut Milk
• Fideos (angel hair pasta broken up into smaller pieces)
• Lemons
• Mexican Hot Sauce* (how the hell didn’t I think of this as a nickname?)
• Octopus
• Pho Noodles
• Potato Chips
• Tequila

Out of this random as hell basket, Maria made a saucy chicken wing over a bean sprout salad. It ended up being the bean sprouts that did her in, probably on account of bean sprouts are, along with jicama and water chestnuts, one of those ingredients that don’t taste like anything. They don’t shoot or score many points, but they’re the Dennis Rodmans of being crunchy. (Except without the defense… or the flair… you know what, fine, this analogy sucks but I’m leaving it anyway).

Gail Simmons even accused Maria of serving “boiled chicken wings,” which was bizarre because you could clearly see the char on them, but the injustice of the criticism didn’t really register because we all sort of knew that either Maria or Jamie was going home this episode. Maria had a nice cry about learning to believe in herself and calling Gabe her mentor, and it was very sweet until Jamie tried to muscle in on the crying action and attempted to self-sacrifice to keep Maria in the competition. That went on a little too long, but God bless Maria for doing her best to try to get Jamie to stop carrying on.

Pour a little sauce out for Maria as she hits the dusty trail back to taco town.

Notable Critique: “There’s no acid at all in this salad.”

4. (even) Jamie Tran

Aka: Splat. Police Academy. Womp Womp. Hello Kitty.

Oh, Jamie. She means well. Jamie got so caught up in all the crying and the journeying of self-discovery this week that when the judges eliminated Maria, Jamie begged them to take her instead. It was a sweet gesture, sort of, but also… What? That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.

It brought us all back to Padma’s initial reaction to Jamie in the first episode:

Jamie was on the chopping block on account of serving her tasty brisket with shitty rice and a few dots of half-assed sauce. For Maria to get eliminated before Jamie, that must’ve been some bomb-ass brisket. (Food hot take: for as much as we love to fetishize hipster grill masters and 18-hour smoked bbq brisket, is brisket actually better braised? Discuss).

Jamie’s Basket:

• Brisket
• Challah Bread
• Chicken Wings
• Corned Beef Hash (!!!)
• Cucumbers
• English Muffins
• Jasmine Rice
• Matzo Ball Soup
• Strawberries
• Thai Chilis

To be fair to Jamie, this was an incredibly strange basket.

Notable Critique: “The rice was like Jamie’s salad.”

3. (even) Shota Nakajima

AKA: Beavis. Big Gulps.

At this point I think Shota would be on my Mount Rushmore of most likable Top Chef competitors, up there with Sheldon “Shel Chillverstein” Simeon, Isaac “Peppah!” Toups, Chris “Silky” Scott, and Fatima Ali (RIP). His chillbro positivity pairs perfectly with the rigid perfectionism of Japanese cuisine. Once again this week, Shota created a dish that looked good as hell: a wagyu steak with matsutake puree and bonito flakes. Simple, refined, delicious.

And yet again, he was overshadowed by Gabe and Dawn. With his consistent competence you can’t count Shota out, but it does seem like Gabe and Dawn have higher ceilings.

Shota’s Basket:

• Black Cod
• Bonito Flakes
• Daikon
• Lotus Root
• Kelp
• Miso
• Persimmon
• Sake
• Wagyu
• Matsutake Mushrooms

This was probably the best basket.

Notable Critique: “I think it showed him beautifully.”

2. (even) Gabe Erales

AKA: Good Gabe. Canelo. Fozzy. The Foz. The Masa Father. Jamón.

There was some stiff competition from Dawn and Shota this episode, but Gabe’s panucho was so good that I thought they were going to have to send out a PA with a mop bucket to clean up Dale Talde’s cum. (Too gross for food show rankings? maybe). The judges ran out of superlatives for Gabe in this episode. He also managed to correctly identify sauce gribiche in the quickfire challenge and smartly overruled Shota’s incorrect identification of multiple proteins. I don’t know if Gabe’s best is as good as Dawn’s best, but he definitely seems to be peaking at the right time.

Gabe’s Basket:

• Achiote
• Bay Leaves
• Chile Ancho
• Corn Masa
• Lime
• Mezcal
• Pork Shoulder
• Pork Skin
• Tomatillos

Okay, I take it back, this basket is every bit as consistent as Shota’s.

Notable Critique: “I think this was Gabe’s best dish this season.”

1. (even) Dawn Burrell

AKA: Hothead. ‘Sheed. Legs. Breaking Dawn. Milk Carton. The Sphynx. Zeus. Flamethrower.

Do I need to justify Dawn as my number one after being edged out by Gabe in the elimination challenge this episode? Well, she made the top three even while handicapping herself by forgetting the red-eye gravy on three of her plates, and she was the only competitor to correctly identify a carrot-mustard puree in a dish with five or six other components in the quickfire, which is so good it deserves another mention. Also, her pork belly with yams and pecans looked incredible.

Forgetting a component of her dish at a climactic moment was a bit concerning, given her history with this kind of thing in the first few episodes. Still, Dawn has the most wins this season and seems unbeatable when she’s at her best. But will she be at her best??? I can’t wait to find out.

Dawn’s Basket:

• Beets
• Beer
• Black-Eyed Peas
• Brisket
• Carrots
• Coffee
• Collard Greens
• Pork Belly
• Texas Pecans

What makes a “Texas pecan” different from a regular pecan? I imagine that they’re bigger and can never shut the fuck up about it.

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Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.

Game 2 of the second round series between the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks was not competitive, as the Nets led by as many as 49 points and cruised to a win that gave them a 2-0 series edge. As such, the Bucks faced an immense sense of urgency in Thursday’s Game 3 in what amounted to a must-win situation. While it was far from pretty, Milwaukee managed to secure their first victory of the series, outlasting Brooklyn by a three-point margin to climb back into the series.

At the outset, the Bucks threw an opening haymaker that put them in a favorable position. Milwaukee scored the first nine points and, with the Nets failing to score until the 8:07 mark (missing seven straight shots), the Bucks eventually pushed their lead to 16-4 in the opening minutes.

After the Nets stabilized, at least to some degree, the Bucks had another spurt, scoring 10 points in a row. Brooklyn’s offensive struggles compounded with another lengthy scoring drought, and Milwaukee led by as many as 21 points at 30-9.

Overall, the Nets shot just 5-of-25 in the first quarter, including 1-of-9 from three. Milwaukee wasn’t incredibly hot, but Giannis Antetokounpo and Khris Middleton combined to score all of the team’s 30 points (15 each), and the star power was needed.

Brooklyn did come alive to begin the second quarter, scoring the first seven points of the period and cutting the deficit to 12 points.

Following a timeout by Milwaukee, Brooklyn didn’t stop their onslaught. The Nets put together a 17-2 overall run, turning a 21-point deficit into a six-point margin short order.

Beyond the obvious slippage on the scoreboard, the Bucks also had a hiccup when Antetokounmpo was called for a 10-second violation at the free throw line. As a reminder, this game took place in Milwaukee.

The Bucks scored just three points over a nine-period stretch, giving back the majority of their early gains. Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s Bruce Brown helped to key the comeback, slashing the margin to as few as two points before halftime.

Despite their second quarter hiccups, Milwaukee did take the lead into the break. Much of that could be traced to stellar play from Middleton, who bounced back from struggles in Brooklyn with 20 points in the first half.

While the first half was marked by a big swing in the direction of each team, the third quarter settled in with the feel of a rock fight. Neither team was scoring even a point per possession through three quarters, and while competitive, the proceedings were a bit ugly. Brooklyn did tie the game for the first time at 57-57 with five minutes left in the third quarter, and the Nets also took their first lead of the game (!) at 65-64 within the final minute. Milwaukee benefitted from a three-shot foul, though, and the Bucks held a two-point edge as the fourth quarter arrived.

There were fireworks in the third quarter, though, but they didn’t come in the form of explosive offense. Instead, it was a dust-up involving double technical fouls for Kevin Durant and P.J. Tucker, complete with significant security involvement.

Early in the fourth quarter, Antetokounmpo (finally) got a three-pointer to fall. After missing his first six attempts from long range, the two-time MVP connected to give the Bucks a 74-70 lead.

In the ensuing moments, Milwaukee had opportunities to build on their edge as Brooklyn endured a cold snap. Instead, the Bucks also stalled and, after a turnover-fueled stretch, the Nets tied the game and forced the Bucks to call timeout with 7:21 remaining. From there, a game that was already a rock fight took things to a different level, as neither team scored from the 6:09 mark until the 2:40 mark when Middleton buried a jumper to break a 76-76 tie.

By the modest standards of this contest, the dam then broke, with Middleton and Durant both making two jumpers in a row to keep the score knotted at 80-80. Milwaukee then had an empty trip, but Durant wasn’t ready to let up, as he converted a three-pointer (capping a seven-point burst in 62 seconds) to give the Nets the lead with 1:23 to go.

Out of a timeout, the Bucks scored the next four points, capped by a whirling layup from Jrue Holiday to give Milwaukee a one-point lead with 11.4 seconds remaining.

In fitting fashion for what was largely an unsightly game, Brooklyn endured a broken play on the ensuing possession. The end result was a contested shot for Brown that went begging and, after two fouls, Middleton connected on two free throws with 2.1 seconds left that gave the Bucks a 86-83 lead.

Brooklyn did have one final look at a tie, but Durant was forced into a very difficult attempt that clanged off the back rim. That allowed Milwaukee to escape despite a substandard offensive performance.

Milwaukee shot just 38 percent from the floor and 6-of-31 from three-point range in the win. Still, Middleton (35 points, 15 rebounds) and Antetokounmpo (33 points, 14 rebounds) did their part to grind through a victory, keeping the Bucks in the mix. For the Nets, it was an uncharacteristic offensive showing, but they did continue to show an uptick in their defensive baseline, and Game 4 will be pivotal on all sides when it arrives on Sunday.