Month: June 2021

Though Soccer Mommy’s Sophie Allison is prolific — releasing her debut album Clean in 2018 and her second record, Color Theory, just two years later in early 2020 — her new song “Kissing In The Rain” isn’t proof a third project is on the way. The one-off track is part of the Dark Nights: Death Metal soundtrack, which also includes contributions from fellow indie and alternative stars like HEALTH, Idles, and Mastodon.

DC Comics’ Dark Nights: Death Metal wa released by Loma Vista digitally this past Friday, and Allison’s song was released to coincide with that timing. It will also see physical release later this summer, on July 16. As for the new song, “Kissing In The Rain” fits firmly in the Soccer Mommy discography, leaning more toward the darker, more abstract noodling of Color Theory than her debut. And after a long-awaited break due to COVID-19, Allison also recently announced a slew of Soccer Mommy tour dates for 2021, so check those out for a chance to see her and the band doing new music live this fall.

Check out new music from Soccer Mommy above, and if you still need more, make sure you hear the Color Theory demos she released late last year.

More than 25 years ago, Jay-Z, Dame Dash, and Kareem “Biggs” Burke came together to form Roc-A-Fella Records. The label would eventually become the home of Jay-Z’s first album, Reasonable Doubt, which was released in 1995. The project is heralded as a hip-hop classic and one of the best efforts in Jay’s discography. Fast-forward to the present and Reasonable Doubt is now at the center of a lawsuit between Roc-A-Fella records and Dash.

According to TMZ and Page Six, Dash was sued by the company after he attempted to auction Reasonable Doubt as an NFT. Roc-A-Fella claims that Dash is unable to mint the album to sell because he does not own the rights. According to court documents filed by high-profile attorney Alex Spiro, Dash planned to sell the Reasonable Doubt NFT at a now-canceled auction and Roc-A-Fella’s current fear is that he will try to sell it again elsewhere.

“The sale of this irreplaceable asset must be stopped before it is too late, and Dash must be held accountable for his theft,” the court documents read. “Dash can’t sell what he doesn’t own. By attempting such a sale, Dash has converted a corporate asset and has breached his fiduciary duties. The court should stop Dash….and hold him accountable for his brazen theft.”

The lawsuit comes shortly after Jay-Z sued photographer Jonathan Mannion, who shot the cover for Reasonable Doubt, for using his name and image without consent.

On Thursday a large number of HBO Max subscribers received a mysterious email. The subject line read “Integration Test Email #1,” and the body read, simply, “This template is used by integration tests only.” It was clearly some internal hiccup, and jokes were quick to pile up. Director James Gunn joked that it was “somehow the first step in extremely clever viral marketing for #Peacemaker.” Fun was had by all.

The streamer itself was also quick to make light of it. “We apologize for the inconvenience, and as the jokes pile in,” wrote the company’s social media person. They then confirmed that “yes, it was the intern. No, really. And we’re helping them through it.” In other words, no one got fired for a dumb thing most people will forget in a day or two.

Everyone else had the same idea. Rather than dunk on the mystery intern (if it even was an intern), people tried to provide comfort. Some pointed out that, you know, s*it happens.

Even Monica Lewinsky herself weighed in with some calming words.

And a lot of people shared similar stories of accidental blunders.

Some pointed out that they might have actually done good.

And some pointed out that failing is a great way to learn, provided, of course, that you do learn.

Marvel Comics has been around for over 80 years, but it’s only semi-recently that they started flooding the market with movies and TV shows. In fact, it took them a few decades to even dip their toes in moving images. Their third-ever show, The Incredible Hulk — their second live-action, after the short-lived The Amazing Spider-Man — bowed in 1977, well before computers took over. Back then, they couldn’t do what they do now, in the Mark Ruffalo era, and create a green behemoth with CGI. Instead they simply painted a body builder green and told him to act angry.

That body builder was Lou Ferrigno, and on Friday he decided to remind MCU heads of the good old days, when the Hulk wasn’t willed into existence by an army of techies sitting at computers. Back then it was one guy, working out religiously, turning his body into a mass of muscle. And Ferrigno didn’t want to you forget it.

“Can’t think of another superhero that isn’t in costume or CGI,” he wrote on Twitter. “Worked damn hard on my diet and exercise for the Hulk. Wasn’t going to let anyone down. The hulk was my hero as a kid as well.”

Was this a not-so-subtle knock at today’s superhero stars, who are pretty normcore, allowing CGI to do most of the work? Seems like it. He covered his bases, too, throwing in a bit about costumes, meaning he couldn’t exempt the one ripped MCU star, Chris Hemsworth, who is nearly as bulky as Ferrigno was back in the day.

The Incredible Hulk ran on CBS over five seasons, plus a smattering of TV movies. Bill Bixby played mild-mannered Bruce Banner, and when he got mad — which he did early and often — he was suddenly replaced with Ferrigno, painted green and laying down the law. Ferrigno reprised the role, sort of, in the 2008 movie The Incredible Hulk, with Edward Norton, doing the voice of the Hulk and also doing a cameo as himself. You can watch the Hulk show on NBC.com.

(Via THR)

With E3 2021 and Summer Game Fest in the rearview mirror, it’s giving everyone a chance to decompress and think about video games. What were their favorites? What are they really excited to see in the future? Where in the world are all the AAA games? We knew the tumultuous year that was 2020 impacted the development of a lot of big-budget titles, but the offerings we saw during this week-long celebration of gaming were pretty slim. Thankfully we have a thriving and growing part of the industry that is just as important to video games as the latest Bethesda or Square Enix title: Indie games.

The indies were out in full force throughout Summer Game Fest and E3 with multiple showcases and appearances in a few of the bigger presentations. All of them were a welcome breath of fresh air. Indie games are an important part of modern-day gaming industry because they typically aren’t forced to fall under an umbrella of some kind. Indie studios make a game because that is what they artistically want to create. The business side of video games is very real, even for indies, but the bigger companies can’t afford to always take risks the way indies can. Making a video game is expensive and doing something dramatically new and interesting, with the potential to flop, is not an investment many companies are willing to make. This is why so many games fall back on the proven formulas. Until that changes, we’re going to need to look at indies for games that are creative and different.

While most of the major shows at E3 were filled with the typical gameplay we expect like shooting, zombies, or swords, the sheer diversity we saw from the indie games blew the big-budget trailers out of the water. And this isn’t just a numbers game: Yes, more games mean a larger chance for variety, but the magnitude of difference in each game is astounding. Even something like the Wholesome Direct, an event about non-violent games, had concepts so wildly different from one another that anyone watching could have found at least one game they were interested in. Add in some more traditional games like side scroller, shooters, or RPG’s and there’s still an incredible variety in how indies present to the market.

Whether a game is supposed to be weird, strategic, overly violent, wholesome, or challenging we can always expect something different from indies. And that creativity of indie games comes from a place that has plagued the video game industry for years: The ability to diversify itself. Many of these indie studios come from all over the world and bring in ideas well beyond the less inclusive industry gaming was in the past. Women, people of color, non-cis characters are not a surprising sight for indie games. This isn’t to say that indie games have managed to dodge the problems of the larger game industry, because they haven’t. Many still have issues with diversity and representation and face crunches that can be even harsher than the ones at large studios. The games they’re creating, however, come from different voices and minds than the ones we’re used to seeing from AAA developers.

These differences led to an E3 and Summer Game Fest full of the most versatile library of games we’ve maybe ever seen. If the AAA developers are not going to take the risks then we need to look to indies to find games that are creative, different, and willing to push boundaries. We also know that there’s a good chance at least one of these games is going to hit it big time in the coming years. Hades, Celeste, Night in the Woods, Cuphead, and Hollow Knight are all indie games that blew up in popularity and earned Game of the Year accolades. Even if we don’t hear about it after launch there’s always the chance of a slow burn. Among Us, for example, came out in 2018 but didn’t blow up until 2020. Indies have a long lifespan that goes beyond their release date and is usually supported well beyond launch day. It’s fun to put support behind a game, play it in early access, and watch it become a Game of The Year contender later on. Almost like getting into a band before they make it big and play big shows after winning a Grammy.

As indie gaming continues to grow in popularity, and especially if AAA developers continue to play it safe, we’re only going to see more developers attempting to break out on their own. Away from the umbrella of giant corporations and a chance to be creative, indie games are the lifeblood of the industry right now. There was a time where we would maybe get one or two small breakout indies a year, a Castle Crashers, Super Meat Boy, or Shovel Knight. Then the genre was kind of pushed aside to places like Steam, with the really popular ones making their way to consoles. Now, in 2021, they’re just as mainstream as any other video game. This year’s E3 and Summer Game Fest was proof of that. More than 100 games were shown and there’s no chance that everyone can’t find at least one game they’ll like in that crowd.

Even the most committed devotees of AAA gaming should embrace the indie scene in this gap between major releases. Developers of indies are creating experiences you won’t find anywhere else and deserve more attention. The best thing about a late dive into indies is that it’s an extremely cost-effective experiment. Set aside $20 or $40, wait until there are some sales and check out some indie titles that catch your eye. It will be a refreshing experience that you won’t regret, and it will add a bit to that backlog you should be going through these days, anyway.

Bourbon is inherently cheap, generally speaking. It’s usually not aged too long, it’s made from locally grown grains, and it doesn’t have to be shipped overseas, picking up tariffs along the way. The average price range for most bourbon is between $20 and $50. Sure, bourbons will easily reach $100 per bottle thanks to craft grain-to-glass production or rare limited editions and so forth. But the vast majority of bourbon falls in that low price range (before the hype machine takes hold).

With Father’s Day approaching and bourbon always making a popular gift for dads, we decided to taste expressions on the lower end of the bourbon average price point against those the higher end. We’re blindly tasting bourbons that average $25 per bottle against the ones the average a little north of $50 per bottle. Naturally, these prices will shift a little higher and lower depending on where you’re buying the bottle.

Our lineup for the $25 bottles are:

• Bulleit Bourbon
• Buffalo Trace
• Redemption Bourbon
• Jim Beam Black
• Evan Williams Single Barrel

Our lineup for the $50 bottles are:

• Jefferson’s Very Old
• Four Roses Single Barrel
• Baker’s Single Barrel 7
• Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
• Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select

We have a few wrinkles in this tasting. First, I’m avoiding Wild Turkey. One of my all-time favorite whiskeys, in general, is Wild Turkey Rare Breed ($50) and I’d choose that as number one, even in a blind. I do this for a living and I know that expression in my sleep. So, no Turkey.

I’ve also included a cheap single barrel to see if it stands up to the ones that are twice the price. Lastly, I’m including a Tennessee Whiskey just to see how it stands up to the Kentucky bourbons, since all Tennessee whiskeys are legally bourbons.

Sound good? Okay, let’s get into it and see how this shakes out.

Part 1: The Taste

Taste 1:

Tasting Notes:

This opens very classically with clear notes of vanilla, mild spice, light wood, and a touch of leather. The taste is all cinnamon sticks and vanilla pudding next to a little apple, dried corn, and maybe white pepper.

Taste 2:

Tasting Notes:

Ah-ha! Hello, Jim Beam.

There’s a clear sense of cherry, caramel corn touched by salt, and vanilla beans. The taste has this very, very light smoke from a vanilla husk with a tart apple counterpoint and Graham cracker graininess. There’s a light touch of dry wood on the end with a creamy vanilla mouthfeel.

Taste 3:

Tasting Notes:

Raw leather? Vanilla pancakes with maple syrup? Gotta be Buffalo Trace. The body of this one is nutmeg-heavy eggnog next to tart-yet-bright red berries leading towards a mild woodiness next to even milder tobacco buzz.

Taste 4:

Tasting Notes:

There’s a mix of caramel, apples, vanilla, and soft, slightly old leather up top. The taste is bold honey tobacco with a touch of minerality softening the taste very nicely. The end has a mix of soft, worn leather next to pear candy.

Taste 5:

Tasting Notes:

This opens with a salted caramel candy wrapper — think those shiny silver foil ones — next to a very mild hint of dark cocoa powder. The taste is very nutmeg-forward, with light touches of vanilla pudding. It all leads towards mild black pepper, sweet popcorn, and a final note of spicy heat.

Taste 6:

Tasting Notes:

This is light and velvety and really leans into the cherry and softest leather with a final whiff of sticky pine sap. There’s delicate kettle corn with a holiday spiced caramel drizzle that leads towards a fruit medley of apples, peach, pears, bananas, and more cherries with a light buttery toffee. The woodiness comes back at the end and is reminiscent of an old high school woodshop.

This is Jack Daniel’s.

Taste 7:

Tasting Notes:

This is all honey, eggnog spices, soft leather, and … something green. Maybe it’s green reeds or wet wicker deck furniture. The taste is apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks next to almond encrusted toffees very close to the ones you get at See’s Candies. The end has this super silky vanilla tobacco vibe that’s hard not to love.

Taste 8:

Tasting Notes:

There’s a pleasant maple syrup cut with allspice and cinnamon with this idea of matchsticks (flint and wood) and a slight grassy green note. The taste dances between pear tobacco and walnut vanilla ice cream. The taste veers towards an oily orange that’s nearly bitter and a lingering touch of mild herbal funk.

Taste 9:

Tasting Notes:

Woah! This is marzipan counterpointing dark blackberry with a honey-soaked dry cedar on the nose. The taste leans into a creamy and nutty nougat while still holding onto the sweet and earthy berries and that sweet, soft wood. By the end, it’s super creamy and very distinct.

Taste 10:

Tasting Notes:

This is a mix of Christmas cakes, old musty cellar beams, and thick vanilla ice cream. The taste is all soft, worn leather, vanilla cake with a buttery frosting countered by a spicy tobacco chew. The end of the taste takes a turn towards almost oily and earthy green herbs like rosemary, tarragon, parsley, and very mild dill.

Part 2: The Ranking

10. Bulleit Bourbon — Taste 1

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $25

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from Bulleit embraces a high-rye mash bill that’s comprised of 68 percent corn, 28 percent rye, and four percent malted barley. The juice is then rested for six years before blending, cutting down to proof, and barreling.

Bottom Line:

This was exactly as advertised but not much more. There were a lot of drams and this just kind of got lost in the mix.

9. Buffalo Trace — Taste 3

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $25

The Whiskey:

This is the whiskey that heralded a new era of bourbon in 1999. Famed Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee came out of retirement to create this bourbon to celebrate the renaming of the George T. Stagg distillery to Buffalo Trace when Sazerac bought the joint. The rest, as they say, is history — especially since this has become a touchstone bourbon for the brand.

Bottom Line:

That raw leather note is just hard to get past. The rest of the sip is fine but this is a bottle that sits on my shelf, usually untouched.

8. Redemption Bourbon — Taste 5

ABV: 42%

Average Price: $25

The Whiskey:

This MGP sourced juice from Redemption is a masterclass in blending. The juice inches towards a high-rye mash bill (21 percent) and is comprised of barrels picked by Master Blender Dave Carpenter. The whiskey is then proofed down to a very drinkable 88 proof with that soft Kentucky water.

Bottom Line:

This was just a little thin today. The notes were all there and perfectly fine but nothing overly exciting. It really feels like a mixer with every additional nose and sip. But that’s perfectly fine — I keep telling folks, not every expression is for sipping slow!

7. Jim Beam Black Extra-Aged — Taste 2

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $23

The Whiskey:

This expression replaced the old Jim Beam Black Label 8 Year. The juice in this bottle is aged longer than your average four-year-old Beam, but there is no age statement on exactly how long. The best way to think of it is that it’s aged for as long as it needs to be, according to the distilling team.

Bottom Line:

I used to drink a fair share of this but it’s fallen off my radar recently. It’s certainly well-made but feels light and thin compared to others on the list today.

6. Baker’s Single Barrel 7 — Taste 10

ABV: 53.5%

Average Price: $52

The Whiskey:

This is a newish release from Beam’s high-end line. It’s also the first single barrel release from Baker’s, which intends to phase out its small-batch expressions in favor of this bottle. The juice comes from hand-selected barrels from specific spots in the Beam warehouses, with whiskey that’s at least seven years old. In this case, we’re talking an eight-year-and-seven-month-old barrel.

Bottom Line:

This is a funky and fun whiskey that really stands out. But, funky and fun isn’t always what you want. Today, it was fine but a little too complicated to draw me back.

5. Four Roses Single Barrel — Taste 8

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

Four Rose’s standard single barrel expression is an interesting one. This is their “number one” recipe, meaning it’s a high-rye (35 percent) mash bill that’s fermented with a yeast that highlights “delicate fruit.” The juice is then bottled at 100 proof, meaning you’re getting a good sense of that single barrel in every bottle.

Bottom Line:

This was solid all-around. It was also a nice outlier and felt like something I’d reach for when I’m tired of the same old stuff.

4. Evan Williams Single Barrel — Taste 4

ABV: 43.3%

Average Price: $26

The Whiskey:

This is Heaven Hill’s hand-selected single barrel Evan Williams expression. The juice is from a single barrel, labeled with its distillation year, proofed just above 43 proof, and bottled as is.

Bottom Line:

I’m both surprised this cracked the top five and really not surprised at all. This really is a solid whiskey, especially at this price point. It just tastes like good, solid bourbon.

3. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select — Taste 6

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $55

The Whiskey:

This was first introduced in 1997. The juice is hand-selected from barrels on the upper floors of Jack’s vast rickhouses. The whisky is bottled at a slightly higher proof to allow the nuance of the juice to shine.

Bottom Line:

This is so different from every other bottle on the list. That Lincoln County Process of sugar maple filtration really makes a huge difference in turning bourbon into Tennessee whiskey. This is light but dialed. It’s very fruity while still feeling like a well-aged whiskey.

It’s a damn easy sipper.

2. Woodford Reserve Double Oaked — Taste 9

ABV: 43.2%

Average Price: $57

The Whiskey:

This expression takes the standard Woodford bourbon (triple distilled, matured for six to seven years in a climate-controlled warehouse) and gives it a finishing touch. The bourbon is blended and moved into new barrels that have been double toasted but only lightly charred. The juice spends a final nine months resting in those barrels before proofing and bottling.

Bottom Line:

This was pretty much tied for first place. It’s so close. This is a refined sipper that really nails its flavor profiles while maintaining a creamy taste.

1. Jefferson’s Very Old — Taste 7

ABV: 45.1%

Average Price: $58

The Whiskey:

Jefferson’s Reserve is a masterclass in the power of blending. This expression is a marriage of only eight to 12 barrels from three different bourbons which are, for the most part, very old. How old you ask? There are 20-year-old barrels in the mix — sorta crazy, considering the price.

Bottom Line:

This was so well built with a clear sense of what it was. It was also a dream to sip with a smoothness that made me move this bottle from the back of my shelf to front and center.

Part 3: Final Thoughts

Jefferson’s Very Old won this blind tasting in a walk. The top three were all great but Jefferson’s was the clear winner.

The real winner in my opinion was Evan Williams though. Their Single Barrel expression is a goddamn gem and placed above two bottles that cost double the price. That’s undeniably a great thing from a great bottle of bourbon (my editor always wants to talk “value picks” — this is it).

All of that being said, I’m not overly shocked by the top five (outside of Evan Williams). It shouldn’t be a surprise that more refined and expensive bourbon tastes better. Still, that Jefferson’s Very Old is a damn fine dram of whiskey … bourbon or not. Now I’d like to see how it holds up against $80 bottles.

After falling down 0-2 on the road, the Clippers capped off a series comeback by fighting from 26 down to finish off the Jazz in six games for the franchise’s first-ever appearance in the conference finals.

Utah took a commanding lead early off hot shooting by Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson. Mitchell started things off with double digits in the first period, playing aggressively despite clearly being hampered by his right ankle sprain. But it was Clarkson who put the pedal down in the second, scoring all 21 of his points in the frame to put Utah up 21 heading into the half. The pair looked to give the Jazz a sturdy lead they could protect in the third and fourth quarters.

Terance Mann had other ideas. The young wing, who broke out to close out the first round series against Dallas and has stepped into the starting unit with Kawhi Leonard out, put together an unreal second half on both ends. Despite his inexperience and lack of offensive polish, Mann attacked the rim relentlessly and provided energy for a Clippers team that can occasionally lack it.

Mann scored 20 in the third period to give him the most points of his entire basketball career.

That helped the Clippers to a 17-0 run in the third quarter that cut Utah’s lead from 20-plus to single digits heading into the final period. Jazz coach Quin Snyder strangely took Mitchell out for part of the run, which he might come to regret knowing the outcome.

In the fourth quarter, the Clippers’ offense exploded. Both Mann and Reggie Jackson went at Gobert inside without fear, and because Los Angeles played so small, there wasn’t anywhere great for Gobert to go with Mann demanding defensive attention and the whole roster hitting shots.

Because of those adjustments, Gobert just did not intimidate Clippers whatsoever.

At the same time, Paul George was able to go into playmaking mode and set his teammates up because they were making shots. He finished the game with seven assists to go along with 28 points and nine rebounds.

Everyone from Patrick Beverley to Nicolas Batum joined in on the parade, and it was a mirror image of the previous half, when the Jazz couldn’t miss. Utah was 12-for-19 from deep in the first half while the Clippers were 6-for-20. In the second half, the Clippers shot 14-for-19 from behind the arc while the Jazz were 9-for-24.

A Jazz team that is supposed to inspire fear in anyone who dares enter the paint crumbled, as Gobert allowed baskets at the rim repeatedly, turned the ball over, and allowed 81 second-half points to the Clippers. With the comeback, the Clippers will make their first appearance in the conference finals in franchise history and secured a matchup with the Phoenix Suns.

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (in 2021) just over a month away, the past couple weeks have featured the United States’ best competing in Olympic Trials for the chance to earn a spot on the team for Tokyo in various events. Gymnastics trials saw Simone Biles do what Simone Biles does, as has swimming where Katie Ledecky is still lapping the field as a distance swimmer.

On Friday, the track and field trials continued in Oregon where some of the field events had their finals, namely shot put where America’s strongest, beefy gentlemen battled it out to see who could huck that heavy ball the farthest. The winner of the event was Ryan Crouser, which came as little surprise as he was the favorite coming in as the gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but his final throw of the evening stunned everyone as he broke the shot put world record that had stood for over 30 years by a whopping eight inches.

In a sport where fractions of an inch can separate winners and losers in an event, beating a world record by eight full inches is pretty outrageous. As soon as he let it go he knew he had a good throw and the announcers were in absolute awe of what they’d seen, noting he almost threw it clean out of the pit, knowing he had just smashed the record and were just awaiting official word. Shouts to Crouser who will head to Tokyo as the favorite to win back-to-back golds, and now has himself a world record throw to boot — which figures to be very hard to break given how long the previous record stood.

The Vegas Golden Knights and the Montreal Canadiens squared off on Friday evening in their Stanley Cup Semifinal series. Things are all tied up, 1-1, and late in the third period, Vegas looked like it was going to swipe a game off of the Canadiens in Montreal. The team was up, 2-1, thanks to a goal by Alex Pietrangelo early on in the third, and held onto that lead for much of the frame.

Then, with just under two minutes left, Marc-Andre Fleury left his net to skate into the defensive zone and attempt to handle the puck. What happened next was a moment of sheer calamity that the sure-fire Hall of Fame inductee will absolutely not have in his end of career highlight reel.

Josh Anderson was in the right place at the right time and managed to score the easiest goal of his career. And as you can guess, this went over pretty well with our neighbors to the north.

Unsurprisingly, the game ended up having to go to overtime to determine a winner. Fleury, despite turning 37 in a few months, is still extremely good, so he’s almost certainly going to make up for this by doing something insane sometime later in this series, but he will want to have this one back, regardless of the outcome of Game 3.

The Sixers mustered a close win, 104-99, over the Hawks in a road Game 6 on the backs of two strong performances from Joel Embiid and Seth Curry.

Atlanta got out to a big early lead. Not only was their offense in high gear, but Ben Simmons picked up his second foul with 6:41 to go in the first period and went to the bench. And as they have all series, Trae Young and the Hawks responded by hitting the gas.

With Embiid still nursing a torn meniscus and already not the most smooth big man defensively when he has to contain in space, Young was able to take advantage of him in the pick-and-roll. Young’s IQ continued to shine as it has throughout these breakout playoffs, and he scored 20 points in the first half to go with seven assists and zero turnovers. He killed Philadelphia with pull-up threes, floaters, and lobs.

It looked like the Sixers had no idea what was coming.

With Simmons and Tobias Harris both dealing with foul trouble, head coach Doc Rivers went to Tyrese Maxey for extended stretches in the first half as Simmons played just 10 minutes. Maxey responded with a huge performance, scoring aggressively and efficiently all night.

Embiid had just eight points on 4-for-11 shooting in the first half, but the floodgates finally opened in the third period as Philly opened with a 12-0 run. That was courtesy of an Embiid triple as well as three from Curry, who continued to pour it in from deep.

The Sixers consistently turned defense into offense, created threes, and took control of the game throughout the quarter and it looked like much of the rest of the series in that regard. That is, until John Collins came up with another monstrous, momentum-changing dunk over Embiid to give Atlanta some much-needed energy.

Collins drew a ton of contact on the slam and somehow turned it into a foul called on Embiid. The young Hawks big man made the and-one free throw and Atlanta was back in it.

As Atlanta threatened their lead again, the Sixers turned to Maxey once again after a fourth foul on Simmons, and the rookie responded again.

Simmons picked up his fifth foul with just over seven minutes to go in the fourth, but Rivers stuck with him this time, with the season on the line. Philly was nursing a five-point lead, but Rivers likely felt he couldn’t afford to let Young get to work without Simmons on the floor to guard him.

Yet on cue, the Hawks went back to their Hack-a-Ben strategy that worked so well in Game 5. On two straight possessions, Simmons went 1-for-2 from the line, allowing the Hawks to cut the lead to five. Rivers finally pulled him out with 6:04 to go in the game.

The Sixers kept their lead, but a couple moments later, Embiid was called for a charge after swinging his arm upward at Collins on a layup attempt. As Embiid fell to the ground on the play, he landed atop Collins, who then kicked and shoved Embiid off him. That escalated things between the two, and Embiid stepped in Collins’ face and backed him into the basket stanchion.

After a review and a challenge by Rivers, the charge on Embiid stood, and he and Collins received double technicals. It was at this point that the Hawks also announced Bogdan Bogdanovic would miss the remainder of the game with “right knee soreness.”

Young, as always, had a response. He made a wicked three at the end of the clock to keep the game within arm’s reach.

Despite a couple misses down the stretch (and a power malfunction), Atlanta had a couple turnovers of their own that allowed Philadelphia to secure the win and force a Game 7.