Category: News

With their season on the line, Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors put together an impressive effort in Game 4 over the weekend, sending the team’s first-round matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers back to Wells Fargo Center for Monday’s Game 5. The Raptors faced a different challenge on Monday, though, as standout guard Fred VanVleet was unavailable to play and the 76ers were set to play in front of their home crowd. In the end, none of those obstacles bothered the Raptors, with Toronto leading for the vast majority of what became a 103-88 victory to force a Game 6 back in Canada.

The Raptors put together a strong first half performance, and it began right away. Toronto made eight of the first nine shots in the opening quarter, taking a 18-9 lead behind success on both ends of the floor.

Toronto held the lead at the end of the first quarter, largely based on 60 percent shooting and the creation of seven turnovers on defense. However, Philadelphia kept things manageable behind its usually explosive offense, and 10 points and five rebounds from Joel Embiid.

The Raptors scored the first 12 points of the second quarter, turning a two-point edge into a 14-point edge in a hurry. Philadelphia did not score more than five minutes to begin the period, with Toronto imposing its will.

The visitors maintained the lead for the first of the half, taking a 54-41 advantage at the halftime break. Toronto shot 51 percent with only five turnovers in the first half, with Philadelphia scuffling to a 35 percent shooting clip and 10 giveaways.

After halftime, Toronto maintained its lead in what was a bit of a slog in the third quarter. The Raptors led by between eight and 13 points for the entire period and, while both teams maintained reasonable efficiency on offense, the pace was glacial in nature. Toronto did produce a few easy baskets going to the rim, however, and the Raptors held a nine-point edge with 12 minutes remaining.

Philadelphia began chipping away at the deficit early in the closing period, climbing within nine in short order. To counter, the Raptors strung together a mini-spurt of their own, extending the advantage to 87-73 with less than seven minutes remaining.

Though the 76ers were able to get it back to nine in a hurry, their progress stagnated. Neither team scored for more than two full minutes, with the scoreboard reading 88-79, and it was Toronto that struck first after that lull when OG Anunoby converted an impactful three-pointer with 3:53 remaining.

After a timeout, Toronto added another three-pointer, extending the lead to 15 points, and that effectively served as a dagger. To make it clearer, Anunoby put an exclamation point on the proceedings with a thunderous dunk in the final 150 seconds.

Even with the caveat of a (very) slow pace, the Sixers simply were not good enough on the offensive end. Philadelphia scored less than a point per possession in the game, shooting 38 percent from the floor and 27 percent from three-point range with 16 turnovers. The Sixers received very little from their bench (11 points) and, with five players in double figures for the Raptors, it was a winning formula for Toronto. Siakam led the way with 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and the Raptors shot 51 percent from the field while lapping the Sixers in the turnover battle with only nine giveaways.

The series continues on Thursday evening, with the Raptors aiming to put even more pressure on the Sixers if they can secure a home win. VanVleet’s status could be paramount for Game 6 but, at this stage, Philadelphia might be feeling the temperature rising, particularly with the well-documented history of teams led by Doc Rivers and some of the playoff issues suffered by the team a year ago in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The Boston Celtics are the first team to punch their ticket to the second round of the NBA Playoffs, polishing off a sweep of the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night at the Barclays Center in a 116-112 win.

As expected, Kevin Durant came out firing early after a dismal first three games of the series, scoring 20 in the first half as he started to get loose from the perimeter and the midrange, trying his best to keep the Nets attached.

Boston still was able to take a 30-26 lead after the first quarter thanks in large part to getting Brooklyn in early foul trouble and marching to the free throw line. In the second, it was through more conventional means that the Celtics opened up as much as a 9-point lead, with Jayson Tatum once again stepping up to lead the charge.

Brooklyn would cut that down to as few as two, but as has been the case throughout the series, every time the Nets started to gain positive momentum, the Celtics had the answer. At the end of the first half it was Grant Williams who got left wide open by Kyrie Irving to push Boston’s lead back up to eight at the break.

The Celtics steadily increased their lead in the third quarter, pushing it to as many as 15 points with 36.8 to play in the third quarter, as Jayson Tatum once again took over, scoring seemingly at will.

However, in the early fourth quarter Tatum picked up his fifth foul on a charge taken by Blake Griffin that forced him to the bench and the Celtics offense struggled to keep up with their star out, allowing the Nets to go on a run that cut the Boston lead to as few as three with just under six minutes remaining, as Durant and Seth Curry kept their strong nights going offensively and Goran Dragic injected some life into the Nets as well.

Tatum would come back in for a couple minutes to push the lead back to six, but fouled out with 2:48 to go on an extremely questionable offensive foul trying to get an inbound against Goran Dragic.

The Nets would quickly take advantage going on a little run to cut the Boston lead down to just one with 1:30 to play on a Kevin Durant floater.

However, Jaylen Brown stepped up with the answer on the other end, pushing the Boston lead back to three with a tough take (and a fortuitous bounce back to himself) to set up a layup.

After Marcus Smart fouled Kevin Durant trying to get a steal, Durant split the free throws to leave the Celtics up two with under 24 seconds to play. Brooklyn didn’t foul immediately and on a run-out, Al Horford put the dagger in with a putback to put Boston up four with under 14 seconds to go.

A missed Durant three and two Marcus Smart free throws sealed the sweep for the Celtics, as they put forth one of the most impressive first round series performances in recent history. This was expected to be the hardest fought series and while each game was close, the Celtics simply outclassed the Nets throughout and earned some well-deserved rest before they head to a second round tilt with, most likely, the defending champs.

Tatum finished the game with 29 points and 5 rebounds, as he put a bow on a series that pushed him from being a star into the tier of the NBA’s most elite players in the eyes of many. Jaylen Brown had a 22-point night, providing a needed lift in the non-Tatum minutes down the stretch, and Marcus Smart also chipped in 20 and a team-high 11 assists. Boston, now fully healthy with the return of Robert Williams, certainly look the part of a championship contender and will face a much different challenge in the next round should the Bucks advance up 3-1, but one they’ll be confident they can conquer after this performance against Brooklyn.

As for the Nets, they enter the offseason earlier than anyone anticipated and face a number of questions about everything from coaching to their star duo, but the most notable issue is roster construction. Boston’s size gave the Nets serious problems and while Blake Griffin provided a lift on the glass in the fourth quarter, there is a clear need for more mobile bigs on this team (as Andre Drummond got played off the floor by Boston’s ability to space the floor with their bigs). Shooting is also a need for Brooklyn, which Joe Harris’ return should mitigate that some, but it’s clear that there needs to be more care taken in constructing this roster than simply assuming KD and Kyrie will be enough offensively.

FKA Twigs’ return to the musical world has been nothing short of eventful. The singer released her third project Caprisongs at the top of the year, and it was her first full-length release since 2019’s Magdalene. Caprisongs arrived with 17 songs and features from The Weeknd, Rema, Jorja Smith, Daniel Caesar, and more. The project was also highlighted by her “Tears In The Club” single with The Weeknd. Since its release, FKA Twigs has been relentless with music videos for songs attached to the project and she returns with a new one just days after dropping a video for “Honda.”

“Which Way” is the latest in a slew of tracks from Caprisongs that have received the visual treatment. In it, FKA Twigs enjoys a carefree and spirited moment with some friends as they run through the late-night streets while showing off their smiles and the group’s great chemistry. The video for “Which Way,” a track that features an appearance from Dystopia, comes after viewers watched FKA Twigs float through the streets of London with a tempting aura in her “Honda” video.

In addition to “Which Way” and “Honda,” FKA Twigs has also released videos for “Papi Bones,” “Bliss,” “Jealousy,” Meta Angel,” and “Tears In The Club.”

You can watch the visual for “Which Way” above.

Caprisongs is out now via Atlantic Records. You can stream it here.

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

The latest Johnny Depp trial has been predictably wild. It’s the troubled actor’s second attempt at a defamation suit, this time against ex-wife Amber Heard, and it’s been bad for both parties. While Depp’s fans have been supportive, he has his critics. Among them is Howard Stern, who is not impressed with what he sees as his performance.

Among Stern’s complaints was the fact that the trial is being televised. But the SiriusXM host had a theory for that.

“The reason he wanted that on — he wanted it televised [because] that’s what narcissists do. They think they can talk their way out of anything,” Stern said. “I think Johnny Depp is a huge narcissist and what I mean by that is — he figured, ‘I’ll put this on TV and because I’m so persuasive and because I’m so smart, I’m such a wonderful guy.’”

Stern then started playing clips, which caused Stern to call bull. “If he isn’t acting — I mean, he’s so over-acting,” Stern said. “‘Cause he’s writing his own material as he goes along. You know, I gotta tell you, he’s wrong. He shouldn’t be putting this on TV in any shape.”

Longtime co-host Robin Quivers alleged that Depp is “trying to save his career,” though she added, “I don’t think this is going to help.”

Alas, there’s a tiny problem with Stern’s theory: Depp wasn’t responsible for TV cameras being present at the trial. Judge Penney Azcarate allowed their presence, at the protest of Heard’s legal team. It doesn’t appear, however, that Depp’s team tried to stop them.

(Via Mediaite)

On Monday, a significant era in social media seemed to come to an inglorious end: Elon Musk did what he threatened to do and bought Twitter. The news sent shock waves across the platform itself. Some fled. It even affected stock connected to Donald Trump’s own failing stab at a Twitter clone. Whether this had anything to do with a strange pair of tweets from legendary actor Michael Caine is yet to be seen, but it managed to be the comic relief everyone needed.

Shortly before 6pm EST (Caine reportedly lives in London, in which case it would have been 11pm his time, though he could be traveling), the not-retired thespian and hater of blinking took to Twitter for the first time since January. The last time he tweeted, on January 12 of this year, he posted a picture of what looked like a golf cart in a lightly wooded area, with the words “Only The Best To All Of You.”

This time was equally friendly.

“Hello!” Caine tweeted. About 10 minutes later he was back. “Good Night My Sweet Ones,” he wrote this time.

Caine joined Twitter in September of 2010, a mere three years into its existence and well before it became the frequent world-uprooting hellscape it is today. Since then he’s only tweeted 345 times. Usually they’re just him wishing everyone well. He’s big on holidays. One time he simply wrote, “Have a great weekend.”

In other words, it’s both a big event when the star of Alfie tweets and charmingly mundane. But saying hello and goodbye in short succession was maybe the wildest thing he’d ever tweeted.

Some noted the speed with which Caine peaced out, wondering if it had to do with the big Elon Musk news or if he simply realized, after some 12 years, that Twitter wasn’t exactly a happy place.

Others argued that Caine is one of the only people doing Twitter right.

There were jokes.

And some pointed out that, inadvertent or not, Caine showed that a legendary entertainer doing something eccentric on a public site shows the real power of Twitter.

At Caine’s rate of tweeting, he may not be back until the fall. But maybe that’s the best way to do Twitter.

Temperatures are rising, which means it’s time to pack your bikinis and start planning your spring and summer travel getaways. There’s no better way to enjoy the sunshine and take a break from everyday life than with a tropical vacation to the Caribbean. Curacao, specifically, is a lesser-known destination worthy of a spot on your bucket list.

There’s no one better to give us the rundown on everything you need to see and do on the island than travel couple Bram and Manon, a pair of Dutch world travelers and the founders of the Flip Flop Wanderers blog. Flip Flop Wanderers is geared towards long-term, slow travelers in a constant pursuit of happiness, with a goal to help their followers make their travel dreams come true. Out of the many incredible destinations they’ve traveled to, Bram and Manon chose to make Curacao their home base, which they continue to explore between trips.

“Curacao really is an island you have to feel for yourself. You just have to experience the melting pot of cultures, the most beautiful beaches in the world, colorful architecture, and impressive nature to get a feel for how life on a Caribbean island is like,” the couple tells UPROXX. “With these ingredients, we feel that it is the perfect island for a vacation while still being fairly undiscovered. You just have to add it to your bucket list!”

If that’s not enough to convince you to book your flight, keep reading their expert travel guide on where to stay, play, eat, party, and chill in Curacao.

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WHY CURACAO?

We choose to live in Curacao because it really feels like a home for us. We had been here a few times already in the past 11 years, with 2011 being the first time when Manon did an internship on the island. For Dutch people, it’s very easy to go here and a lot of students spend time on Curacao. Bram came to visit Manon after 2.5 months as well and we both immediately fell in love with the island!

The number one thing we love about Curacao is of course the climate. Every day it’s around 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) and the sun always shines. It’s also a very beautiful island, with beaches as white as snow and the water incredibly blue, but also lots of nature to explore. Lastly, the people are also amazing with their colorful culture and delicious food.

What’s one thing that every first-time visitor should see or do in Curacao?

Everyone that comes here for the first time should take a road trip to Westpunt! Westpunt is where all the most beautiful beaches are located and where you’ll also find the highest point on the island (Mount Christoffel) and some stunning national parks. For the rest, you should take a walk through the historic city center of Punda. The famous pontoon bridge and the Handelskade are located here with all its colorful houses.

Where is the best place to get the absolute best Keshi Yena in Curacao?

The signature dish of Curacao is definitely Keshi Yena. This dish is a stuffed cheese casserole and tastes amazing. The best place to try this unique dish on the island is Restaurant Gouverneur in Otrobanda. A plus for this restaurant is that it also has a stunning view of the Handelskade! Other restaurant recommendations on Curacao are beach restaurants like Zanzibar, Pop’s Place, and Pirate Bay, or more boutique restaurants like Mosa, Number Ten, or Kome. You should also try lunch at Marshe Bieu, a market with the best local dishes!

What’s the party and nightlife scene like in Curacao?

The party and nightlife scene in Curacao is crazy! There is literally something for everyone. From beach clubs where you can dance with your feet in the sand, like Wet & Wild, Bonita, and Zanzibar, to more intimate small cafes, like Mundo Bizarro, Obaar, and Netto Bar. We often like to mix the both, which will give the best experience in how nightlife can be experienced in Curacao.

What are the best outdoor adventure activities to do while visiting Curacao?

Outdoor activities are endless in Curacao. Of course, you can do many amazing water sports and tours like diving, windsurfing, surfing, and boat tours, but there are also more adventurous activities to do like buggy driving, four-wheel driving on the Hatovlakte, and ATV driving. Curacao also lends itself perfectly for numerous hikes.

Our favorite hikes on the island are Mount Christoffel, Kabrieten Mountain, and around some of the beautiful saliñas on the island. If you want to do something a bit more relaxing, you can also paint a chi chi (which is a small statue of a typical Antillean woman) or take a guided walk to some gorgeous murals.

What is your number one must-visit beach in Curacao?

While literally every beach on Curacao is equally stunning, we think you should absolutely visit Grote Knip and Cas Abao. These are also the most popular and busy beaches but with good reason. The sand here is powder white and the water is some of the bluest on the island!

What would you say is the coolest hotel or place to stay?

Curacao has a great variety of places to stay. It all depends on what you want but there are luxury all-inclusive hotels on some of the most beautiful beaches or more intimate boutique hotels in the center of Pietermaai. We ourselves loved our stay at Avila Beach Hotel, which has its own private beach, and also our stay at Boho Boutique Hotel, which is perfect for stunning Instagram shots.

Best time of year to visit?

Curacao is a destination that can be visited year-round. Unlike other Caribbean Islands, we don’t get any hurricanes here. We do have a rainy season (from October until December) but it’s still not enough to speak from a ‘real’ rainy season. Rain showers are very short-lived and you will still experience lots of sunshine. For the rest of the year, the sun shines almost always and it’s always around 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).

Sean Hannity is technically a journalist, but he’s often been accused of doing the Republican party’s bidding. And for good reason: On top of unfailingly fawning interviews with Donald Trump (in which he tries, and fails, to get him to do the right thing), he was also caught firing off texts to his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows as the former president’s violent supporters were storming the Capitol. But that wasn’t the only time the Fox News reporter was commingling with the Trump team.

On Monday, CNN revealed they’d obtained almost 2,500 text messages between Meadows and various conservative figures, from lawmakers to reporters. It’s how the public learned Marjorie Taylor Greene had indeed floated the idea of Trump imposing Marshal Law (though she didn’t spell that correctly). On a less disturbing but still troubling note, there’s Hannity straight-up taking orders from Meadows two months earlier, on Election Day.

“Hey. NC gonna be ok?” Hannity texted to Meadows on November 3, inquiring about Meadows’ home state, in which he may have committed voter fraud.

“Stress every vote matters,” Meadows responded. “Get out and vote. On radio.”

“Yes sir,” Hannity wrote back. “On it. Any place in particular we need a push”

Meadows pointed to Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada, in addition to North Carolina. “Got it,” Hannity replied. “Everywhere.”

Yep, a Fox News host was so close with the Trump team that he was referring to one of the highers-up as “sir.”

Will Hannity bring this up on his nightly show? Or will he do what Republicans often do when they know they can’t spin some bad news and ignore it, waiting for their followers to forget about it? Take a guess.

(Via MSN)

Kanye West and Kid Cudi had a very public fallout at the top of the year, just weeks before Kanye released his eleventh album Donda 2. Their beef, which is still alive today, was centered on Kanye’s frustration with Cudi and Pete Davidson’s friendship, and because of that, Kanye announced that Cudi would not appear on Donda 2. More recently, Kanye and Cudi appeared together on Pusha T’s “Rock N Roll” on his newly-released It’s Almost Dry album, leaving many to believe that the two patched up their differences. However, Cudi made it clear that the beef was very much alive.

In a recent interview with Vulture, Pusha T shared his thoughts on Kanye and Cudi’s fallout. “It f*cking sucks,” Pusha said. “You know Cudi is my f*cking brother to the end. Just navigating these relationships, this brotherhood, the arguing … it gets public.” He continued, “It’s one thing for us to argue. We all argue — that’s not a problem. It gets out there, whether it’s Ye bickering first, or Cudi coming back with what he says. It’s super-fu**ed up.”

Pusha later recalled the “great energy” that was in the studio when the trio collaborated for “Rock N Roll,” a record that samples Beyonce’s “1+1.” “The day we made this record, everybody was so f*cking happy,” he said. “Ye’s chopping the Beyoncé sample, Cudi happens to come in that day. We see each other, and I hadn’t seen him in a while. He’s like, ‘I gotta get on a record. Are you crazy?’ Cudi did, like, three or four different references. Beyoncé cleared the sample. There was so much great energy around the making of that record.”

You can listen to “Rock N Roll” in the video above and check out Pusha’s full interview on Vulture here.

It’s Almost Dry is out now via GOOD Music and Def Jam. You can stream it here.

It’s been almost a month since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, a move that both overshadowed the Academy Award he won shortly thereafter and will likely dramatically change the course of his career. Since then, he’s laid low. Days after the incident, he released a public apology. He later resigned from the Academy and was subsequently banned from attending the show for a decade. However, he hasn’t been since in public since. That changed over the weekend.

As per People, Smith was seen on Saturday at a private airport in Mumbai, India. What’s he doing there? A source tells the publication that he’s there for spiritual purposes. There, he’ll practice yoga, meditate, and presumably work on himself, as he vowed to do in the apology he released weeks ago.

“Change takes time, and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason,” he wrote at the time.

Since the incident, Rock — who was struck after he made a joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith — hasn’t exactly laid low. He’s been doing shows, which have seen a massive uptick in sales. He hasn’t, however, addressed it, though others in his family, including his mom, have. In the meantime, awards shows have already taken precautionary measures to prevent such incidents at their own ceremonies going forward.

(Via People)

The Memphis Grizzlies made a substantial leap this season, zooming to a 56-26 record and blowing through any rational preseason expectation in the process. Though Memphis is renowned for depth, the Grizzlies are also led by a clear star in Ja Morant and, on Monday evening, the NBA announced that Morant is the recipient of the league’s 2021-22 Most Improved Player award.

Morant averaged 27.4 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds in only 33.1 minutes per game this season, shooting a career-best 49.3 percent from the floor. That led to his first All-Star selection as a starting choice from the Western Conference, and Morant is the first MIP winner as a member of the Grizzlies.

Appropriately, he was notified of the win in the midst of a team huddle and in advance of the Grizzlies’ Game 5 matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Though Most Improved Player candidacies are often difficult to parse, Morant made his case in making the jump from fringe stardom to certain superstardom. He averaged more than eight points per game more in 2021-22 and posted career-best numbers in minutes, rebounds, steals, free throw attempts, three-pointers, and three-point percentage. That formula was good enough to outpace Spurs guard Dejounte Murray, who finished second, and Cavs guard Darius Garland, who finished third.

Morant famously indicated a belief that his teammate, Desmond Bane, should have been an MIP finalist in his place, and that exemplifies the impeccable locker room vibes in Memphis. Regardless, Morant is clearly on the rise and he has a piece of league-wide hardware for his mantle at an early stage in a career with a bright future ahead.