Category: News

The Phoenix Suns looked like a team that wanted to make a statement in the first half, as the reigning West champs and this year’s best team in the NBA smothered the Pelicans in the first half, leading by as many as 23 and taking a 19-point advantage into the halftime break.

Like their Eastern Conference 8-seed counterparts, the Pelicans looked gassed in the first half having come out of the play-in from the 9-seed, as heavy legs were not helpful when dealing with the immense pressure applied on the defensive end by the Suns. The result was a 34-point first half and it looked for all the world like a blowout was imminent. However, New Orleans found its second wind in the third quarter and outscored its entire first half total with 37 points to pull to within eight of Phoenix, as the Pelicans pounded the offensive glass to get second chance opportunities and turned into the aggressors after struggling with the Suns physicality and pace early on.

However, as has been the case all season, the fourth quarter was the Suns time to shine, and Chris Paul absolutely took the game over, scoring 17 of the Suns first 20 points of the quarter, dominating in every possible facet to push the Suns back in front by as many as 16 after New Orleans cut the lead to six.

It was a vintage Paul performance, and despite the best efforts of CJ McCollum to answer with some big buckets of his own, New Orleans just didn’t have the horsepower to close the gap again on a Suns team that remains undefeated when leading after three quarters. Paul finished the game with 30 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds, singlehandedly stopping New Orleans’ second half run. Deandre Ayton was big, particularly in the first half, with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Devin Booker had 25 points and eight rebounds also doing much of his damage in the Suns dominant start.

The Pelicans deserve credit for their fight down the stretch, as it would’ve been easy to fold at halftime, as McCollum led the way with 25 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, while Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas each chipped in 18. There will be some positive takeaways for New Orleans from that second half run, particularly as they had some success playing small-ball, but the fourth quarter showed why they have such an uphill battle in knocking off this Suns team, as Phoenix simply is a monster in the final period because of how well they execute thanks to the steady hand of the Point God.

When the Milwaukee Bucks took a 32-16 lead late in the first quarter on Sunday night, it looked for all the world like the reigning champs were going to run the Chicago Bulls out of the building in the first game of their title defense. However, the Bulls showed the grit and resiliency that got them to the playoffs this year despite a bevy of injuries, and clawed their way all the way back into the game, even taking the lead on a few occasions in the second half, dragging the Bucks into the mud in what was a throwback to early 2000’s Eastern Conference playoff basketball.

Ultimately, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the champs were too much to handle for Chicago, with the two-time MVP leading the way with 27 points and 16 rebounds on the way to an ugly 93-86 win — but the Bucks will happily tell you they all count the same.

Early on, the Bucks size was overwhelming the Bulls, as Giannis and Brook Lopez got loose to start, pouring it on in a 9-0 run to start and eventually taking a 16-point advantage in the first quarter.

However, to the Bulls credit, they weathered the early storm and kept themselves attached in the first half, trailing by just eight at the break thanks to some big shots by Zach LaVine.

Nikola Vucevic also stepped up to give them a much needed interior presence against Milwaukee’s bigs, scoring 24 points and pulling down 17 rebounds on the night.

In the third quarter, the Bulls had their best spurt of the game, going on a 13-0 run to erase the Bucks’ lead and take a three-point advantage of their own on a Coby White three, as he gave them a jolt with 12 points off the bench.

From that point, the two teams would trade blows and leads, and neither offense could really get going in the fourth quarter, making for some real tension down the stretch. Giannis found himself in foul trouble, picking up his fifth in the fourth quarter and for a brief stretch in the closing minutes, he was on the bench when Mike Budenholzer made the bizarre decision to try and go offense-defense with his star to keep him from fouling out, but ended up trapping him on the bench during an important stretch — but got away with it.

The championship experience of the Bucks showed itself in their late game composure, as Jrue Holiday and Lopez each had some big shots and finishes to push Milwaukee to a fairly comfortable lead down the stretch.

Lopez finished the night with 18 points and five boards, once again showing his value to this Bucks team on both ends, while Holiday and Khris Middleton mostly struggled with their shot, combining for 25 points on 10-of-29 shooting. Still, they did enough to get the win, particularly on the defensive end where they kept the Bulls’ stars from having consistent success, as LaVine and DeMar DeRozan each had 18 points but needed 44 combined shots to get there.

The Bulls will try to take some positives away from the way they battled and how they held up defensively against the Bucks, but they’ll need LaVine and DeRozan to find a way to get loose if they’re going to be able to make this a series going back to Chicago.

The Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their highly anticipated first round series in a game that will be difficult to top in terms of drama and entertainment.

Jayson Tatum’s buzzer-beating layup was the exclamation point on a game that featured some incredible two-way play by both teams, as well as the Nets embracing their villain role in Boston. At the center of it all is former Celtic Kyrie Irving, who rather famously proclaimed his desire to stay in Boston long-term before bolting for Brooklyn a year later, cementing his status as public enemy No. 1 every time he sets foot in TD Garden. Irving got off to a quiet start on Sunday afternoon but erupted in the second half to finish with a game-high 39 points, catching fire from deep to carry the Nets back from a 15-point third quarter deficit to take the lead late into the fourth quarter.

Along the way, Irving got into it with the Boston crowd on a few occasions, most notably after hitting a long two in the corner late in the third quarter, spinning to the courtside fans and giving them, as Jeff Van Gundy called it on the broadcast, a “salute” with his middle finger. Irving seemed fueled by the unrelenting Boston crowd, basking in their boos after every made shot, and after the game he was unsurprisingly asked about those interactions.

“When people start yelling ‘p*ssy,’ and ‘b*tch’ and ‘f*ck you’ and all this other stuff, there’s only but so much you can take as a competitor, and we’re the ones expected to be docile and be humble and take a humble approach. Nah, f*ck that. It’s the playoffs.”

Irving was pressed further on the fans, and after suggesting the media ask the fans about it all, said he has to “embrace it, it’s the dark side.”

It is an added layer to a series filled with fascinating matchups and storylines, and so long as things stay within a certain realm it makes for great theater. Irving giving it back to fans is fine, as is fans wanting to be on him constantly — provided they don’t cross the line with what they say — and Irving taking the approach of embracing the villain role is for the best, because he’s cast in it whether he wants it or not.

Earlier this year, just days before he took the stage for the Super Bowl Halftime Show with Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and more, Snoop Dogg announced that he acquired the rights to Death Row Records. The label, which was infamously founded by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey, was the home of Tupac’s All Eyez on Me as well as Snoop’s first two solo albums: Doggystyle and Tha Doggfather. However, shortly after acquiring Death Row, Snoop decided to remove several albums in the label’s catalog from streaming services. During a recent appearance on Drink Champs, Dogg explained why.

“First thing I did was snatch all the music off those platforms traditionally known to people, because those platforms don’t pay,” he said around the 1:51:00 mark of the episode. “And those platforms get millions of millions of streams, and nobody gets paid other than the record labels.” He added, “So what I wanted to do is snatch my music off, create a platform similar to Amazon, Netflix, Hulu. It’ll be a Death Row app, and the music, in the meantime, will live in the metaverse.”

Snoop’s explanation comes after he apparently secured the rights to Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, which was released on Death Row back in 1992.

You can watch the full Drink Champs episode in the video above.

The NBA Playoffs have officially begun, which means regular season awards ballots have all been sent in and the league will begin handing out those trophies soon.

This season, the various awards races have been hotly debated, particularly Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year, which means there will be some fan bases and players upset when trophies get handed out. On Sunday night, just after Jayson Tatum polished off a thrilling Celtics win over the Nets in Game 1 with a spinning layup at the buzzer, the league released the three finalists for each award, allowing for the debates to rage on for a bit longer.

MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic
DPOY: Mikal Bridges, Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart
ROY: Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley
MIP: Darius Garland, Ja Morant, Dejounte Murray
6MOY: Tyler Herro, Cam Johnson, Kevin Love
COY: Taylor Jenkins, Erik Spoelstra, Monty Williams

There aren’t a ton of surprises, although some will be upset by the DPOY and MIP finalists, and we now know the field for the awards after ballots have been tallied. The MVP race, in particular, features the three expected names but few fans are willing to agree on who should take home the award. DPOY is the same way, with all three players having made their case for why they should win publicly. Sixth Man and Coach of the Year are the two with the closest thing you can get to locks, as Tyler Herro has been the runaway favorite for some time, and Monty Williams is a heavy favorite off another sensational Suns season — and in part out of some potential voter regret for not giving him the award last year.

Coming into the first round, all eyes were on the 2-7 series in the Eastern Conference, as the Boston Celtics would play host to the Brooklyn Nets in a matchup worthy of a conference finals, and Game 1 delivered on every single level.

The two teams would battle in a choppy, physical first half to a 61-61 tie, with a first quarter featuring 18 fouls, the most in any quarter all season in the NBA. In the second half, things would open up and we got the shotmaking clinic we expected from a series featuring some of the best individual scorers in the NBA. Jayson Tatum started the game as a facilitator with the Nets sending doubles and showing extra bodies every time he touched the ball, but eventually he got loose as he went for 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting, along with eight assists and four rebounds.

He got help in the backcourt from Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown, who combined for 43 points and six steals, and on the inside Al Horford took Bruce Brown’s critique the Nets would be able to exploit Boston’s centers without Robert Williams to heart and put forth a massive 20-point, 15-rebound effort. That group led the Celtics to a big run to open the third quarter, opening up a 15-point lead to take control of the game.

However, the Nets had the answer in the form of Kyrie Irving, who got into it with the Celtics crowd on a few occasions and went off in the fourth quarter to help close the gap and, ultimately, give the Nets a lead of their own.

The closing minute of the game was nothing short of pandemonium, as Irving hit a side-step three to push the Nets ahead by three with 46 seconds to play, giving him 39 points on the afternoon.

Jaylen Brown quickly got to the rim on the next Boston possession to cut the lead to one, and then the Celtics were able to get the stop they needed, swarming Irving twice with doubles and forcing Kevin Durant into a missed three-pointer. As Horford corralled the rebound, Boston chose not to use its timeout and had Jaylen Brown bring the ball up the floor for a wild final possession that led, somehow, to a spinning layup at the buzzer for Tatum, sending TD Garden into a frenzy.

It was an incredible cut from Tatum and find by Smart amid chaos, with Boston snatching the win away from Brooklyn in the most painful way possible. Somehow, it was the first buzzer-beater in the playoffs for the Celtics at home in franchise history, giving Tatum a rare place alone in Boston lore.

Rarely does a game get this much hype and over-deliver, but Game 1 absolutely did that. Both teams will feel like they should’ve won Game 1 with how well they played defensively, as Brooklyn tightened up tremendously for the final 20 minutes while Boston will feel great about their gameplan to frustrate Durant, who had 23 points on 24 shots. Irving was magnificent though and showed how the Nets can exploit the attention Boston is sending to Durant, as his 1-on-1 play and speed can neutralize the Celtics’ length and strength.

For the Celtics, they have to be thrilled with Horford’s play in particular, as his activity on both ends was a key difference maker, and any time you get a good Smart shooting game, it’s something you want to take advantage of with a win. Game 2 will be fascinating to see what adjustments come from both teams, but we can expect another incredible game, although maybe not without quite this thrilling an ending.

Game 1 of the Nets-Celtics first round series absolutely lived up to the billing as the marquee matchup of the opening round of the playoffs, as the two Eastern Conference titans went blow for blow in a physical game that saw things knotted up at 61-61 at the half.

Boston would make the first big run of the game, opening up a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter as Jayson Tatum ran the offense beautifully, Marcus Smart got hot from three, and the Celtics as a team executed their defensive gameplan to a tee. Boston did a terrific job of frustrating the Nets on offense, making life hard for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but you can only keep those two scorers down for so long.

Sure enough, the Nets started to pull back into the game late in the third as Durant hit a couple contested pull-up jumpers, and Irving got loose for a jab-step long-two from the corner that prompted a timeout. After hitting the jumper, Irving — who’s relationship with Boston fans can best be described as “acrimonious” — gave some heckling fans courtside the middle finger.

The best part was the ABC broadcast embracing the back-and-forth, with Mike Breen noting Irving has heard “who knows what” from the Boston crowd, while Jeff Van Gundy called it a “salute” and Mark Jackson said it was a “little hello to everyone in the building.” Irving will surely get a fine, but he shouldn’t since it’s that tension that is helping to sell this series for the league — and if ABC is willing to show it in slow-mo multiple times in the middle of the day on Sunday it can’t be that bad.

Back in February, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige performed at the NFL’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. The performance was put together by Jay-Z, who is in his second year as the NFL’s Live Music Entertainment Strategist. In addition to the aforementioned artists, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak also made surprise appearances during the halftime show. During a recent episode of Drink Champs with Snoop Dogg, N.O.R.E., who co-hosts the show with DJ EFN, revealed that Jay-Z told him that Eminem said he would not perform without 50 Cent’s participation in the halftime show.

“I said to Jay-Z, I have to ask this straight up. ‘Who is gonna perform at the NFL?’ and he [Jay] said to me—and I’m sorry for everybody who don’t understand—and he [Jay] said, ‘the White guy called for 50 Cent,’” N.O.R.E. said on the show. “I said, ‘Who is the White guy? Jimmy Iovine?’ And he said, ‘No, Eminem called directly for Fifty and he said I can’t do it if I can’t bring 50 with me.’”

50 Cent took issue with Jay-Z referring to Eminem as “the white guy,” and hopped on Instagram to respond. “Why would he have to say that should be the question?” 50 Cent captioned one post insinuating that he would not have performed without Eminem’s ultimatum. “NORE Your big homie is running around trying to look like a gay painter. LOL.” In a second post, which featured Jay-Z next to a picture of Jean-Michel Basquiat, 50 Cent wrote, “Why did he say the white boy, why he didn’t say the biggest rap artist in the world? Happy Easter! man enjoy the holidays.”

You can view the posts from 50 Cent and a clip from the Drink Champs episode above.

Coachella’s day-two lineup of hip-hop acts branched out from the two main stages (Coachella stage and the Sahara tent) to encompass some of the smaller tents and even take over some of the corporate activations. This was mostly a good thing but did make seeing some counter-programmed artists a little more difficult than day one. For instance, Flying Lotus playing a set at the Heineken House coincided with catching one of Brockhampton’s final performances at the Sahara stage.

Freddie Gibbs’ Gobi set also crossed Rich Brian’s at Sahara, meaning catching both would have taken a huge chunk out of both as well. For what it’s worth, Gibbs made the most of his placement and probably could have filled the Mojave tent, as his crowd spilled out of the back and sides. Despite not having Madlib – who had to miss the set for other obligations – Freddie smoothly held court himself, bantering with the crowd and his “hype man,” a bunny mascot. His big gag was pretending that the bunny had somehow bum-rushed the stage, a joke that delighted the crowd as much as his high-velocity, one-breath raps.

Another impressive set was JID’s. The Dreamville firecracker’s set at Sahara was also full to bursting, promising a warm reception for his upcoming follow-up to DiCaprio 2. He didn’t offer many extras on the bigger stage, but his exuberant energy filled the space, while he was cheered on by his Spillage Village compatriots Earthgang from the DJ booth. At one point, fellow Coachella performer Denzel Curry popped out to a massive roar from the crowd. It would have been cool if he could have used the stage more, though.

Something I forgot to mention in my day one recap is how moving most of the hip-hop acts to the Sahara stage was a smart move because it allows for more elaborate stage designs. Brockhampton especially took advantage of this, bringing along the big blue gorilla and canyon set from their tour. While things almost took a turn for the worst when the high desert winds nearly “skinned” the big guy before they could start their set, the crew was able to get things nailed down in time for the rowdy “boy band” to take the stage.

Their second-to-last set as a group showed all the hallmarks of their usual chaotic performances, but the crowd – mostly 20-somethings – gave them more energy than I’ve seen since I first saw Brockhampton at Flog Gnaw in 2017. They certainly stoked this “one night only” energy with repeated declarations that they wouldn’t be reuniting anytime soon. You could tell no one believed them – or maybe no one wanted to believe them – but it is a shame that they seem to be packing it in as they’ve hit their stride as performers.

21 Savage also used the Sahara tent to the fullest, using LED screens and raised platforms to turn the stage into a subterranean lair, perfect for evoking the menacing, horror-thriller vibe of his favorite movies. Savage, like Lil Baby from day one, showed that he has also entered the league of rap’s most-improved performers, projecting much more force than his laconic raps would suggest. His crowd was one of the biggest of the night, and when Post Malone popped out to perform “Rock Star,” I admit I got a little nervous about a potential crowd control situation.

Fortunately, the crowds at Coachella are a little more mellow than some of the younger bunches at other fests. Another huge crowd that focused more on having fun than pushing forward was the one for Megan Thee Stallion, who preceded day two’s closer, Billie Eilish. Like 21, her set was a briskly-paced showcase for some of her bigger hits. Unlike his, hers incorporated a wardrobe change to a mini-DJ set of some of her mixtape favorites. Her set also included a confrontational new track that seemed to take some verbal jabs at a male antagonist – something that’s sure to have fans buzzing for the next few days.

Other rap acts that made an impact thanks to the new streamlined hip-hop format at Coachella include Isaiah Rashad, who used his time to address the leaked video that surfaced on social media recently, Rich Brian, who double-dipped as part of 88Rising’s main stage set, and Masego, who set the tone early as one of the midday acts on the main stage that drew in masses of curious onlookers. Although there still wasn’t very much discovery on day two – at least, not for me – what I saw was an encouraging survey of rap music that showed how far so many of the top acts have come in the last few years.

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

Alex Jones is in trouble. Last fall he lost one lawsuit after another in cases involving the misinformation he spread about the Sandy Hook school massacre that occurred almost 10 years ago. But he has a brilliant plan to evade the payments that could leave him penniless: simply declare bankruptcy.

According to Bloomberg, financial advisers are speaking with the conspiracy theorist about restructuring his companies. One possible solution? Filing Chapter 11. That, Bloomberg reports, could allow his companies, such as InfoWars and Free Speech Systems, to keep operating while putting civil litigation against their owner on pause.

The defamation lawsuits have already cost Jones money. After he called in sick to a deposition — then got busted recorded his show the same day — he was forced to pay a fine.

The lawsuits stem from claims Jones made that the Sandy Hook school shooting, which resulted in 28 deaths, including the perpetrator and his mother, was a hoax. In 2018, six of the families filed lawsuits against him. Since losing some of those cases, Jones has been trying to hide his money via byzantine financial shenanigans. Though he’s been known to slam Donald Trump (albeit for the few times he’s done the right thing), he’s yet another of his supporters who owes an unimaginably large amount of money for spreading lies.

(Via Bloomberg)