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Monday night’s Game 2 between the Kings and Warriors in Sacramento ended with a 114-106 win for the home team to give them a 2-0 series lead. The fourth quarter was tense, with both teams trading leads and runs, but the Kings made their best push late, thanks in part to a mid-quarter ejection that saw Draymond Green get tossed for stomping on Domantas Sabonis’ chest after the Kings’ big man grabbed at Green’s ankle.

Green was hit with a Flagrant 2 while Sabonis got a technical, and without Green on the floor, the Kings could seemingly get just about anything they wanted offensively. After the game, Green explained that his frustration with getting grabbed in back-to-back games, noting Monk grabbed him in Game 1, and said “my foot has to land somewhere.”

On Inside the NBA, Shaq empathized with Green with an all-time quote, saying “I’d do the same thing,” before willingly admitting it was a “dirty play.”

“One bad play begets another,” Shaq said. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not gonna sit up here and be a hypocrite, I’d do the same thing. Don’t be grabbin at me, because, what am I going to do? Like if I stay there and just try to run forward, I fall. You gotta get em up off you. And if you’re up off of you and you’re in the way, you might get stomped on. Was it a dirty play? Of course it was a dirty play. … Just don’t grab me, and that wouldn’t happen.”

Kenny Smith then delivered a great line with “If I grab you and you hit me with a chair…it’s just excessive,” as he tried to explain that this wasn’t simply and eye for an eye situation. Meanwhile Chuck egged Shaq on as the big fella tried to get someone to grab his leg for an on-set demonstration of all his options, with Barkley asking if he can stomp Shaquille.

After a thriller in the opener, Game 2 of the Warriors-Kings series was more of the same as the two teams once again found themselves locked in a tight game in the fourth quarter. With Sacramento up four, Draymond Green and Domantas Sabonis got tangled up for what felt like the 100th time on the night, as the Kings All-Star big man grabbed Green’s leg while Draymond stepped over him. Green responded by stomping on Sabonis, who stayed down on the floor for some time.

It was a wild scene, and after a lengthy review during which Green egged on the Sacramento crowd and got into it with some fans behind the bench, the officials handed out punishment to both players.

Green was ejected for a Flagrant 2 for the stomp, which was unsurprising and deserved, while Sabonis was rightfully given a technical for instigating the altercation by grabbing Green’s foot.

Both players had spent much of the game trying to bait each other into fouls, crashing into one another and flopping to the ground throughout the first three quarters. As such, it wasn’t all that surprising to see them end up going too far, with Green forcing the Warriors to play the final seven minutes without him.

Latto may have taken subliminal shots at Nicki Minaj during her set at Coachella, but the “Princess Diana (Remix)” rapper has received love elsewhere. During a sit-down interview with The Shade Room, “Clap Back” rapper Ja Rule had no problem giving his fellow Queens native her flowers.

When asked about his thoughts on the “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” rapper’s impact on hip-hop, he made it clear that “Minaj’s place in hip-hop is [solidified].” However, he didn’t have a problem shading other ‘female MCs’ in the process.

“No female MCs out and about before Nicki came out. Before her, the last one was like, Lauryn Hill. And then before her, it was, like, Queen Latifah and Salt-N-Pepa and artists like this, MC Lyte,” said the rapper.

Rule doubled down on his statement, adding, “The female MCs they’re having a run like they’ve never had before, and to me, in my opinion, I would say Nicki re-opened that door.”

In the video’s comment section, fans called Ja Rule out for leaving out other women rappers like Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, Missy Elliott, Eve, and Trina, to name a few.

But Minaj’s fans came to his defense, writing, “She’s had an amazing career in rap that the other ladies don’t,” continuing, “That’s commendable and needs to be studied.”

Watch the full interview above.

Bad Bunny was an invigorating headliner at Coachella on Friday, April 14. The Un Verano Sin Ti artist brought out plenty of exciting artists, including Post Malone, Jhay Cortez, and Ñengo Flow. However, there was one particular thing that sparked drama online.

The screen behind Bad Bunny flashed with fans’ tweets, and one shaded beloved pop star Harry Styles: “Good night, Benito could do as it was, but Harry could never do el apagon.”

However, Rolling Stone has reported that a representative for Bad Bunny confirmed to the publication that he did not approve of that image. In addition, the company that provides the background visuals for Bad Bunny’s set, Sturdy.Co, shared a statement in an Instagram Story addressing the situation. Read it below.

“Our intention is to create light hearted designs that embody Bad Bunny’s personality and amplify the experience he presents as a performer. The request from the artist during the visuals for ‘El Apagón’ performance was to use the image only and not text from the tweet, which we take responsibility for and correct it for Friday’s performance. These visuals are a celebration of Bad Bunny and his dedication to empowering his native island, Puerto Rico.”

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

Jay-Z might’ve turned down the opportunity to collaborate with singer Ed Sheeran on his smash hit single, “Shape Of You,” but there’s one music titan that he just couldn’t pass up. Following his celebratory concert on Friday (April 14), which paid tribute to the late visual artists Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in Paris, Jay-Z dropped a new song honoring another pioneering creative force.

The track “New York (Concept De Paris)” features the work of the late revered musician and poet Gil Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron has had an influence on generations of artists to come along after him, including Jay-Z’s sister-in-law Solange. On the song, Jay-Z reimagines his 2009 single, “Empire State Of Mind,” which featured Alicia Keys.

Scott-Heron isn’t the only musician featured on the hybrid track. Guitarist Chris Payton, drummer Eric “Boots” Greene, percussionist Larrance Dopson, saxophonist Kenneth Whalum and trumpeter Keyon Harrold also make an appearance on the song. Engineered by Ken “Pooch” Van Druten with mixing provided by Gimel “Young Guru” Keaton, “New York” blends together jazz, rap, and R&B for the ultimate auditory experience.

Listen to the full track above.

It seems like Jay-Z’s celebratory concert in Paris was just the first step of his creative plans for the new year.

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

The annual NRA convention was held over the weekend, amidst a rash of mass shootings both before, during, and after it. There was a lot of finger-pointing at everything but the easy obtainability of legal firearms, including body-destroying AR-15s. (There was also Trump, there to tell weird stories and make fun of the former veep he almost got killed.) There were also stories that gave non-gun owners fascinating insights into how the NRA mind works. One came from South Dakota’s heartless governor Kristi Noem, whose various bizarre brags got prime real estate during Jordan Klepper’s first night hosting The Daily Show.

The program’s longtime correspondent got a rare chance sitting behind the desk; indeed, he said it was “the first time the show has let me sit down in five years.” He dedicated the first half of his opening segment to what he called “Cargo Pants Comic-Con or The Westminster Stepdad Show.”

He started with Noem’s speech, saying, “People like to stereotype NRA members as ‘gun-obsessed whack-jobs who want to arm little babies.’ The thing about stereotypes is sometimes they’re spot-on.”

Klepper then showed Noem speaking about how of her two grandchildren, her youngest, who’s almost two, is already packing heat. “I want to reassure,” she told the crowd, “you she already has a shotgun and she already has a rifle.”

Does it sound irresponsible to arm little kids who probably just saying their first words? Klepper thought so. “When my kid was little I was covering outlets, locking cabinets, and cutting grapes in half because they might be a choking hazard,” he said. “Kristi Noem’s like, ‘Here’s a shotgun, you’re on watch tonight.’

“I know liberals and conservatives don’t agree on much, but can we agree you should not own a gun if you don’t know how to poop in a potty?” he asked, flustered.

Klepper also showed Noem sharing a supposedly heartwarming story. When she was nine or 10, out on a hunting trip with her dad, he surprised her by saying he was abandoning her, forcing her to hunt her way to camp by herself. Despite being terrified, she did it, only to later learn that he hadn’t actually abandoned her. Instead he surreptitiously followed her to make sure she was safe — while making bear sounds to scare her all the more.

“What an adorable story about alcoholism,” Klepper concluded.

You can watch Klepper’s opening segment (which also touches on the Clarence Thomas mishegoss) in the video above.

As the old show business adage goes, “never work with children or animals.” Neither really care about sticking to the script, and that unpredictability can’t help but steal the scene.

But, hey, sometimes it makes for a hilarious skit.

“Saturday Night Lives”’s April 14 episode introduced us to “Enter Stage Woof, Dog Acting School,” where zany dog trainers Yolanda Batista (played by Ana de Armas) and Donna Colonoscopini (played by Chloe Finemen) advertise a “semi-accredited” acting school for pups who “know they’re hot” and are ready to take on Hollywood.

While de Armas and Fineman worked well together, their six canine co-stars went completely off the rails.

From Henry, the deadpan golden retriever who simply refused to show his face, to Romeo, to the collie who left poor Fineman on the stage with a mouth full of cold spaghetti after a “Lady and The Tramp” bit gone wrong, these doggos and their complete lack of cooperation kept the actresses on their toes.

Watch:

Absolute chaos right? But pure comedy gold.

Folks in the Youtube comments sections seemed to think so:

“Not a single dog did what it was supposed to do, 10/10.”

“When SNL brings actual dogs onto a skit you immediately know it’s gonna be hilarious.”

“When you got a 100% success rate at getting a dog to do the opposite of what you want it to, you know that is some top notch training!”

Dogs might not always be the best actors, but they are natural entertainers.

After an uninspiring first half in Game 2 on Monday evening, the Philadelphia 76ers turned on the jets a picked up a 96-84 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. That win gave Philadelphia a commanding 2-0 lead in the series and, unsurprisingly, Joel Embiid was in the middle of the attack for the 76ers. Embiid, the betting favorite to win the 2022-23 NBA MVP award, finished with 20 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks in the game and, as you may expect, he was in a good mood at the postgame press conference.

In fact, Embiid was jovial enough to make a timely joke about the fact that he was credited with only three blocks, saying “I need the Memphis scorekeeper” in the process.

In addition to making it clear that he felt he blocked more than three shots in the game, Embiid referenced a viral theory from earlier in the season in which a Reddit poster believed Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. had inflated statistics at home. That was particularly interesting given that Jackson Jr. won the 2022-23 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award just before the 76ers and Nets tipped off on Monday.

Embiid almost certainly didn’t make the Memphis reference by accident, even if he kind of tried to walk things back by invoking Denver later in the answer. It’s amusing regardless of context and, of course, Embiid is regularly hilarious. Whether Embiid should’ve been credited with more than three blocks or not, he has a knack for this kind of thing, and perhaps he’ll leave no doubt with more than three blocks when the series shifts to Brooklyn on Thursday.

2023 is Muna’s year. First, they opened up for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour, and the pop star said she was “absolutely killed it.” Then, over the weekend, Muna took to the stage at Coachella with lots of surprises: a Boygenius appearance and debut a new song, “One That Got Away,” which is out now.

The song is playful, and Katie Gavin’s vocals are as hypnotic as ever: “I’m the one who opened up ready for a connection / I’m the one brave enough to say how I was feeling,” she sings. It also comes with an entertaining music video, with an abundance of dancing, bills, and cooking.

“This song is just rubbing your hot ass in the face of someone who messed up their chance of being with you,” Gavin explained about the song. “It’s a bit vengeful and mean but also fun. F*ck it. Once I sent Naomi and Jo the demo, they really took the cockiness in the lyric and vocal performance and carried it to the extreme with the production of the track. It became this super bombastic Janet Jackson-era track. Ally Pankiw, who directed the music video with Taylor James, then came up with the idea of putting the music video in a criminal underworld, which we thought fit perfectly. Plus, we wanted an excuse to dress Jo up like The Bear.”

Listen to “One That Got Away” above.

History was made at weekend one of Coachella. Bad Bunny became the first Latin artist to headline the festival, and Blackpink became the first K-pop act to headline. In addition, Frank Ocean returned to the event, even if it wasn’t up to the standard of festivalgoers. But with a multiday event featuring some of the biggest names in music, there will undoubtedly be some hiccups, including sticking to the event’s end time.

According to TMZ, the festival’s organizer, Goldenvoice, has been charged a $117K fine for violating the City of Indio’s curfew. A representative for the city told the outlet that this high price tag comes after all three days ran over the allotted time.

The source told the platform that the festival went over time by 25 minutes on Friday (April 14), 22 minutes on Saturday (April 15), and 25 minutes yesterday (April 16). In the initial report, TMZ shared that the contract outlined the fine as: “A daily fine of $20,000 for the first 5 minutes past curfew, with another $1,000 tacked on for every minute after.”

During Frank Ocean’s chaotic set, he stated that he would be cutting his set early because of this reason. “Guys, I’m being told it’s a curfew, so that’s the show’s end,” said Frank.

As for the fines, the source shared that the $117,000 will be placed in Indio’s General Fund. The city uses a financial allotment for operating costs, including public works, the police, and fire departments.