While out in the real world we’re still in the doldrums of the two longest months of our lives, Top Chef, our blessed mental escape to the days of restaurants and social gathering, is just heading into playoff season. With most of the easy eliminations done, it’s time to separate the uni foam from the scallop ceviche broth.

This week’s episode began with a “telephone challenge,” (SPONSORED BY OUR FRIENDS AT METRO) in which the chefs had to try to recreate a dish from Osteria Mozza using only the description their family members (wife, husband, mother, sister) gave over the phone. We don’t deserve so many kooky Asian mothers. Also, what a brilliant way to start marital disputes. What’s next, a putting-together-IKEA-dressers challenge? (Tip your waiters, try the veal, etc).

The winner of that challenge received immunity in the elimination challenge and $10,000. Though really, I think this should’ve worked the opposite way. The worse your mother/sister/wife/husband is at describing food, the more of an advantage you should get in the elimination challenge. Think of it like financial aid, leveling the playing for the people who really had it hard. “Okay, yes, maybe I singed my souffle, but do you see where I came from? Not only am I the first person in my family to graduate from culinary school, I was raised in a chaotic household where my mother couldn’t even tell a yellowtail collar from a whole roast branzino! Frankly, I think I’ve made tremendous progress.”

In the elimination challenge, the gang all headed down to the Westfield Century City, which, if you’ve never been, is a wonderful food court trapped inside the world’s most nightmarish hell-mall from a Terry Gilliam movie, a human terrarium in the “spotlessly depressing late capitalism”-style (they love to hold press screenings there so I am unable to avoid it). They say that if you if walk through the stacked five-acre Escher painting of a parking garage late at night, you can hear the moans of people who starved to death looking for their cars four or five months ago.

Anyway, that challenge involved working with the family member to create a dish based around a food retail product idea — a spice rub, a pasta sauce, a very small baseball bat with which to bruise your uni, whatever. One of the moms even fainted! We all had a blast.

POWER RANKINGS

11. (-2) ((Eliminated)) Jennifer Carroll

AKA: Calamity Jenn.

Just as I feared, one of my favorite competitors ended up going home before we even got to truly enjoy her mercurial personality. After weeks of hiding in the middle of the pack, Calamity Jenn finally biffed one, attempting to sell the judges on unstrained ginger in her “Sunny Lemon Ginger Love Sauce.”

“Texture terrible,” said Tom.

“The dairy muddles the flavors,” said Gail.

“It didn’t taste very ‘sunny’ to me,” said guest judge Nancy Silverton.

“Aw, but I like unstrained ginger,” Jenn grumbled unconvincingly through a mouthful of root pulp.

It’s too bad Calamity Jenn never pointed out that “Sunny” referred to her sister, not to the actual sun. “This doesn’t taste very sunny to me.” “Oh yeah, well have you met my sister? She’s a real C-rag. Our relationship is both curdled and rocky.”

10. (-2) Stephanie Cmar

AKA: C-Monster. Aka Underdog. Aka C-Truffle.

The C-Monster won the humanitarian award this week: When Lee Anne’s mom keeled over from dough fever, C-Monster immediately donated her husband for dumpling duty.

That must’ve been what ultimately saved her, because this week Steph’s product was a “vegetarian chili base” — a confusing product for a dish I would never order. I love vegetarian food but some things just should not be vegetarian.

The C-Monster attempted to sex up her veggie chili a little with some homemade crackers but still ended up in the bottom three. I believe that makes flatbreads 0 for 3 this season? If she starts making pita next episode I’ll be screaming “SELL! SELL! SELL!” into my Top Chef stocks phone. (I don’t know if I am allowed to embed the “stonks” meme).

9. (+1) Brian Malarkey

AKA: Shenanigans. Aka Grandpa Fancy. Aka Squirrely. Aka The Imp.

Boy, that Lee Anne/Shenanigans beef was over before it started, huh? For as much as he can’t stop flailing his hands around while he talks I think I have to take Shenanigans’ side on this one. I think Lee Anne must’ve come to the same realization.

Anyway, Shenanigans’ wife showed up in this episode, and probably she should’ve gotten a trophy for sharing a house with this stretched out leprechaun for many years. She must be a Shaolin monk or something. I imagine he’s always doing pranks.

Lady Shenanigans must’ve failed as a food muse, however, because Malarkey’s big idea for a food product this week was… fennel relish… which I guess you’re meant to serve with fish or something? The judges called it “too greasy” and “confusing,” much like Shenanigans’ personality.

Did I mention he served it over swordfish? Does that make swordfish 0 for 1 or 0 for 2 this season? Swordfish isn’t good, people. High risk, low reward-ass fish.

8. (+3) Lee Anne Wong

AKA: Frazzle. Aka Loud Mom. Aka 911.

We discovered that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree this week when Lee Anne’s adorable mother nearly fainted over the dumpling table. You may recall that Lee Anne recieved a medical evac of her own on Top Chef Colorado, thanks to being very pregnant during an outdoor challenge at altitude. “Hello, 911? Yeah, put the ambulances on standby, the Wongs are cooking again, over.”

You have to give Lee Anne credit for managing to catch her mom before she hit the ground though, that was some speedy footwork. If I ever keel over while rolling out some dough I hope it’s within spitting distance of Lee Anne. I bet this wasn’t her first pass-out rodeo.

In fact, it was a pretty good week all around for Lee Anne, who has looked like a lock to go home early in basically every episode but this one. She landed in the top three of the quickfire, despite her mom confusing the balsamic reduction at an Italian restaurant for soy sauce. In addition, Lee Anne’s mom ignoring Lee Anne so she could take another bite of her steak was probably the best moment of the episode. Mom? Mom. Mom! Mom? Mom! Mom. Mom? MOM?!

In the elimination challenge, Lee Anne made mapo sauce, which the judges all agreed was a pretty good idea, and served it over shrimp dumplings, which I always think are a great idea. Dumplings are like the reverse swordfish/flatbread. Vince’s Law: If you’re ever eating a new cuisine and you don’t know what to order, go with dumplings. You know grandma probably made those in the back using every spice at her disposal and they’re going to be good as hell.

Lee Anne didn’t quite make it to the top three in the elimination challenge, but at least she didn’t end up at the judges table beefing over undersalted hummus. Massive comeback episode for Lee Anne.

7. (-2) Karen Akunowicz

AKA: Good Witch. Aka Glenda. Aka Aunt Kitty. Aka Rosie The Triveter

Karen was basically invisible this episode. Between Lee Anne’s mom’s fainting and Bryan Voltaggio’s baritone dad laughs there simply wasn’t time to showcase Karen’s utilitarian sauce mastery.

Karen’s product was a romesco sauce, which she served with pork belly and crispy potatoes. The meat and potatoes looked bomb, but Nancy Silverton said she “didn’t get the boldness” from Karen’s romesco. And can you blame her? Fuck man, I hate me a timid romesco. Get out of my face with that shit.

6. (+1) Eric Adjepong

AKA: Ghana. Aka Thesis. Aka Uncle Rico. Aka Kanye West Africa.

Eric is hard to place because after a slow start, he had another very good week this week. Eric’s wife showed up for the challenge and after he finished talking about how fine she was and how much he wanted to do sex to her (yeah yeah, stop bragging) he made a calypso hot sauce served with doubles. I didn’t know what doubles were, but last time I went to the Caribbean I brought back about five bottles of that yellow hot sauce so clearly that was a solid idea. The judges said Eric looked like he was in his “happy place” (probably thinking about all the sex he was going to have with his wife), Tom called his dish “pretty damn good” and Eric landed in the top three.

It turns out, “doubles” are curried chickpeas and spicy flatbread (Eric served his with pancetta). Dammit, does this mean I have to change my theory about flatbread?

5. (+1) Nini Nguyen

AKA: Broad City. Aka Quipz. Aka Bolo.

Nini’s mom wasn’t describing her dish to Nini very well (“Are the greens peppery?” “Not very peppery…”) but Nini cleverly copied off of Gregory who was next to her. Real veteran move, that.

That didn’t quite land her a top-three finish in the quickfire, but Nini made a nuoc mam barbecue sauce served with a pork sparerib in the elimination challenge which did. This result wasn’t especially surprising in a public-facing challenge. I mean who wouldn’t want to buy food from cute ass Nini and her cute ass mom?

“Here, just take my wallet and give back whatever you think is fair.”

4. (-1) Bryan Voltaggio

AKA: Flatbill Dad. Aka Bry Voltage. Aka Kyle Shanahan. Aka Linkin Clark Griswold.

Oh man, it’s too bad Bry-Voltage couldn’t bottle and sell his epic dad laugh, ha ha ha! It’s the medium-low register, hard stops between “ha”s, and breathiness that make it especially dadly, I think.

Bry bread was joined this week by his sister, the third Voltaggio sibling, apparently a pastry chef in Bry guy’s restaurant. Despite being a professional chef, She-Voltaggio would have us believe that she couldn’t tell a yellowtail collar from a whole roasted branzino. Damn, man, those aren’t even remotely the same shape. First his brother beats him in a Top Chef finale and now his sister tries to sabotage him. Sheesh, this guy’s own family tries to undercut him more than Tony Soprano! (Check out my smash hit Soprano’s podcast, Pod Yourself A Gun.)

This is what I meant in the beginning when I said the chefs whose family members were clearly a handicap should’ve received an advantage in the elimination challenge. For that one, Bry made a “calamari bolognese” sauce, which he described to Stephanie as “just like a sea truffle.”

Haha, sure, man. He went on to serve it with “kale and nori spaghetti,” cementing his spot outside the top three. Mmm, seaweed spaghetti, just like mom used to make.

It’s a testament to Linkin Clark Griswold’s cooking talent that he never seems to get dinged for these weird-ass seafood combinations, but I have to think that if he keeps going so obscure it’s going to hurt him. Right now it feels like even money whether he wins this competition or goes home early for serving braised seahorse clit agnolotti fried in monkfish sputum.

3. (+1) Kevin Gillespie

AKA: Hops. Aka Oops All Kevins. Aka Bachelor Fried Rice. Aka Thicc Kev.

Thicc Kev (apologies for explaining my half-joke, but in Australia in the late 90s there was a celebrity named “Big Kev” whose catchphrase was “I’m excited!” and I think everyone should know about this) landed in the top three with “Hotlanta Hot Salt” served with fried chicken and waffles this week — proving that you don’t lose any points for predictability in this competition. If there’s ever a tater tot nacho challenge Kevin’s going to win in a walk.

It was actually two top-three finishes in a row this episode for Kevin, which would probably make him the odds-on favorite — if only Gregory and Melissa weren’t dominating this season so hard. For a sous chef, Kevin had his wife, a lawyer. Excuse the bad screenshot here, but is it just me or does Kevin’s wife kind of look like Gideon from The Righteous Gemstones?

Same eyebrows, same cheekbones, same dimples. If Kevin doesn’t win this I guess he can always fall back on marrying into a family of wealthy southern pastors.

2. (-1) Melissa King

AKA: Zen Master. Aka Dimples. Aka Shutterstock.

Melissa continued her casual dominance of this season, steamrolling the competition with a smile and a shrug yet again. She landed in the top three in the telephone challenge, because of course she has a great relationship with her sister who she calls “bro.” Who would expect anything else from someone so obnoxiously well-adjusted? Then in the elimination challenge, Melissa made a kimchi peach vinaigrette served with fried chicken, which Padma said wasn’t spicy enough. Luckily, Padma always says that, and Melissa ended up selling the most of all the competitors. Padma said serving it with fried chicken was cheating, but then so is being Melissa. I imagine the sauce was secondary to people just wanting to soak up her inner chill.

1. (+1) Gregory Gourdet

AKA: Kravitz. Aka Hepcat. Aka Lids.

Gregory flip flops with Melissa in the rankings again this week in what is increasingly becoming a two-way race. This thanks to his Haitian pickliz — served with Creole braised chicken. Shit that looked good. Haitian food! Of course he won. Granted, Gregory hasn’t won every challenge this season, but I also don’t think he has broken a sweat.

Vince Mancini is on Twitter. Read more of his cooking commentary and mom jokes in UPROXX’s Cooking Battles. For past Top Chef Power Rankings, go here.

For the past month, Guapdad 4000 has shown off his consistency thanks to a double-dose of content every week. Kicking off a collaborative rap series between himself and peers in the music industry, Guapdad and friends have shown off their lyrical abilities from a safe distance thanks to Rona Raps, which has seen appearances from Buddy, Denzel Curry, and more. Capping off the week with additional content, Guapdad has shared a new single every Friday as a part of his Falcon Fridays series, on that included the release of “Platinum Falcon.” Showing no signs of slowing down, Guapdad shares both a new single and episode of Rona Raps.

Getting back to his finessing ways, Guapadad 400 calls on Jigga Juice 1000 for their new single, “Embezzle.” On the song, he makes it very clear what his source of income was before rapping, “I don’t sell rock, b*tch, I do fraud, fraud, fraud, fraud, fraud.” Reinforcing Guapdad’s point, Jigga Juice 1000 flaunts his own experience with embezzling, “When it come to the embezzle, know I need a gold medal.”

Paired with the new single, Guapdad also shared the fifth episode of Rona Raps with Joey Badass and Currensy. The video found the trio of rappers spitting over Akon’s “Locked Up” beat on a number of coronavirus topics, including the whereabouts of their stimulus checks, quarantine, and the day they are finally able to go outside.

Press play on “Embezzle” and the last episode of Rona Raps in the videos above.

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

In the year and change that’s followed the release of his Grammy-nominated sophomore album, I Am > I Was, 21 Savage has stayed under the radar for the most part. However, in the last month or so, the Atlanta-bred rapper has been a bit more active. Working alongside Metro Boomin, the two have been teasing their upcoming project, Savage Mode 2, the sequel to their 2016 mixtape that helped bring 21 Savage into the mainstream world. Back with his first single since October 2019, 21 Savage taps into the softer side of his work, sampling Xscape’s “My Little Secret” as the wait for Savage Mode 2 continues.

With Summer Walker by his side, 21 Savage comes through with his new single “Secret.” This marks the second time the two Atlanta acts have worked together, with the first time being on the remix of Jhene Aiko’s “Triggered.” Playing a couple happily in love, they both propose the idea of living their love life in secret. Singing the song’s hook as well as giving a verse of her own, Summer ensures that she isn’t hiding him from the world, but “sometimes there’s just things in life just worth keeping.” 21 Savage, on the other hand, delivers a pair of verses focused on removing the struggles in her life thanks to his lavish lifestyle while agreeing to keep their love life a secret.

The track also arrives as Summer Walker appears on DVSN newly released album, A Muse In Her Feelings and days after sharing a cover of Drake’s “Summer’s Over.”

Listen to “Secret” in the video above.

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Devs — created, written, and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Sunshine) — launched within the first batch of original TV shows for the FX on Hulu content hub. Quite notably, Garland’s limited series showcases Nick Offerman as you’ve never seen him before in the role of Forest, an eccentric (and tortured) tech CEO whose devotion to determinism gradually revealed itself as the limited series careened toward an end. As always, Garland paired his story with a beautifully frightening aesthetic that helped bring a disturbing parable to life. In the end, Forest ended up inside the machine he pioneered, and we finally saw him in a peaceful state.

Garland previously spoke with us when the series launched about digging into the quantum mechanics of the story, the value of casting Offerman, and why he put the tech gods in his crosshairs. He was gracious enough to talk with us again about the finale, which aired in what feels like a completely different world than only a few months ago. Naturally, he and I briefly acknowledged the “surreal” aspects of how he penned 28 Days Later (the Danny Boyle-directed movie about an incurable rage virus), although Garland believes that Steven Soderberg’s Contagion was even more stunningly and “absolutely prescient.” With the pandemic talk behind us, we turned to Devs and how Garland feels that the finale can be viewed as an ultimately uplifting turn of events.

People have grown accustomed to seeing whole seasons land on streaming platforms. Was it part of the early conversation to stream Devs weekly?

No, when I was making it, I supposed I knew that in the long-term, well, I thought that it was going to be every week because I thought that it was going to be on normal FX, the linear channel. But I thought relatively soon that it would be shown as a block on some kind of streaming service because that’s just the way that things go on. In some ways, I did think of it as something that would be drip-fed on a week-by-week basis, but I also thought, “What would it be like if these stories were bumping right up against each other?” So the end of the music of each episode is designed to smash up against the music in the beginning of the next episode. I guess I was trying to cover both bases.

Was it a big shift for you to think of eight hours rather than two for a movie?

It was daunting, but I’ve watched a lot of TV, so that helps when you’re trying to do something completely new. And there are elements of working on TV that, on a personal level, reminded me of writing books years ago, where I began my working life as a novelist before I started writing screenplays. Novels and television have something connected, partly in the breadth and the width of a story, but also because chapters and episodes have a structural similarity. There are discrete episodes, but they’re part of the overarching narrative. It was both really alien and with areas where it felt familiar.

I always think of you first as a writer, but you are also now known for combining philosophical themes with really awe-inspiring visuals. Where does planning the aesthetics land in your story-crafting process?

In the script stage. I tried to write in quite a simple, blunt way but also quite a visual way. And I see a script as being like a blueprint, like architectural plans. So you have to imply the imagery sometimes, and then from that point, it becomes a kind-of organic conversation with all the people you’re working with. Because they then contribute and expand and mutate the ideas, and eventually, you’re sticking a camera on something.

Well, when you first introduced Forest, we saw the unusual visual of him gobbling a pile of mixed greens. Where did that come from?

That was Nick Offerman. That’s the kind of beautiful detail that actors offer up, and you’d better make sure you’re listening when they say it. I think in the script, he was eating a pastry, which I saw as being kind-of arrogant in a funny way. Like, you’ve got this kid who’s showing you a presentation that he cares so much about, and you’re just sitting there with a pastry and a coffee and treating it all over-casually. And then Nick — I don’t even know where it came from — he just said, “It should just be a salad, like a box of salad with no salad dressing or nothing. I just wanna be eating a box of salad.” I think Nick came up with it pretty early. It was in rehearsals. I thought it was so funny. I was so pleased when he suggested it.

It sort-of sets us up to think that he’s a granola-type character, and then we find out that’s not how he’s motivated. His motivations are more personal, right?

Yeah, totally. And it’s got that funny, sort-of Californian vibe with the relaxed living and the sneakers and the hoodies masking all the naked capitalism.

Let’s talk about Forest’s “private joke” from the finale. He revealed that the real spelling of “Devs” is actually “Deus.” How important was it for you to characterize that as a joke?

It was important because it was partly a joke. I didn’t want it to be this big, fanfare, trumpets-blaring reveal. The original idea of the story was that it was a companion piece to the Ex Machina film. The full phrase, of course, is “Deus Ex Machina,” and I saw the two stories as being cross-related, so in some respects, it was like a private joke. The two stories together complete the ideas I was trying to explore, so then it was the question of, “What’s the right way to present that?” And in a way, Forest speaks for the show, to an extent, but that’s often what he does.

I didn’t want to offend you by presumptuously connecting these two projects, so I’m glad that you did it. Is it correct to call Devs a spiritual successor?

Totally. Probably more explicit than that. The basic idea was this: in Ex Machina, you’ve got a man who acts as if he’s god by creating a completely new life form, which is a godlike act. And in Devs, you have a collection of people, but in particular, Katie and Forest, who are not acting like gods, but they’re creating a god. Because they’re creating something that is all-knowing and all-powerful. And that is often the description we give to a god or gods, and so in that respect, they’re companion pieces. They’re like two forms of the ambitions of science and technology.

Of course, Devs is a limited series, and you left Ex Machina open as far as where Ava goes. Do you ever want to explore that with a sequel?

No. My private sense of it, partly because in my mind, Ava was like the hero of the narrative, was that I hope she goes and prospers somewhere, but the story is completely over. And the same is true with Devs. I’ve got no interest and no intention of ever doing a sequel. But in some respects, but Devs is sort-of a version of a sequel because the two are so linked.

They also both nail their architectural feel. You chose a Norwegian hotel-spa location for the Ex Machina shoot. How did you settle upon the Devs location at UC Santa Cruz?

Actually, just by some of the normal processes of how you go about putting a production together. This was Mark Digby and Michelle Day, who are the production designers of the show. They went out scouting around and casting a wide net around San Francisco. As soon as they found that campus, we went through the photos and knew that was it. It was these strange… they’re not as elegant as the buildings in Ex Machina, they’re much more brutalist. And the surrounding landscape is slightly weirder. Redwood forests have a really strange vibe about them, and so basically, it just felt perfect.

At the end of the season and all the quantum mechanics, the story comes down to determinism and whether free will exists. And then Lily breaks the Devs system, so what’s the message there?

It’s not a message as much as the offering up of an argument. At that moment, does Lily act with free will, or is she just falling back into a new deterministic state which has been changed just by an extra bit of information? So it’s like a conversation to be had. And then there’s a secondary thing, which is about, “What are the personal implications for us about thinking that we may not have free will, or we may have it?” Or we may just live in one universe, one state, or we might be living in a massive number of parallel states, some of which are similar to each other, and some of which are wildly different. And how does that make us feel about what we are, and what we care about?

It’s a little scary, honestly. Is it okay if I admit that?

Yeah, in some ways, it is scary, but in some ways, it’s like there are reassurances in it. For me, the deterministic way of looking at things is actually very compassionate. It means that it doesn’t stop you from caring about anything. Lily and Jamie love each other equally, whether they’re in a deterministic state or not in a deterministic state. It means that actions become more forgivable, in a sense, because aren’t responsible for their actions in a way that we think they are. So what might seem like an act of casual indifference or cruelty which hurts us in a certain way can be unpacked, slightly differently. And maybe more easily.

How is this all wrapped up in the idea of big data?

I think that what it feels like, and what it is, is the arrival of big data that feels like it is stripping us of our agency.

At the end, Lily and Forest are in the system. Is that a happy ending for them, or should we see that as ambiguous?

To me, it’s a happy ending because the world that they exist in would be indistinguishable from the world that you and I are talking in now. And it has this other really wonderful dimension to it, which is that people who are dead don’t have to stay dead. And the hardest thing that we encounter is the death of people that we care about. And more than our own deaths. And this would remove that as a problem that we all have to deal with.

FX’s ‘Devs’ can now be streamed on Hulu in its entirety.

The NBA HORSE Challenge finals saw Zach LaVine, who beat Paul Pierce and Allie Quigley thanks to his wild athleticism, go up against Mike Conley Jr., who beat Tamika Catchings and Chauncey Billups thanks to ambidextrousness, creativity, and an indoor gym.

The finals were quite entertaining as Mike Conley won the coin toss and got to work with a behind the back layup and a closed eyes free throw to get LaVine a couple quick letters.

LaVine would get a couple letters back by going into his bag of tricks with the tap the backboard reverse layup and a bank shot from the top of the key.

But Conley pulled back ahead, H-O-R to H-O, with his “offhand” bag of tricks, hitting a right handed three that LaVine had no answer for.

After failing to get it to work in the semis and on his first effort in the finals, Conley finally got his spin the ball on his finger, punch shot to drop, clearly the proudest moment of the tournament thus far for him as he got within one letter of the title.

Conley then went back to the well that got him the victory in the first round over Catchings, sinking his over the backboard layup, which LaVine rimmed out to take home the HORSE championship.

It’s not a huge surprise that Conley won, given that as soon as we saw his setup compared to everyone else’s and his advantage with offhand shots we knew he’d be a problem. On top of that, he was the most creative of any player in the competition in doing actual HORSE shots — with LaVine probably in second with some of his wild layup concoctions — like spinning the ball on the finger and punching it and his over the backboard layup.

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Thanks to a pair of singles, Demi Lovato has had one of the better years in music thus far. It began with an emotional performance of her new song, “Anyone,” at the 62nd Grammy Awards in January, followed by ta soaring rendition of the national anthem at Super Bowl 54. A month later, she shared her second single of the year, “I Love Me,” a song that came attached with a video centered on self-appreciation. Refusing to let the coronavirus halt her momentum, Lovato and Sam Smith join forces for their new single “I’m Ready.”

Showcasing their own edition of the Olympic games, as the 2020 Olympics were postponed until next year, Demi and Sam participate in a wide array of games, including wrestling, track and field, and diving. At video’s start, Sam Smith is found in the middle of a wrestling match before hitting the track for a literal drag race. Over at a pool, Demi Lovato sings her verse while walking on a diving board as nearby divers dive off with their best form into the water.

The single also comes a couple of weeks after Demi Lovato gave a quarantine style performance of “I Love Me” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

You can watch the video for “I’m Ready” above.

The second semifinal of the NBA HORSE Challenge pitted Allie Quigley against Zach LaVine in a Chicago battle of Sky vs. Bulls, and from the get go it was clear LaVine was not going to ease up when it came to skirting the “no dunk” rule after skunking Paul Pierce in the opening round.

LaVine gave Quigley her first letter with a between-the-legs reverse layup and did most of his damage the rest of the way on similar efforts.

He even admitted to being afraid of getting in a shooting contest with the WNBA sharpshooter, who tried to goad him into taking jump shots by noting he was one of the NBA’s best three-point shooters and pointing out how he made 13 threes in one game this season. She did have a few openings, as LaVine missed a few of his efforts, and put three letters on him with her patented hopping on one leg shot and seated bank shot, but ultimately, he regained control of shot choice and did too many wild layups.

To close things out, LaVine went off the backboard and between the legs, with Quigley unable to even get an attempt off, advancing to the finals against Mike Conley Jr.

It was a question going in whether LaVine would continue using his athletic advantage after dusting poor Paul Pierce in the first round with similar attempts. Quigley hung in there and made a few, including a bounce between the legs layup, but ultimately, LaVine was doing too many dunk contest quality layups for her to keep up.

“People had been doing some filming with celebrities from home, but it was still at that stage that it felt a bit like it was a brave new world of production.”

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