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The New York Knicks trailed by five at halftime in Phoenix on Friday night, as Kevin Durant had a big second quarter to push the Suns in front despite an early injury to Bradley Beal.

However, at halftime Knicks guard Jalen Brunson made a very good adjustment to simply make every shot he took in the second half, hitting all 12 of his shot attempts, including eight threes, en route to a career-high 50-point night. Brunson started to rain in threes in the third quarter, helping the Knicks close the gap to two heading into the fourth.

In that final quarter, Brunson remained a flamethrower and got some help from his teammates, as New York outscored the Suns 42-23 in the fourth to turn a nailbiter into a blowout.

Fittingly, it was Brunson who put in the dagger with a filthy stepback three, his ninth make in nine attempts on the night, tying the NBA record for most made threes without a miss in a single game.

After the kerfuffle in Milwaukee earlier in the week, Julius Randle made sure there was no question whether Brunson got the game ball for his career night, cheekily raising it high in the air after nabbing it from the official after the final buzzer.

Brunson finished the night 17-of-23 from the field (9-of-9 from three) with 50 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and five steals, doing a bit of everything to lift New York to a big win on the road. Randle added an efficient 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while RJ Barrett had a nice night with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting. That was enough to outduel Durant and Devin Booker, who combined for 57, but the Suns simply had no answers defensively for Brunson (or anyone else) in the fourth quarter.

Patti Smith provided fans an update after she had to cancel her Italian concerts, following a hospitalization. In an Instagram update, she expressed her gratitude to the hospital workers who had brought her back to good health.

“This is thanking all at the hospital for their help and guidance,” she wrote. “I am so sorry that we had to cancel concerts in Bologna and Venice. I will return to fulfill my happy obligations.”

“This is also to thank all the medical teams globally, who attend to the people’s needs, especially those altruistically serving under fire, all healers, physicians, nurses, attendants,” she added. “Also I want to thank everyone for sending messages of love and concern. I am resting, as the doctor ordered, grateful to have had such care, though being painfully aware that many are not so fortunate.”

The news originally arrived through the venue sharing the cancelation announcement on Instagram, which Rolling Stone translated from Italian.

“We inform the kind audience that the Patti Smith concert scheduled for today… will not be able to be staged due to a sudden illness that struck the artist,” they originally wrote. Smith is still scheduled for two shows in Brooklyn later this month.

Check out Patti Smith’s Instagram post above.

Ice Spice had a pretty serious rise this year, gaining traction on hits like “Princess Diana” and more. At the start of most of her songs, she gives a shoutout to her producer, RiotUSA, with the classic “Stop playing with ’em, Riot” line.

After the two met at SUNY Purchase, they have been collaborating on music since 2021. RiotUSA also recently gave a new interview to Billboard, where he discussed what their process is like — and the fact that Ice Spice’s debut album should be expected next year.

“It’s a fun time because she really be saying how she feels in that moment… from picking out vibes or punching in lyrics on the spot,” he explained about how he works with Ice Spice in the studio.

“Fans should know I produce and record too, so look out for my music,” he added when asked about plans for next year. “Also look out for new classics with Ice in 2024. We’re working on her debut album as we speak.”

Right now, not much else is known about Ice Spice’s debut album. In January of 2023, the rapper only dropped her debut studio EP, but she’s made a ton of progress since then. Here’s hoping fans will get to hear more about her full-length record soon.

The Phoenix Suns finally played their first game with their entire Big 3 all together on Wednesday night, a loss to the Brooklyn Nets. While it didn’t have the outcome the Suns wanted, it was what they hoped to be an important step towards finally building some continuity as a team.

Unfortunately, their second game with their star trio didn’t last long before another injury occurred, as Bradley Beal suffered an ankle injury after getting fouled on a three-pointer in the first quarter by Donte DiVincenzo.

On replay you could see Beal’s right ankle turn over badly as he came down and made contact with DiVincenzo, collapsing to the ground immediately in pain.

Beal was officially ruled out of the game shortly after he went to the locker room, and we’ll have to wait for testing on Saturday to determine how long he’ll miss for this latest injury.

Beal has appeared in just five games for the Suns this season, dealing with a back injury prior to his most recent return. Now he has to add what appears to be an ankle sprain to his list of ailments, and the Suns hopes of getting an extended run of play with all of their stars together will be put on hold for a bit longer.

The San Antonio Spurs started the season 3-2, including a back-to-back impressive road wins over the Phoenix Suns. Since then, the Spurs have not won a game, losing 18 in a row as Victor Wembanyama and company have been competitive at times but unable to put together a full four quarter effort over the past month-plus of games.

That streak finally ended on national television on Friday, as Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, and the rest of the young Spurs were able to exorcise some demons en route to a 129-115 win over LeBron James and an Anthony Davis-less Lakers squad to get back in the win column for the first time in more than a month.

San Antonio came out and blitzed the Lakers, turning defense into offense and darting out to a 42-22 lead after the first quarter, with Wembanyama, Vassell, and Keldon Johnson leading the way.

The Lakers would come back and make it a game at the half, as LeBron James and company made the expected charge to get back into the game, including the moment of the game when LeBron hit a high arcing three in a rare isolation possession against Wembanyama.

However, on the whole, Wembanyama would get the better of James and the Lakers, scoring 13 points, pulling down 15 rebounds, dishing out five assists, and putting up two blocks and two steals in a strong showing.

Vassell was the standout scorer for the Spurs on Friday night, as he poured in a career-high 36 points on the Lakers and, for the first time since November 2, the Spurs got to celebrate a win.

In all, the Spurs had seven players reach double figures on the night, as they thoroughly enjoyed facing a Lakers defense that did not have their anchor in Davis. As a team, San Antonio shot 49.5 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three, lighting up an L.A. team that simply didn’t have anything close to their A-game on that end with their star center out. Even factoring in injury issues for the Lakers (D’Angelo Russell was also out) it was not a good showing, and no team ever wants to be the “get right” game for a team on a lengthy losing streak.

Ice Spice had a pretty serious rise this year, gaining traction on hits like “Princess Diana” and more. At the start of most of her songs, she gives a shoutout to her producer, RiotUSA, with the classic “Stop playing with ’em, Riot” line.

After the two met at SUNY Purchase, they have been collaborating on music since 2021. RiotUSA also recently gave a new interview to Billboard, where he discussed what their process is like — and the fact that Ice Spice’s debut album should be expected next year.

“It’s a fun time because she really be saying how she feels in that moment… from picking out vibes or punching in lyrics on the spot,” he explained about how he works with Ice Spice in the studio.

“Fans should know I produce and record too, so look out for my music,” he added when asked about plans for next year. “Also look out for new classics with Ice in 2024. We’re working on her debut album as we speak.”

Right now, not much else is known about Ice Spice’s debut album. In January of 2023, the rapper only dropped her debut studio EP, but she’s made a ton of progress since then. Here’s hoping fans will get to hear more about her full-length record soon.

The San Antonio Spurs started the season 3-2, including a back-to-back impressive road wins over the Phoenix Suns. Since then, the Spurs have not won a game, losing 18 in a row as Victor Wembanyama and company have been competitive at times but unable to put together a full four quarter effort over the past month-plus of games.

That streak finally ended on national television on Friday, as Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, and the rest of the young Spurs were able to exorcise some demons en route to a 129-115 win over LeBron James and an Anthony Davis-less Lakers squad to get back in the win column for the first time in more than a month.

San Antonio came out and blitzed the Lakers, turning defense into offense and darting out to a 42-22 lead after the first quarter, with Wembanyama, Vassell, and Keldon Johnson leading the way.

The Lakers would come back and make it a game at the half, as LeBron James and company made the expected charge to get back into the game, including the moment of the game when LeBron hit a high arcing three in a rare isolation possession against Wembanyama.

However, on the whole, Wembanyama would get the better of James and the Lakers, scoring 13 points, pulling down 15 rebounds, dishing out five assists, and putting up two blocks and two steals in a strong showing.

Vassell was the standout scorer for the Spurs on Friday night, as he poured in a career-high 36 points on the Lakers and, for the first time since November 2, the Spurs got to celebrate a win.

In all, the Spurs had seven players reach double figures on the night, as they thoroughly enjoyed facing a Lakers defense that did not have their anchor in Davis. As a team, San Antonio shot 49.5 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three, lighting up an L.A. team that simply didn’t have anything close to their A-game on that end with their star center out. Even factoring in injury issues for the Lakers (D’Angelo Russell was also out) it was not a good showing, and no team ever wants to be the “get right” game for a team on a lengthy losing streak.

Meek Mill recently joined Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, as part of his continued efforts with his Reform Alliance nonprofit, according to Rolling Stone. Shapiro had signed SB838, which is a new bill that “limits the length of probation and prevents people from being sent back to jail for minor violations.”

“I thought that it was either I go to jail and I take my son to school and I ended up taking my son to school so I want to thank you guys here today,” Meek Mill shared during his vulnerable speech. “I don’t want to get emotional because it’s a lot. We all grew up in the streets and we tried to be better, but they labeled us as felons and sent us back to jail. I had to fight against that the whole time to gain my respect and be who I am today and I’m proud of that.”

“I don’t even drop tears, but I want to say this because there are a lot of young men who follow me in the streets,” he added. “They don’t really know what I go through to be in these places with government officials and to change my life… I didn’t ask for this position… It’s not for clout, it’s something that I stand and live for.”

Meek Mill started the organization in 2019 alongside Jay-Z and Michael Rubin, with the hopes of being able to “transform probation and parole,” by directly getting the laws to change. The rapper had previously been pardoned by the prior governor, Tom Wolf. He had previously served eight months in prison for drug and weapon possession and would go back for violating house arrest in 2017.

Check out the video of Meek Mill enacting change and his full speech above.

Doja Cat recently sat down for an interview with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, where she spoke about everything from her new album, Scarlet, to pushing back about the fact that people perceive her as a Satanist.

As she explains, it’s part of the album’s era — and was meant to be divisive.

“I like the idea of: I did it on purpose and it’s this big ruse to make people react,” Doja said, according to HipHopDX. “But I also like the idea of: I love this piece of visual art, I like this visual for this sound… So I chose that visual and applied it to the sound and people made up what they [want], which is what you do with art. “You interpret it how you want to interpret it. Everybody has a right to interpret how they want.”

“But this whole very confident ‘Satanism’ thing is like — I’m sorry, when the f*ck did I say that I was a Satanist?” she added. “Or even go marching outside the church? When the fuck did I say that? It’s really tacky and annoying and discredits a lot of the hard work that I’ve put in.”

Check out Doja Cat’s full Apple Music interview above.

Jeopardy! is once again down to one host. Mayim Bialik announced that she will no longer host the syndicated game show.

“As the holiday break begins in Hollywood, I have some Jeopardy! news. Sony has informed me that I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!” she wrote on Instagram. “I am incredibly honored to have been nominated for a primetime Emmy for hosting this year and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been a pat of the Jeopardy! family.” The former The Big Bang Theory actress added, “For all of you who have supported me through this incredible journey and to the fans, contestants, writers, staff and crew of America’s Favorite Quiz Show, thank you.”

Variety has more:

Following Trebek’s death in November 2020, Bialik was one of several rotating celebrity guest hosts to join the series in the following year. After standing executive producer Mike Richards had negotiated a contract to take over as permanent host of Jeopardy!, a subsequent unraveling of scandals quickly led to his ousting from the program. Bialik took over as a guest host during the turbulent period, soon after becoming a permanent host, alternating duties with Ken Jennings, who first showed his “Jeopardy!” mastery as a contestant in 2003 and has become the highest-earning American game show contestant in history through his return trips to the series.

Without Bialik, who nobly declined to host Celebrity Jeopardy! in observance of the then-ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Ken Jennings to expected to be the show’s only host.