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For the fifth straight game, the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament delivered a highly entertaining — albeit frustrating at times — contest on Friday night as the Chicago Bulls visited the Miami Heat.

Neither team could find much of an offensive rhythm in the game, entering the final quarter tied at 67-67, but it was the Heat that emerged from the slop with a 102-91 win that was more lopsided than the game felt for 47 minutes of action. In the first half, it was Max Strus who carried the Heat with 23 points, outscoring the other four Miami starters by four, as he went 6-of-8 from three-point range to propel Miami to a five-point edge at the break.

A 16-4 run by Chicago in the mid-third quarter pulled them in front for the first time since the early minutes, as Zach LaVine broke free for a runout dunk off a Heat turnover to give Chicago a 60-58 advantage.

From there, the two teams would trade stops and occasional buckets through the early fourth quarter before Chicago seemingly seized a bit of control in the mid-fourth after DeMar DeRozan and Coby White started to get it rolling.

Still, the Heat had answers for every mini-run by the Bulls to open up a lead, as Jimmy Butler and Strus continually found their way to hit big shots to stay in touch.

On the other side, White became the most reliable offensive weapon for Chicago, as he hit a couple big threes to keep the Bulls in front.

However, with 2:17 to go in the game and the Heat up 91-90, White would get pulled for Patrick Beverley in a move aimed at boosting Chicago’s defense. That move would backfire as the Heat almost totally ignored Beverley on the offensive end, shutting down driving lanes and sending help at DeRozan and LaVine, who couldn’t find much in the way of useful outlets with Beverley also unwilling to shoot open threes when presented the opportunity.

With the Bulls offense in the mud, Miami began to pull away behind Butler and Strus, who knocked down his seventh three of the night to push the Heat’s lead to five with just over a minute to go, ultimately proving to be the dagger.

In the end, Butler and Strus each finished the night with 31 points, as Butler carried the offensive load for much of the third and fourth before Strus found his range again at just the right time to push the Heat across the finish line. Strus’ big night provided cover for Tyler Herro (12 points on 12 shots) and Bam Adebayo (8 points on 1-of-9 shooting) as they struggled to provide much offensively. Adebayo did, however, loom large defensively and on the boards, racking up 17 rebounds and helping wall off the rim from the Bulls, but he will need to be much more effective offensively for the Heat to have any chance in the next round.

For Chicago, DeRozan was his normal self with 26 points and nine assists, but after carrying the Bulls to a win in Toronto, LaVine struggled with just 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting with five turnovers. Alex Caruso (16 points) and Coby White (14 points) provided some lift, but the offense just sagged too much without positive contributions from LaVine as their primary creator. Now, the Bulls enter the offseason with plenty of questions about how they should proceed with this roster after a fairly disappointing season. On the other side, the Heat get the reward of the Milwaukee Bucks for at least four games, where they will be heavy underdogs given their struggles with consistency on the offensive end.

Muna took the Mojave stage at Coachella tonight (April 14), where the band premiered their upcoming song, “One That Got Away.” Prior to playing, they announced they’d be playing it and it was one not to miss.

“Yeah, you played it like a game / Never called it by its name,” lead singer Katie Gavin performed, commanding attention on the stage. “Isn’t it a shame how / Now I’m the one that got away?”

“I’m no longer in your reach / If I can’t hear you say it,” she added.

Already boosting off some high energy, Gavin also played a few of their self-described, “breakup song(s) you can shake ass to.”

At the end of Muna’s set, members of Boygenius (Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker) came out to perform “Silk Chiffon” as the closer together — given the song is the band’s breakthrough hit. And every person on the stage brought their all! Boygenius are also set to play Coachella — so Muna could very well crossover for their set too.

Check out their live debut of the new song and the “Silk Chiffon” clip above. Continue scrolling for some fan reactions to Muna’s Coachella set.

“One That Got Away” is out 4/17 via Saddest Factory. Find more information here.

Wanna get people to start a movement? Make it cool. And these days, nothing says “cool” quite like going viral on TikTok.

This was the exact recipe for success used by the American Red Cross to get more blood donations.

In a partnership with the ever popular “Peanuts,” the foundation announced that anyone who donated blood by Apr 23, 2023 would receive a t-shirt featuring (let’s be honest) everyone’s favorite character from the comic—Snoopy.

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Not only Snoopy, but Snoopy in his coolest form…Joe Cool.

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The t-shirt also has the words “Be cool. Give blood.” I mean, the American Red Cross has created other t-shirts as a donation incentive in the past, but the planets really aligned in the making of this one.

Folks on TikTok have gone absolutely crazy for it, with users on the platform sharing how they procured their own hot ticket item.

@staytunednbc A #Snoopy shirt is going viral on TikTok and is increasing the amount of blood donations, according to the #RedCross. The #Peanuts ♬ original sound – R. Mac Lewis

As a result, more and more people have learned about the blood donation process and became donors themselves.

According to CNN, donations have risen more than 40% thanks to the campaign, which is especially good news considering that 2021 was the country’s worst blood shortage in over a decade.

@fourr_eyess The American Red Cross really popped off with this one #americanredcross #giveblood #fyp #joecool ♬ Berry Pie – Dolly Parton

COVID 19 exacerbated this, of course. But current donor restrictions also play a huge factor. Under current guidelines, gay and bisexual men are required to abstain from sex for three weeks prior to donating—a rule that has been criticized as discriminatory towards men who have sex with other men. Advocates in LGBTQ+ community fought for a change to the rule, and in January the USFDA proposed eliminating the prior guidelines and instead focusing on individual risk factors. While the proposal has not yet been finalized, having more eligible donors could certainly help increase numbers.

And Snoopy t-shirts help too. Obviously.

Wanna be cool, donate blood and get your own t-shirt? You can schedule an appointment with the Red Cross here.

Blinks, rejoice! If you didn’t get to see Blackpink on their North American Born Pink tour, it looks like the K-Pop favorites will soon be making a return.

Today (April 14), the girls have taken to Instagram to share an update with the fans. On the group’s official Instagram story, Blackpink teased an encore to the North American leg of their tour. In a since-expired story, Blackpink shared a link to their website, where fans are directed to a countdown. Above the countdown, which is leading up to Sunday, April 16, is a banner that reads Blackpink: Born Pink World Tour North America Encore.

Not much is known about the upcoming tour, in regard to dates or venues, however, it appears general on-sale will begin once the countdown comes to a close.

In the meantime, Blackpink is gearing up for their second Coachella performance. In an interview with Billboard, Jennie of Blackpink expressed that she and the ladies are excited to take the Coachella stage for the first time in four years.

“We’re so excited and honored to be able to return to Coachella as headliners,” said Jennie. “We had the best time in 2019 and can’t wait to experience the energy of the audience again. There are some nerves, but more than anything, we’re just ready to have fun.”

Paramore‘s Hayley Williams, during the band’s show in Dublin last night (April 13), performed a tribute cover to The Cranberries and the late Dolores O’Riordan. She opted for their classic “Dreams” song, which she performed with an acoustic guitar — showing off just her vocals.

The audience knew the words too, singing along with her.

“I’ve thought about this for years, and you sound better than I imagined,” Williams said during the performance. “I do not think I could ever imagine what the Cranberries felt when people sang this sh*t to them. This is the stuff of legends.”

“And by the way, I know that you’re not the U.K.,” she added during the show, correcting a mistake that she reportedly made earlier. “Sometimes when you’re on a stage with a whole lot of people, you just start saying sh*t, and you don’t know what’s going to come out.”

O’Riordan had passed back in 2018. Upon the original release of “Dreams” in 1992, it was the group’s debut single — reaching the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. They went on to add it to their debut album and the rest was history.

Check out Paramore’s cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams” above.

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

LCD Soundsystem is teaming up with two iconic acts two bring back the sounds of the 2000s. Next month, they will team up with Peaches and M.I.A. to perform at Morrison, CO’s iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

The three acts are set to take the stage at Red Rocks on May 29 and 30. In an interview with Indiewire, LCD Soundsystem’s lead vocalist James Murphy explained how he reunited with his bandmates to make new music as LCD Soundsystem, despite not having put out an album since 2017.

“I was working with Al Doyle at his studio and then back in New York at my studio,” said Murphy. “It was just a nice way to feel like I wasn’t just tagging along. Next thing I knew, I wanted to put this music out. Then I was like, ‘What do I do? The band’s broken up.’ I asked Pat [Mahoney] and Nancy [Whang], ‘Do you feel like this is LCD music?’ I couldn’t put it out and call it James Murphy if I had Pat and Nancy play. But I wouldn’t want to not play with my friends for some weird reason just to save face. If I play with Pat and Nancy, it’s gotta be LCD. They said ‘Yeah, we’ll play.’ So it was LCD. I decided that whatever shit I was going to take for that, I didn’t care too much.”

General on-sale for tickets to the upcoming Red Rocks shows begins Tuesday, April 18 at 10 a.m. EST. You can purchase tickets here.

Decades after Lil’ Kim‘s reported IRS issues, it seems she has settled, according to documents from Radar Online.

As HipHopDX notes the exact details or date of the money being released weren’t revealed, they did state that $1.38 million of tax debt came from Lil’ Kim — which had been building up since 2003 through various incidents.

In December of 2014, the IRS filed a lien against her for $127,000 since she hadn’t paid taxes since 2010. A few years later, in 2018, the rapper reportedly filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which allows people to catch up on their debts.

For exact numbers, Lil’ Kim had $2,573,300 in assets (which included a Bentley and a Mercedes, jewelry, furniture, electronics, clothing, and her three entertainment companies.) She owed about $4 million in liabilities. Her back taxes totaled $1.8 million, per the publication. She originally tried to pay back $5,500 every month and almost sold her home, but that request was denied.

By the summer of 2019, Lil’ Kim’s bankruptcy case was granted to be dismissed. “I remain committed to saving my home and reorganizing my debts,” she wrote in the filing. It also noted that she had borrowed $25,000 from Missy Elliott, according to Finurah.

Now, she is completely cleared of all past debts and able to keep moving forward.

Luh Tyler has the game on lock right now. At 17-years-old, the Florida rapper maintains an assured energy, knowing that he’s one of the most promising acts in the game at the moment. Today (April 14), he has shared the visual for his buzzy new single, “Stand On Biz,” which comes from his debut mixtape, My Vision.

“Stand On Biz” arrives hot off Tyler’s freshly signed deal with Atlantic Records. On the song, Tyler reassures his status, making it known that although he is a newcomer, he is no rookie, and he won’t hesitate to resort to any sort of means necessary.

“Stay in the booth all day, wait ’til I drop my tape, that’s gon’ be it /…they gon’ be fake, I’ma just go get paid, that’s what it is / I’ma take one to the face, thеn I go chase that cake, we stand on biz,” he raps on the song’s chorus.

In the accompanying video Tyler is seen with his crew, as they dwell in their riches, but remain true to their city.

You can check out the video for “Stand On Biz” above.

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

Awards votes were due by the end of the regular season from the various media members who make up the league’s voting pool, and as such, the league can hand out hardware to players throughout the postseason for their work during the 82-game year.

Prior to Friday’s Play-In action, the league had TNT announce the three finalists for each award, narrowing the field down to the three highest vote-getters to further continue the debate over who should win — even though, again, voting is over — and also to let fans, players, and teams know who is still in the running. There weren’t any real surprises on the finalists list, particularly MVP which features the three frontrunners who have been discussed all year. Most people will find their favorites for each award among the finalists, but the debate over who is most deserving of each award among those three is varied. Some have heavy favorites — like Lauri Markkanen for Most Improved, Paolo Banchero for Rookie of the Year, and De’Aaron Fox for Most Clutch — while others like MVP and DPOY will be far more contested among the public.

Here are the finalists for the 2023 NBA Awards:

Most Valuable Player

Giannis Antetokounmpo
Joel Embiid
Nikola Jokic

Defensive Player of the Year

Jaren Jackson Jr.
Brook Lopez
Evan Mobley

Rookie of the Year

Paolo Banchero
Walker Kessler
Jalen Williams

Sixth Man of the Year

Malcolm Brogdon
Bobby Portis
Immanuel Quickley

Coach of the Year

Mike Brown
Mark Daigneault
Joe Mazzulla

Most Improved Player

Jalen Brunson
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Lauri Markkanen

Clutch Player of the Year

Jimmy Butler
DeMar DeRozan
De’Aaron Fox

Click to download here.

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“When characters die on this show, the feeling of loss is frightening.” -Max Collins

Put season two of The Wire in a blender and listen as this week’s returning guest Max Collins from Eve 6 spins it around into a beautiful oblivion on Pod Yourself A Gun with Matt and Vince as they discuss the 12 and final episode of season two, “Port in a Storm.”

Before saying farewell to the docks, the Sobotkas, and the not-Greek Greeks, Matt, Vince, and Max compare when they first started hearing the kids say “hella.” For Max it was age 13 at skateboarding camp in Visalia, which sounds hella rad. After that, really just tying up loose ends and seeing that, as always, the police work is only about getting your stats and not being the shitbird of the day on any given day.

Season two detractors rejoice. Ziggy is gone, and next season we return to the streets. See you on the other side, you sickos.

Guess the Greek’s nationality in five-star review on Apple Podcasts

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-Description by Brent Flyberg