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On Sunday evening, the Golden State Warriors took a commanding 3-0 series lead with a road win over the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. With no team ever erasing a 3-0 deficit in an NBA playoff series, the Mavericks face an exceptionally difficult task to turn the tide. But in Game 4 on Tuesday, Dallas struck the first blow necessary to close the gap. The Mavericks rode a hot three-point shooting night to a sizable lead for the majority of the night, eventually winning by a 119-109 final margin to send the series back to San Francisco.

Dallas enjoyed a solid start in the first quarter, though neither team dominated the early proceedings. The Mavericks built a 28-24 lead after 12 minutes, making seven three-pointers with four players scoring at least six points. On the other end, the Warriors scuffled to just 38 percent shooting, though Golden State committed only one turnover to minimize the overall damage.

Golden State threatened early in the second quarter, briefly taking the lead, but it was all Dallas from there until halftime. The Mavericks used a 19-2 run to take a double-digit advantage, and the Warriors scored only two points in more than five minutes of game action.

Dallas led by as many as 17 points in the first half, holding a 15-point edge at the half. The biggest swing came from beyond the arc, with the Mavericks making 11 triples in the first half and the Warriors shooting only 3-of-16 from long distance. Dallas also generated 14 assists compared to only three turnovers, winning on the margins.

Though the second half was delayed by a leaky roof, Dallas was not deterred. The Mavericks opened the third quarter on a 10-3 run, taking the team’s largest lead to that point at 72-50.

After 33 minutes of action, the result was virtually assured. Dallas had a 28-point advantage with 19 (!) three-pointers, and every member of the Mavericks rotation (sans Dwight Powell) converted at least one long-range attempt.

The extremely odd nature of the evening also continued during the Mavs’ marrage when Draymond Green attempted a free throw and, well, it got stuck on the rim.

By the end of the third quarter, the Mavericks led 99-70 and Steve Kerr pulled the plug in removing his starters. That seemingly set the stage for extended garbage time in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors weren’t quite done yet as they attempted to become the first team in NBA history to overcome a 29-point fourth quarter deficit.

Golden State’s bench-heavy unit keyed a 15-2 run to begin the fourth quarter, slashing the margin to 16 fairly quickly. Then, with the likes of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green still on the bench, the Warriors pulled it within eight after a Jonathan Kuminga three-pointer with 3:23 to play.

That was enough to prompt Kerr to bring Curry back onto the floor following a Dallas timeout, further heightening the tense situation. Almost on cue, however, Doncic picked up a dunk on the first play after the stoppage and, following a charge on the other end, the Mavericks created a Reggie Bullock three-pointer that helped to maintain a bit of safety for the home team. Golden State kept fighting, bringing Thompson and Andrew Wiggins back into the game, but Dallas managed to hold on for the 10-point victory.

All in all, it was an offense-focused victory for Dallas, headlined by three-point shooting. The Mavericks shot 20-of-43 from long distance, out-scoring the Warriors by 30 points from beyond the arc. Dallas also shot 50 percent from the floor overall and, with their trade ball security and only eight turnovers, it was a very strong and efficiency offensive effort. Individually, six members of the Mavericks scored in double figures, headlined by 30 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists from Doncic.

Though the final margin was closer than the game flow indicated, the Mavericks can take solace in picking up an impressive victory at home and lengthening the series. Dallas still faces an immense challenge ahead of Game 5 in San Francisco on Thursday, but at the very least, the Warriors will have to suit up and play at home, rather than simply enjoying an extended break before the 2022 NBA Finals.

On Tuesday, American suffered its worst school shooting since the Sandy Hook massacre of 2012: A gunman stormed an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two adults. The tragedy, coming so soon after a recent weekend that featured two separate mass shootings, shocked the nation, inspiring one Democratic lawmaker to straight-up beg the GOP to do something, anything. The GOP, meanwhile, offered thoughts and prayers. Among them was Texas governor Greg Abbott, who has it happens is scheduled to speak at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in only a few days.

Another key speaker at the event will be Donald Trump, but as per Jezebel, there’s one catch: Advocates for the right to bear arms will not be allowed to bear arms, at least during his stint. A note on the event’s website includes the following disclaimer:

Per the U.S. SECRET SERVICE, firearms, firearm accessories, knives, and other items WILL NOT BE PERMITTED in the General Assembly Hall. For a full list of prohibited items, please click here. Read the list of prohibited items carefully before traveling to the event. You will not be allowed in the General Assembly Hall with any of the items on this list.

It also notes that “There is no storage available for firearms.”

Obviously, there’s a reason for this: Trump is a former president, and Secret Service, who continue to protect, don’t want to take any chances. Despite the ban on weapons during his speech, Trump has long been a fervent advocate of the second amendment, once even so far as to once “joke” that someone should shoot his 2016 presidential opponent Hillary Clinton, which caused someone who was actually affected by the gun violence, former Arizona lawmaker Gabby Giffords, to accuse him of stoking violence.

Will any of Trump’s gun-loving supporters mind that they have to give up the right to bear arms in his presence? If they’ve put up with everything else he’s done, then probably not.

(Via Jezebel)

Harry’s House is one of the biggest albums of the year so far, if not the biggest. The new Harry Styles LP has already broken a record by eclipsing 146,000 copies in the US in its opening week in vinyl sales. Before it even came out, he teased fans by saying, “It sounds like the biggest, and the most fun, but it’s by far the most intimate,” as well as by hosting pop-up shops around the world.

Now, the “As It Was” singer is extending his tour, probably because he has no choice but to do so. The previous dates included ten-night residencies in New York and LA, but now those are fifteen-night residencies after adding five shows to both of those cities. Check out the full tour dates below.

08/15 –Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena is Harry’s House^
08/16 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena is Harry’s House^
08/20 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*!
08/21 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*!
08/22 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*!
08/26 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*!
08/27 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*!
08/28 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*
09/01 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*
09/02 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*
09/03 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*
09/07 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*
09/08 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*
09/10 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*
09/14 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*
09/15 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*
09/21 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden is Harry’s House*
09/25 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center is Harry’s House~
09/26 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center is Harry’s House~
09/28 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center is Harry’s House~
09/29 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center is Harry’s House~
10/02 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center is Harry’s House~
10/06 – Chicago, IL @ United Center is Harry’s House#
10/08 – Chicago, IL @ United Center is Harry’s House#
10/09 – Chicago, IL @ United Center is Harry’s House#
10/13 – Chicago, IL @ United Center is Harry’s House#
10/14 – Chicago, IL @ United Center is Harry’s House#
10/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+!
10/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+!
10/26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+!
10/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+!
10/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+!
10/31 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+
11/02 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+
11/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+
11/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+
11/07 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+
11/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+
11/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+
11/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+
11/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+
11/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum is Harry’s House+

!NEW SHOW
^Madi Diaz
*Blood Orange
~Gabriels
#Jessie Ware
+Ben Harper

You know how sometimes weird stuff happens? Well guess what, friends, something weird happened at the American Airlines Center in Dallas during halftime of Game 4 of the Mavericks’ series against the Golden State Warriors. It had absolutely nothing to do with the players, or the coaches, or any other human who was in the arena to watch a game of basketball.

Instead, something extremely silly happen: the dang roof started leaking. How? Why? I dunno! But at some point during halftime, water started dripping from the roof onto the floor, and when the players came out, the game’s third quarter had to be delayed so some people could go up there and tend to the issue.

Apparently, there is not just one spot where water is coming out of the roof.

The oddest part of this is that it’s not the first time this has happened, as a Mavericks-Timberwolves game at the stadium back in March couldn’t start on time because of a leak that had to be tended to. And earlier this season, a separate Mavericks game (this one against the Sixers) got stopped mid-game because a rim was bent a little bit.

Anyway, the Mavericks probably wanna get this game going soon, because even though they face an 0-3 series deficit, they entered halftime with a 62-47 lead.

Rick Ross is a busy man. The rapper just completed his partnership with Epic Records, and is currently taking offers from labels like Def Jam; he was also on Blxst’s last project Before You Go, alongside a couple of other collaborators. Despite his success and hustle, he told HotNewHipHop in a recent interview that he has never owned his own email address, which is especially surprising during the digital age where music is most often streamed online.

“I’ve only really released one album since the streaming really been at its strongest point, so for me, of course my greatest times were when we was at Best Buy for the signings,” Ross said. “That was the best feeling versus streaming. Ain’t no real connection with the fans now, to me.” He continued: “It’s different. When you talking about the streaming, you talking to a n**** who ain’t never had a email.”

About streaming, he added: “So the love for the streaming, it’s cool. We still get money, but is it from the streaming, or is it from the brand or Da Boss Rick Ross? ‘Cause regardless, I don’t care what we streaming, Da Boss Rick Ross got demands that’s gotta be met.”

You can read Ross’ full interview with HotNewHipHop here.

Another school shooting. Another mass murder of innocent children. They were elementary school kids this time. There were 18 children killed—so far—this time.

The fact that I can say “this time” is enraging, but that’s the routine nature of mass shootings in the U.S. It happened in Texas this time. At least three adults were killed this time. The shooter was a teenager this time.

The details this time may be different than the last time and the time before that, and the time before that, and the time before that. But there’s one thing all mass shootings have in common. No, it’s not mental illness. It’s not racism or misogyny or religious extremism. It’s not bad parenting or violent video games or lack of religion.

Some of those things have been factors in some shootings, but the single common denominator in every mass shooting is guns. That’s not a secret. It’s not controversial. It’s fact. The only thing all mass shootings have in common is guns.

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Other countries have guns, but the United States has a lot more and it’s not even close. The U.S. is the only country in the world that has more guns than people (a whopping 120 guns for every 100 people). The next highest country for gun ownership (the Falkland Islands) has half the per capita gun numbers we have.

Not only do we have far more guns than anywhere else, but we have relatively few federal laws regulating those guns. We have state laws, but they vary widely and that makes a difference—so much so that research shows some states are negatively impacted by neighboring states’ lax gun laws.

(And yes, there is a correlation between gun death rates and gun laws—states with stricter laws have lower gun death rates and vice versa. These stats are easy to look up and they’re also gathered in this article and in this article.)

However, I know from writing about this topic for years that facts and stats don’t seem to matter. Nothing seems to matter—that was clear after first graders were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary and Congress did nothing. We see shooting after shooting and nothing changes.

It’s exhausting and baffling, which is the energy Senator Chris Murphy brought to the Senate floor shortly after the news of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting broke. Murphy represented the district where the Sandy Hook shooting took place in 2012 and has advocated for Congress to take up gun legislation for years. In this speech to his Senate colleagues, he channeled the emotions of millions of Americans who are begging for lawmakers to do something.

The “code word” that the kids who survived Sandy Hook had to use to help them get through the memories and trauma of what they experienced is just too much.

“Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate? Why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job, of putting yourself in a position of authority if your answer is that, as the slaughter increases, as our kids run for their lives, we do nothing? What are we doing? Why are you here, if not to solve a problem as existential as this?”

Murphy asked the questions so many of us want to scream at Congress after each mass shooting. The majority of Americans support commonsense gun legislation. Certain gun laws, such as universal background checks, have the support of 83% of Americans.

Murphy’s plea to “find a path forward here” may be fruitless, but it’s right. Congress needs to act. State laws are not effective when an issue affects the whole country and state borders are just imaginary lines on a map.

Lawmakers in Texas, which tops all states for gun ownership, recently relaxed the state’s already loose gun laws to allow anyone 21 and older to carry a gun without a permit and without any training. Texas leadership has bragged about its gun culture and taken pride in “protecting the Second Amendment,” despite there being nothing in that amendment that prohibits the regulation of firearms.

When some states want to live in the Wild West, with a firearm free-for-all and baseless claims that a “good guy with a gun” will solve our gun violence problem, we need sensible people to at least attempt to protect America from its worst instincts. It is entirely possible to have the right to gun ownership and also have sensible gun laws and anyone who says otherwise is full of it. We have plenty of examples of it in countries around the world, as well as in states within our own country.

What we can’t continue to do is nothing, because it’s obviously not working.

It’s pretty clear at this point that Drake and Pusha T have no interest in settling their longtime. Tensions have been high between the rappers for years now, but the peak of their beef can back in 2018 when Pusha shared the news about Drake’s first child, Adonis, before Drake himself had a chance to announce it. The rappers have thrown subs at each other on various tracks, but in the latest development between the two, Pusha claimed that he’s been banned from Canada during a recent appearance on Drink Champs.

“I’m banned from Canada,” he said during the interview. “I can’t get back over there. I ain’t allowed to go back over there.” He added, “I went to my show [and] it was rowdy people at the show. I didn’t even get to the song. It got rowdy and I got on my way. It was cool.” The show Pusha is referring to is his 2018 Toronto concert that resulted in fans throwing drinks at him as he performed. However, Drake and his longtime OVO associate Chubbs seem to view things differently as an Instagram post from the latter reveals.

“We Don’t Ban N*ggaz We Welcome Them With Open Arms,” Chubbs captioned a picture of him and Drake walking with an entourage of other people. Unsurprisingly enough, Drake caught wind of the post and chimed in with his own message. “Come on over,” Drake wrote with a laughing emoji.

This comes after Drake seemingly threw some shots at Pusha T in his guest verse on Jack Harlow’s “Churchill Downs.” On it, he raps, “But I gotta get a n**** back for that, it’s non-negotiable / It’s not even debatable,” which appears to be in response to Pusha’s “The Story Of Adidon.” Drake throws more shots with lines like, “All I hear is plug talk comin’ from middleman / All I hear is tall tales comin’ from little men,” and, “Daytonas with the green faces,” on the track as well.

You can view Pusha T’s Drink Champs episode as well as Drake and Chubbs’ comments in the posts above.

Elon Musk used to be a guy who occasionally did eccentric things, like smoking weed on-air with Joe Rogan and firing off Twitter posts that cost him $20 million and one of his gigs. But in the last several months have found the world’s richest man stepping things up several notches. Nowadays he’s in the news just about every day, for one thing or another. But now it appears his unpredictable, trolly antics may finally start catching up with him.

According to Forbes, stock in Tesla, Inc., one of the companies of which Musk is CEO, sank to an 11-month low, down 49% from its all-time high in November. Valued at over $1.2 trillion at its peak just over six months ago, it has now fallen to $650 billion.

The stock tumble can partly be blamed on manufacturing issues, as per Forbes:

Prompting the steep decline, Daiwa analyst Jairam Nathan on Tuesday morning lowered his price target for Tesla shares to $800 from $1,150—telling clients Covid lockdowns in Shanghai, where the electric-vehicle maker operates its so-called Gigafactory, as well as supply issues impacting its Austin and Berlin plants, will cut deeper into earnings than previously expected.

Musk’s proposed plan to buy Twitter isn’t helping either. Dan Ives, an analyst with the private banking company Wedbush, says that “patience is wearing very thin” among Tesla shareholders in regard to Musk’s hectic back-and-forth with the social media giant. “This [takeover] circus show has been a major overhang on Tesla’s stock and has been a black eye for Musk so far,” Ives said, adding that “major market pressure for tech stocks” has only exacerbated their concern.

It’s also cost Musk access to the $200 billion club, a group so elite he was its only member. He is now worth a measly $199 billion, though he can take comfort in still having more money than anyone else on the planet.

(Via Forbes)

For kids that grew up in my generation, the And1 Mixtape Tour was appointment viewing. You’d come home from school, turn on ESPN2, and then go outside in your best tall tee and oversized basketball shorts and try to replicate what you saw from Hot Sauce, The Professor, Alimoe, Escalade, Skip To My Lou, and everyone else in the driveway.

Streetball’s boom in the early-to-mid 2000s was formative for a generation of hoopers, influencing the style and skills of players who would go on to play in the league and bring some of that flair from the hardtop to the hardwood. While legendary streetball courts like Rucker Park have been curating basketball culture for decades in cities like New York, the And1 Mixtape Tour brought that to people nationwide, and ESPN’s latest 30 for 30, The Greatest Mixtape Ever, will tell the story of the meteoric rise and legacy of the tour.

Jadakiss will narrate the documentary, with interviews with NBA players like Iman Shumpert, as it will take a look at the impact of the And1 Mixtape Tour on both hoops and hip-hop, and how it bridged those two worlds together in a beautiful marriage of basketball and music that redefined an era of both.

The Greatest Mixtape Ever will premier on May 31 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Selena Gomez is having a good year, having recently hosted SNL — which involved lots of whoopie cushions and a Miley Cyrus impression — and collaborated with Lizzo. On Deadline‘s Crew Call podcast, the “Wolves” singer just revealed that she’s been working on her new LP.

“I am in L.A. working on my album now,” she said when questioned about her plans after the second season of the Hulu series Only Murders In The Building. She could not say much more about that, but she also addressed the topic of touring: “I’m open to a tour, one thousand percent, but I obviously have obligations and things I wanna do, so when the time’s right. It’s not the top of my priority list,” she said.

Meanwhile the star also recently divulged in her Good Morning America interview that despite being the most-followed account on Instagram she hasn’t used the internet in over four years. “I haven’t been on the internet in four-and-a-half years,” she said. “It has changed my life completely. I am happier, I am more present, I connect more with people. It makes me feel normal.” The segment also notes, “While Selena helps her team curate her content, she’s not the one posting.”

You can listen to the full Crew Call podcast with Selena here.