A home team’s starter getting blown out often means a long day of baseball for fans who were hoping for a fun day at the ballpark, but Daniel Camarena put on a show for San Diego fans despite a bad outing from the Padres’ starter.
Thursday’s series finale between the Padres and Washington Nationals started as a disappointing ace showdown between Washington’s Max Scherzer and San Diego’s Yu Darvish, the latter of which was chased from the game after allowing six runs on just three innings of work. But Scherzer himself was struggling as well. Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a home run against Scherzer earlier in the inning, and with more than 80 pitches through 3+ innings of work.
With the bases loaded Camarena, a 28-year-old reliever who had himself given up two runs the prior half-inning, shocked everyone in the park by launching a low 1-2 pitch to right field for an improbable grand slam.
The reaction from in the park was absolutely wild, especially for fans of a team loaded with offensive talent and used to seeing home runs. Everyone basically lost their minds, including this guy who was caught hand jiving on live TV.
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Multiple screams of “OH MY GOD” were heard on the Padres broadcast, and people in the crowd were caught saying the same thing, too.
It was quite a scene, capped by a reliever making his second career MLB appearance getting to wear a gigantic, spinning Padres wordmark chain to celebrate the dinger.
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Camerena actually helped the Padres come all the way back to win in what was a wild game, as the grand slam was part of a seven-run fourth inning that also saw Scherzer get chased from the game. The Padres then walked off in the bottom of the ninth.
Lady assassins, a shout-filled comedian, and the return of some beloved monsters. Do you want to know where you’ll find the best bang for your buck among the streaming services? This week, the competition is unusually cut-and-dried with one contender rising above them all, no contest. That would be Disney+, which streams (via Premier Access) the long-awaited (and that’s putting it mildly) Black Widow solo picture that lands simultaneously in theaters. Not only that but the Monsters Inc. franchise receives a revisiting, and Loki keeps on cruising through those nexus events while tweaking the MCU timeline. Nerds are pretty lucky this week, and elsewhere, the streaming services are putting up solid additions.
In particular, Netflix pulls off a strong second place with several worthy selections, including the return of shouter extraordinaire Tim Robinson’s comedy series and more Fear Street. HBO Max unfurls the Gossip Girl revival for a new generation, Apple TV+ has a blockhead and a beagle, and Discovery+ launches this year’s Shark Week. Don’t count out Amazon Prime or Hulu, which also bring new options to the table. Without further delay, here’s everything that you should consider putting in your queues this weekend (and beyond).
Disney+
Marvel
Black Widow (Marvel Studios film on Disney+) — Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff finally gets her due and a proper send-off in this actioner that aims to go back-to-basics but succeeds more on a personal level. The film fills in plenty of blanks following the events of Captain America: Civil War, but more importantly, we receive butt-kicking ladies in well-choreographed fight scenes and an emotionally resonant story that introduces us to the inner Natasha, as witnessed by Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. She’s perhaps the only person in the world who’s allowed to tease Natasha, and their dynamic (and the chemistry between Scarlett and Florence) rules. The film also allows David Harbour to perform grunt-filled face work with a wild accent while the ladies swirl around him in hand-to-hand combat. It’s a winner.
Loki: Episode 5 (Disney+ series, releasing in the wee hours of Wednesday morning) — Tom Hiddleston has an absolute blast playing the mercurial trickster of the MCU, and we shall reap the benefits while he helps (or hinders) the Time Variance Authority during the process of cleaning up the timeline. This week, the Easter eggs exploded with so many Marvel Comics references and surprises that fans nearly couldn’t handle it all.
Monsters at Work: Season 1 premiere (Disney+ series) — Twenty freaking years ago when Monsters Inc. came out in theaters, Pixar films’ very existence still felt like a revelation, given that adults could straight-up dig these kid-geared movies, too. These days, that’s no longer a novel concept, but this franchise has persisted with a prequel and a few shorts, and now, John Goodman and Billy Crystal return as James P. “Sulley” Sullivan and Mike Wazowski. They have both been promoted, and a new crop of monsters (voiced by Mindy Kaling, Henry Winkler, Ben Feldman, and Alana Ubach) are doing the harvesting. The twist here, of course, is that although the franchise is going back to basics, the franchise is trading scares for laughter after realizing that — surprise — laughter generates so much more energy for Monstropolis than screams.
Netflix
Netflix
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson: Season 2 (Netflix series) — Get ready for more insanely absurdist (and almost therapeutically refreshing) sketch comedy from creator and writer Tim Robinson. He’s back with partner Zach Kanin for more of turning the most mundane and bizarre life moments into shouty hilarity, and guest stars this season include Bob Odenkirk, Sam Richardson, Paul Walter Hauser, Tim Heidecker, and many more. If you haven’t had the pleasure of digging into Robinson’s work, and you love Adam Sandler and Chris Farley’s exaggerated humor, yet crowned with an especially self-aware twist, you must plop this show into your queue.
Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (Netflix film) — One week after Part 1’s release, the franchise goes back to Shadyside, where summer vacation’s on tap, which means summer camp and someone who wishes to commit murder. In short, a group of campers discover that their town’s horrifying happenings might be connected to what they’re going through now, and they need to shut down the impending perpetrator, fast.
Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (Netflix film) — Author RL Stine’s works find new terrifying life in this first trilogy installment about a group of teenagers who inadvertently stumble upon a source of ancient evil. Before long, they’re wrapped up in a 300-year-old nightmare that’s messed with their Shadyside community, and expect more where this came from when Fear Street Part 2: 1978 and Fear Street Part 3: 1666 eventually arrive.
Biohackers: Season 2 (Netflix series) — An abducted women awakens with no memory of what transpired, but she does discover a note-to-self that proves to be quite useful in informing her that, well, she needs to figure out what the heck happened because she’s in imminent danger. She must then team up with someone that she doesn’t trust at all.
Dogs: Season 2 (Netflix series) — The best friend of man everyone (who knows what’s good for them) is here to stake a claim on you. In this four-episode season, four lucky humans — an astronaut, a priest, a military contractor, and a university mascot handler — tell stories of these remarkable creatures and how they’re truly family.
Cat People: Season 1 (Netflix series) — Well, some people side with the felines, rather than the canines, in the battle for human hearts. This show will explore exactly why “cat people” are so devoted even in the face of negative stereotypes while also revealing their powerful bonds with these somewhat stuffy and frustratingly independent creatures.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness: Season 1 (Netflix series) — Based upon the survival horror video games (and surely, you’ve seen at least a few of the films) comes this Netflix original anime series that follows up on 2017’s Resident Evil: Vendetta CGI film with more franchise entries apparently on the way.
HBO Max
HBO Max
Gossip Girl: Season 1 premiere (HBO Max series) — The original CW series helped to launch the careers of Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Sebastian Stan, and Penn Badgley (and the latter is now portraying an amped-up version of the same character on Netflix’s You). HBO Max is now ready to welcome another crop of mostly unknown faces playing wealthy, privileged teens who find themselves socially surveilled and at the mercy of the “Gossip Girl” narrator, who’s still voiced by Kristen Bell. Showrunner Josh Safran has promised that this reboot series will be much more socially conscious than the original, and that the teens will “take Ubers, not limos.” If you’re wondering how well this premise will update for 2021, that’s one of the reasons why this show’s worth a whirl. XOXO?
No Sudden Move (Warner Bros. film on HBO Max) — Right at home in the comfort of your own living room, you can enjoy the newest Steven Soderbergh-directed picture that’s set in 1954 Detroit. The cast includes half of Hollywood, it seems, including Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Kieran Culkin, Ray Liotta, and Brendan Fraser. The name of the game is a botched plan by a gathering of small-potatoes criminals, who must hunt down who hired them and find out what’s actually going on in the rapidly morphing city.
Betty: (HBO series on HBO Max) — The skateboarders are back. It’s what we really need to heal our pandemic-addled minds, and somehow, director Crystal Moselle managed to gather the Skate Kitchen crew back up for a second season and film on the streets of New York City. The main players are all back — Rachelle Vinberg as Camille, Ajani Russell as Indigo, Dede Lovelace as Janay, Moonbear as Honeybear, and Nina Moran as Kirt — and they’re still making the act of soaring through the streets look like the coolest thing on Earth.
Discovery+
Discovery+
Shark Week 2021 (Discovery+ event) — Before Eli Roth’s Fin documentary arrives next week, the annual shark-related festivities begin with Shark Academy and Song of the Shark. With the former selection, several contestants compete for a spot on a massive shark-diving expedition. Of course, these enthusiasts don’t exactly possess traditional backgrounds before immersing themselves for six weeks at the behest of the great Dr. Riley Elliott. In the latter selection, YouTube Dan Mace edits and scores fresh shark footage from around the globe to give viewers a never-before-seen glimpse of these fearsome and enigmatic animals.
Martha Gets Down and Dirty: Season 1 (Discovery+ series) — The frequent onscreen and business partner of Snoop Dogg goes solo while traveling home to her 150-acre farm where, as the title suggests, she gets her hands seriously dirty. Martha Stewart might be 79 years young and a total perfectionist, but she’s entirely engaged in prepping her farm for summertime, and that means some serious digging in the dirt alongside her gardener, Ryan McCallister. That’s only part of the dirty work on this show, and Stewart duly promised, “I’m going to take you behind-the-scenes as I get my hands dirty around my property, as well as help my celebrity friends and surprise some unsuspecting callers.” So… Snoop? C’mon, Martha.
Roswell: The Final Verdict (Discovery+ limited series) — The recently declassified UFO reports from the Pentagon didn’t exactly satisfy curious minds, so there’s no time like the present for revisiting the 1937 Roswell, New Mexico incident, in which a rancher claims to have witnessed strange debris gathering, which led to decades of denials by the U.S. government and endless conspiracy theories. This series will revisit eyewitness accounts in an attempt to uncover the whole truth.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+
The Snoopy Show: Season 1 premiere (Apple TV+ series) — Don’t be a blockhead, Charlie Brown. Instead, tuck into this new animated series for all ages, as long as you’re into the almost universally beloved beagle, Snoopy (duh), and his best friend for life, Woodshock. Not only is Snoopy actually Joe Cool, but he’s also Masked Marvel and a World War I flying ace, and yes, do not try to resist this delight of a revisiting that’s based upon Charles M. Schultz’s “Peanuts” comic strip.
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
Luxe Listings Sydney: Season 1 (Amazon Prime series) — Take a journey inside some of the most ridiculously extravagant real estate that the world has to offer, and it all happens to reside (along with its occupants) down under. Sydney’s ground central here for ruthless competition as viewers sling their money and egos to buy and sell the highest dollar-luxury properties that one can imagine. In the middle of it all? Cutthroat real estate agents, giving it everything they’ve got.
The Tomorrow War (Amazon Prime film) — A summer blockbuster movie lands in your living room at no extra cost to Amazon Prime subscribers, so how lucky are you feeling right about now? The film stars Chris Pratt (alongside J.K. Simmons, Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, and more) in a world where time travelers from 2051 arrive to warn mankind that a global war against an alien species is coming. The only way possible for this to turn out well for humans is if soldiers and civilians join the future fight by time traveling, and this film comes from the mind of director Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie), so we’re in good hands all around. Go get your microwave popcorn and enjoy the explosive action goodness.
Hulu
Hulu
This Way Up: Season 2 (Hulu series) — Everything’s in flux for the return of the BAFTA award-winning series with Aine and Shona attempting to make sense after the eventful Season 1 finale. This time around, Aine’s beginning to separate herself from her rehab life, little by little, while Richard circles, which might not bring the best outcome with the whole employer-employee thing going on. Meanwhile, Shona’s got some wedding jitters, so get ready for drama.
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Hulu film) — Questlove’s stepping into the director’s seat for the first time for this cinematic historical record that celebrates Black history over the course of six weeks. The culmination, of course, turns out to be the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, and this film brings you never-before-seen footage of performances from Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and many more.
It’s been quite a while since J. Cole was not the lone lead act on a song he delivered to the world. To be more specific, the North Carolina native’s last feature came back at the beginning of 2019 when he lent a hand to Gang Starr’s “Family And Loyalty,” an effort Cole used to close out his memorable feature run that began in 2018. However, more than two years later, Cole is back as a supporting act on “The Jackie,” a track that finds him standing beside Bas and Lil Tjay for what arrives as an extremely confident track from the trio.
The T-Minus-produced record is a mostly melodic effort from the three rappers with Bas and J. Cole taking brief moments to let their bars shine. While the song is Lil Tjay’s first record with either Bas or J. Cole, “The Jackie” adds to a long list of efforts between the Dreamville rappers. Their most recent connection came on Cole’s The Off-Season where they joined forces for “100 Mill,” “Let Go My Hand,” and “Hunger On Hillside.”
“The Jackie” arrives after J. Cole announced The Off-Season tour with Morray and 21 Savage. Bas has been rather quiet recently, with his last album, Milky Way, arriving in 2018. However, “The Jackie” could be the first of many songs to arrive from the Dreamville rapper. As for Lil Tjay, 2021 has been productive for him as he’s just a few months removed from his second album, Destined 2 Win.
You can hear Cole, Bas, and Lil Tjay’s “The Jackie” in the video above.
A year and a half ago, IDK seemingly shot out of a cannon and landed on a new rap tier thanks to the release of his 2019 major-label debut, Is He Real?. The project was quickly met with acclaim and left both new and old fans excited for what the DMV native would next have in store for fans. Nineteen months later, IDK returns with his sophomore album, an effort that answers the question posed in the title of his debut album. USee4Yourself checks in at 17 songs including one that finds the rapper standing beside a trio of respected lyricists.
USee4Yourself sees IDK standing beside MF DOOM, Westside Gunn, and Jay Electronica on “Red.” It’s is a heavy banger supported by verses from IDK, Westside Gunn, and Jay Electronica while MF DOOM makes brief appearances throughout the song. The song could grow to be one of the favorites from the album alongside “Shoot My Shot” and “Pradadabang.”
As for the rest of the album, USee4Yourself presents features from Young Thug, Offset, Lucky Daye, Sir, T-Pain, Rico Nasty, Swae Lee, Slick Rick, and Sevyn Streeter.
Press play on the video above to hear “Red.”
USee4Yourself is out 7/9 via Clue No Clue/Warner Records. Pre-order it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber debuted their first collaboration earlier this year as the former appeared on Bieber’s sixth album, Justice, for their “Unstable” track. Three months later, the duo is back in action with their latest effort, “Stay.” This time around, The Kid Laroi is in the driver’s seat as he sets up a story about a troubled relationship that seems to be faulty on his account. In the video, Laroi journeys through a city while begging his partner to stay by his side as he hopefully gets his act together for the sake of their relationship. Bieber delivers a verse that echos a similar sentiment proving that both singers are simply aiming to be the best versions of themselves.
“Stay” is the latest in a string of collaborations involving The Kid Laroi. He recently teamed up with Polo G and Lil Durk in a video for their “No Return” collaboration. He also joined Miley Cyrus on Saturday Night Live to perform a remix of his “Without You” track which he shared just days prior to the late-night appearance. Lastly, at the top of the year, Laroi delivered his “Reminds Me Of You” single which featured a posthumous verse from the late Juice WRLD.
As for Bieber, he recently shared a remix of “Peaches” that featured Snoop Dogg, Usher, and Ludacris before joining Migos on their Culture III album.
Press play on The Kid Laroi and Bieber’s “Stay” in the video above.
Back in April, Billie Eilish revealed the name and release date for her highly-anticipated sophomore album. Happier Than Ever is slated for a release on July 30 and it’s a project that the singer described as her “favorite thing i’ve ever created,” adding, “i am so excited and nervous and EAGER for you to hear it. i can’t even tell you. i’ve never felt so much love for a project than i do for this one. hope you feel what i feel.” At the time, the July 30 date seemed like a long distance away, but now, the album is just three weeks from arriving. As the wait continues, Eilish returns with the project’s fifth single, “NDA.”
One the new track, Eilish makes it clear that her preferred lifestyle is one of secrecy, so much so that when she invites a man over to her house, she ensures they don’t leave without signing an NDA. The singer also briefly touches on her struggles with fame and how she often desires to run away from the public eye. The track also arrives with an eerie video that begins with her walking down the middle of a two-lane highway as cars swerve out of the way to avoid hitting her. Towards the end, Eilish’s emotions on the song reach a new level as the cars start to approach her in a more erratic fashion.
“NDA” joins “My Future,” Lost Cause,” “Your Power,” and “Therefore I Am” as the other singles from her forthcoming album. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Eilish explained how creating her sophomore album differed from making her debut, When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go?. “I hated writing. I hated recording. I literally hated it. I would’ve done anything else,” she said about her debut. As for her Happier Than Ever, “No one has a say anymore,” she explained. “It’s literally me and Finneas and no one else.”
You can press play on the video above to hear “NDA.”
Happier Than Ever is out 7/30 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.
This year is building up to be the year of Nicki Minaj and in just a matter of months, the rapper already has a number of memorable moments to be proud of. Her latest one comes through a surprise remix of BIA’s viral track, “Whole Lotta Money.” The track that has helped greatly in boosting the Boston native’s popularity, but the new remix with Nicki will only increase that exponentially. On it, the two rappers deliver verses of their own before going back and forth on a third verse for the remix that maintains the song’s original production.
The remix comes after Nicki teased something big for fans in the days leading up to the track’s arrival. “There’s something I URGENTLY need to share w you guys,” she tweeted, promising to go on Instagram Live to share it. She added, “This is VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT. Love you guys so much.” As promised, Nicki held the Instagarm Live, which featured a live appearance from BIA who sat beside Nicki for the last 20 minutes of the livestream. Here, Nicki and BIA discussed how the remix came together and their prior interactions before engaging in a game of “f*ck, marry, kill.”
The remix arrives after BIA stopped by UPROXX Sessions to before the original version of the track which can be found on her 2020 project, For Certain.
You can check out the remix to “Whole Lotta Money” in the video above.
Throughout this postseason, the Suns have shown a knack for recognizing the big moments of a game and stepping up to them, thanks in large part to the ruthless nature of their star guards, Devin Booker and Chris Paul. Game 2 was, overall, defined by Phoenix’s outside shooting, as they were 20-of-40 from deep, making the difference against a 9-of-31 night from the Bucks from three-point range. However, it wasn’t just the volume of makes but the timeliness of them that allowed the Suns to always maintain a fairly comfortable edge against Milwaukee.
On multiple occasions in the second half, the Bucks made runs to cut the Suns lead down to two or three possessions, but every time they did, the Suns — and often, specifically, Devin Booker — had a response. On three occasions in the second half Booker hit a contested three-pointer to push Phoenix’s lead back to nine or ten points, refusing to let Milwaukee completely close the gap.
Booker would follow that last one up with another three — this time getting wide open off the ball — to push the Suns lead to 13, as the Bucks simply had no answers for the Phoenix shot-making display.
Late in the fourth, it was Paul’s turn to put a dagger of his own in the Bucks, who should be commended for their resiliency even if they could never quite reel the Suns in, knocking down a corner three off of some tremendous glass work from Deandre Ayton to get a second possession for Phoenix while up six.
Part of what makes the Suns so frustrating to play against is these types of showings from Paul and Booker aren’t outliers. Sure, Phoenix can’t shoot 50 percent from three as a team every night, but the shot-making abilities of their two stars have been proven to be sustainable. There are so many possessions where you can apply the “great offense beats great defense” axiom to the Suns, as Paul and Booker leave defenders shaking their heads, wondering what else there is to do. The answer is nothing and to just keep trying to play good, solid defense, but the more those shots go in, the more defenses get frustrated and try pressing the action, which is when someone shakes free for a wide open look.
Against a Bucks team where consistent shot-making is the Achilles heel, that skill very well could be the difference in the series, as Paul and Booker are capable of regularly making contested shots over good defense — a necessity against a team as good on that end as Milwaukee. The adjustments for Milwaukee going forward will probably be subtle ones. The small lineup got punished on the offensive glass in the fourth, allowing too many second chance opportunities to a team that takes full advantage of them, which likely means more Brook Lopez down the stretch in Game 3. Otherwise, much of what the Bucks did defensively worked how it’s supposed to, it’s just that Booker and Paul were better.
As hard as that is to accept sometimes, it’s the truth. You just tip your cap and move on. The concern for Milwaukee going forward has to be that those two are capable of doing that again, and two more efforts like that will send the Larry O’Brien trophy to the desert rather than Wisconsin.
The Phoenix Suns held serve in Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals, riding a spectacular performance from Chris Paul and strong support from Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton to a double-digit victory at home. Just 48 hours later, the Suns hosted the Milwaukee Bucks for Game 2, with the visitors unquestionably entering with a sense of urgency as Mike Budenholzer’s team aimed to avoid a dreaded 0-2 deficit. In a back-and-forth affair that featured memorable moments on both sides, the Suns emerged victorious by a final score of 118-108 to take a 2-0 series advantage.
While Giannis Antetokounmpo returned in productive fashion for Game 1, the two-time NBA MVP wasn’t quite himself physically, but another stretch of treatment seemed to have its desired impact early in Game 2. He threw down a monster dunk on the first possession of the game and had two more dunks, plus a steal and a blocked shot, to spur the Bucks to an early lead.
Most of the first quarter occurred with reasonable flow, as the first foul of the game did not occur until the 2:49 mark of the first quarter. Phoenix kept their offense afloat with a whopping eight three-pointers on 14 attempts, with the Bucks out-scoring the Suns by a 20-0 margin in the paint during the entire opening period. The result was a three-point Milwaukee lead, even with Phoenix shooting just 1-for-9 inside the arc.
Early in the second quarter, the Suns enjoyed a period of sustained success, using a 9-2 run to take a 39-35 lead. Though a chase-down block from Jrue Holiday was notable, Phoenix’s energy was considerable, as evidenced by the the follow from Ayton in transition to force Milwaukee into a timeout.
The Bucks fought back to tie the game at 41-41, but the remainder of the first half went to Phoenix. The Suns closed the second quarter on a 15-4 run, capped by a beautiful possession that ended with a three-point play by Ayton to push their advantage to double-digits at halftime.
Fantastic defense by the Bucks, better offense by the Suns
Phoenix was excellent on the offensive end in the first half, converting 11 three-pointers and deploying a balanced attack. Mikal Bridges led the way with 13 points, out-scoring Holiday and Khris Middleton combined, and the Suns held the Bucks to just 36 percent shooting and 4-for-16 from three-point distance.
In keeping with their first half showing, the Suns scored on the first four possessions after halftime, extending their lead to 15 points in a hurry. Then, however, Antetokounmpo settled into a rhythm, scoring 13 points in less than five minutes and giving the Bucks a jolt as they eventually cut the margin to five points.
Phoenix closed the third quarter in improved fashion, though, and they had control of the proceedings as a result. Despite the best efforts of Antetokounmpo (who scored 20 points in the period), the Suns led by 10 points with 12 minutes to go, with Milwaukee’s supporting cast combining to shoot a hideous 33.9 percent from the floor through three quarters.
The Bucks did start the fourth quarter well, as they continued to ride Antetokounmpo’s individual brilliance on both ends. After a highlight-worthy block, Milwaukee climbed back within five.
In on-brand fashion, the Suns continued to make big shots, taking advantage of Milwaukee’s struggles outside of Antetokounmpo. Booker made two more three-pointers in timely fashion, giving Phoenix a 13-point lead with 7:18 on the clock.
The Bucks did make one final push, scoring seven straight points right as things were teetering. That brought Milwaukee within a six-point margin at 103-97 with plenty of time to continue their comeback.
Milwaukee then had a three-pointer in the air that would’ve cut the deficit to three, but that was as close as the Bucks would get. The backbreaker may have been a possession in which the Suns generated two offensive rebounds before Paul buried a triple and, after a stop, the Suns scored again to take an 11-point edge and effectively put the game on ice.
Phoenix’s lead never dipped below eight points in the final seconds, and it was another resilient performance for the home team. The three-point line was heavily responsible for the Suns’ success, as they were 20-for-40 from beyond the arc. Phoenix also produced 26 assists, illustrating their ball movement, and they put together a strong defensive effort.
Individually, Booker led the way with 31 points, six assists and five rebounds, with Paul adding 23 points and eight assists. Bridges also enjoyed a breakout moment, scoring 27 points, grabbing seven rebounds and flashing his tremendous defensive upside.
For the Bucks, Antetokounmpo was brilliant from wire-to-wire. He finished with 42 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in just his second game back from a significant knee issue, and his performance shouldn’t be overlooked despite the result. Milwaukee struggled from three-point range (9-for-31) as a team, and the duo of Holiday and Middleton combined to shoot just 12-for-37 from the floor and 2-for-9 from deep.
With the win, the Suns improve to 13-0 during the playoffs when leading by double figures at any point, and they also take further control of the series. It is often noted that the series doesn’t begin until the home team loses but, for Phoenix, home wins would be enough, and the Bucks have no margin for error as they return home for Game 3 on Sunday evening.
If you watched Bridgerton on Netflix and wished you could find yourself in an immersive, steamy world where virtual members of the upper crust burned for you, well, Thursday brought some intriguing news. You know, kind of.
Deadline reported that showrunner Shonda Rhimes’ deal with Netflix has not only been extended, but expanded in some interesting new areas. Added to her Shondaland production company’s deal with Netflix is the addition of movies, some live events and, interestingly, “gaming and VR content.”
The deal, which extends the multi-million dollar deal she signed in 2017, covers Rhimes, her production company Shondaland and her producing partner Betsy Beers.
In addition to television, it will cover feature films as well as potential gaming and VR content. The deal also includes a branding and merchandise deal for Shondaland, which will add live events and experiences.
This is, we must absolutely stress, not a report indicating that a Bridgerton game is actually in the works. In fact, the report makes no reference to any specific property at all. And the bigger deal here is that Shondaland movies are likely on the way and would be much more possible to actually see the light of day.
But a Bridgerton video game is now technically possible given the reworked nature of her deal. And considering Netflix has been toying with potential forays into the gaming and interactive sphere and reportedly wants to take a serious look at game development, anything is possible. Reports about Netflix entering the video game sphere have persisted for years — with little to show for it unless you count the Black Mirror interactive episode, Bandersnatch.
Other rumblings about an interactive Minecraft story on Netflix and Telltale Games’ development of a Stranger Things title have gone nowhere, the latter company essentially evaporating shortly after that game’s existence was made public. Every major company from Disney to Microsoft has tried to make a splash in gaming, and while some clearly can find success many others never seem to make it work.
That’s because breaking into traditional video games is hard for any company that hasn’t done it before. Plenty of companies own development rights like this and little to show for it. Mostly because developing any kind of video game is hard, takes years of effort and creative production and lots of money for much of that time with little to show shareholders for the effort.
Still, Netflix announced a big swing at developing streaming content based on video game franchises in recent weeks, so a plan to make the inverse happen is also certainly possible for the streaming giant. And the money to throw at a problem like Shondaland games can certainly be there on paper. But making games — let alone good ones, of course — takes a lot more work (and time and money) than some language in a contract.
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