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For over 400 episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Guy Fieri has traveled around America eating the greasiest (and most delicious) food he can find. We’re talking burgers, deep-fried everything, and this gigantic cinnamon roll. Fieri’s metabolism ain’t what it once was, however, so in recent years, he’s prioritized his health — and smaller portions. The Mayor of Flavortown has lost 30 pounds over the last few years, as he revealed to Men’s Health.

“I think moderation is a real thing… I still eat what I want to eat. But I just don’t eat as much of it,” Fieri said. People has more:

The Food Network star shared that he has lost weight over the last four years by reducing food portions and hiring a personal trainer who suggested intermittent fasting… Fieri also began hitting the gym for rucking (walking with a weighted backpack, the Cleveland Clinic explains) and high-intensity interval training.

The Rage Against the Machine fan has also taken to cold plunges. “The thing about cold plunges is that you gotta get through the first 30 seconds,” he said. “When I started, I hated waiting on the timer to go off. But now I breathe and get into the right mind space… It gets me fired up. I do it every day.”

Fellow celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay shared a photo that shows how much weight Fieri has lost. He’s gone from Cartman to Skinny Cartman.

Check out the reactions to the pic below.

(Via Men’s Health)

More exists to Bridgerton than the Regency-era sexy scenes, but that is what most people instantly conjure up in their minds whilst thinking of this show, and it’s not an unfair portrait. Nudity and even scratch marks are part of the show’s enduring appeal, and somehow, the show keeps getting more randy every season after The Duke left the building.

The third season recently dropped four episodes with four more to come in a second half. Let’s talk about where Shondaland left off and what is to come.

Plot

Make no mistake, the writers knew exactly what they were doing when they ended Episode 4 with “For God’s sake, Penelope Featherington. Are you going to marry me or not?” Nicola Coughlan’s character hasn’t yet answered that question, but readers of Julia Quinn’s books know that Penelope and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) do get married. However, there’s still the question of whether the show will follow the book because events have been time-swapped here a bit, at least while considering the moment when Colin will/should learn about Penelope actually being Lady Whistledown.

(Oh, please let them have an ending that is happier than Queen Charlotte and King George.)

Whether or not “Polin” follows the same course of the books — with Colin getting over the Lady Whistledown thing — remains for time to tell. We do, however, already know that Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) was not pleased to learn the truth, and Penelope might never be able to give up that poison pen of hers. And in the books, the moment where Colin finds out about Penelope’s alter ego actually comes right before the Carriage Scene that shook the viewership of the Netflix series. Whereas the Carriage Scene has now already materialized onscreen with the revelation of Whistledown still to come.

So, it’s really impossible to predict how Shondaland plans to handle that awkwardness, but here’s some insight from showrunner Jess Brownell, who spoke with Variety:

“The back half of the season in many ways is the upside-down world of the first half. If the first half is all playful and light and very much grounded in a rom-com sensibility, as soon as we jump into the back half, you have these much heavier conflicts that come into play. This includes the fact that Penelope is hiding that she’s Lady Whistledown from Colin, and her relationship with Eloise still not being in a great place, just as she’s getting together with her brother. So the tension starts ramping up.”

Also, Queen Charlotte is bound and determined to uncover the Whistledown secret, so we shall see if that’s how Colin finds out. If this romance does not proceed to marriage, however, you can bet that the audience will not be thrilled, and this show does aim to please.

So, stay tuned.

Cast

Too many characters exist in this show. Naturally, the focus is on Couglan and Newton but also Simone Ashley (Kate Sharma) and Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton) as the second-season newlyweds. The ensemble cast includes Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte), Adjoa Andoh (Lady Danbury), Ruth Gemmell (Violet Bridgerton), DaLorraine Ashbourne (Mrs. Varley), Hannah Dodd (Francesca Bridgerton), Luke Thompson (Benedict Bridgerton), Harriet Cains (Philipa Featherington), Bessie Carter (Prudence Featherington), Will Tilston (Gregory Bridgerton), Polly Walker (Portia Featherington), and Julie Andrews (the voice of Lady Whistledown).

Phoebe Dynevor and Ruby Stokes departed after the second season, and yes, Regé-Jean Page is still gone.

Release Date

The final half of this season arrives on June 13. Expect four episodes and then a too-long wait for the fourth edition.

Trailer

No trailer has surfaced yet, although perhaps “Keeping With The Featheringtons” will tide you over?

Coming off back-to-back WNBA championships and the best individual season of her career with the Las Vegas Aces, Jackie Young kept the same approach this offseason. She assessed her game and tried to find areas to continue improving.

The Aces guard has steadily gotten better over her five years in the WNBA, earning Most Improved Player honors in 2022, making the last two All-Star teams, and landing a second team All-WNBA spot in 2023. Young’s ascent to being one of the league’s best required a personal drive to seek out ways to adapt quickly to the pro game, as slow development isn’t a luxury afforded many players given the roster crunch with just 144 spots in the entire league.

Because of that, there is very much a sink or swim aspect to the WNBA, and as Young explains, it is vital for players to be willing to accept criticism and coaching and put the work in to improve in those areas.

“I want to be the best player that I can be, and I think that comes with being able to take criticism, being able to handle that, and just wanting to get better,” Young told DIME as the Aces prepared for their opener. “I tell the coaches to be completely honest with me, and I like the feedback. I’m always looking at Tyler [Marsh], looking at Becky [Hammon], just all the coaches. I love feedback so I can be better next time around. So I just try to take whatever they’re telling me and apply it.”

As a rookie, Young dealt with the same challenges most young guards do, as everyone around her was suddenly bigger, faster, and stronger. An adjustment period was needed to get comfortable with not just the speed and physicality of the game, but the heightened attention to detail from opponents who know your strengths and try taking them away. That first year was a crash course in pro ball, as she shot 32.2 percent from the field and averaged just 6.6 points per game, but within the struggles laid the blueprint for what she needed to work on, from building strength in the weight room to differentiating her finishing to keep defenders off balance.

That work started by building her routine and embracing what it meant to be a professional off the court, something she still commits to every day, even when the Aces have a game.

“I’ve always liked lifting. So I just spend a lot of time in the offseason lifting and right now I spent a lot of time with J [Jeremiah Welch], just so I can get in the best possible shape,” Young said. “I really pride myself in being one of the most in shape players in the league. We spend a lot of time together before practice, after practice, just getting lifts in, trying to get stronger and build that strength. We also lift after games, because it’s like, you don’t want to lose a day. Like, yeah, we have a game, but I think it’s important to still get that lift in after the game. Really just building good habits. Trying to be a pro and doing what pros do. I mean, I pride myself in being in great shape, and I love to workout. I love to lift. I love to be in the gym. I love to shoot. I love what I do. And so I just spend a lot of time doing it.”

That time paid off as she saw progress during in her sophomore season in the Bubble and again in her third year, when she shot 50.7 percent from the field and upped her minutes load to 31.8 per game. Those first three years came under the tutelage of Bill Laimbeer, who asked his team to work the ball inside, lean on their star bigs, and almost ignored the three-point line — the Aces were last in the league in three-point attempts in each of Young’s three seasons playing for Laimbeer. Young had acclimated herself to that style, working on differentiating finishes inside, pull-ups in the midrange, and gaining that physicality needed to play the way the Aces wanted to.

Ahead of the 2022 season, the Aces made a coaching change and hired Hammon away from the San Antonio Spurs, and she brought an entirely different offensive philosophy to Las Vegas. Young was in Australia, playing for Perth, when she had her first conversation with her new head coach, who wasted no time detailing the changes she’d need to make in her game when she got back stateside.

“She called me and said, ‘I need you to shoot threes,’” Young recalled. “I think at that point, it was maybe attempting like three a game that she wanted. And so whenever I got back from Australia, I got in the gym with Tyler.”

Young quickly built a bond with Marsh, the Aces assistant and head of player development, and has spent her offseasons working with him ever since. That first year was all about shooting threes, and while there were some adjustments to form, Young explained the biggest thing was getting comfortable letting it fly.

“As soon as we met, we just kind of clicked, and Becky was like, ‘This is gonna be your guy.’ And so, we spent a lot of time in the gym.” Young said of that first offseason with Marsh. “He made a few tweaks to my shot, but nothing too crazy, honestly. We just got a lot of reps in with that, and I think the biggest thing was just shooting it. I could be wide open from three, like nobody guarding me, and I still wouldn’t shoot that thing in the past.

“So, I think just actually shooting it was the biggest thing, and just getting those reps up and getting them up in practice, so that whenever the games got here, I was able to just step into it and shoot it. I think the tweaks obviously made a difference, but I think it’s just the amount of time that we spent in the gym, just getting reps up so that I would have the confidence to shoot it during the games.”

The result was an MIP season and her first All-Star selection, with Young meeting that goal by taking 3.4 threes per game and hitting on 43.1 percent of them. Young averaged 15.9 points a night in her first year under Hammon, blending her newfound long-range shooting with the driving and finishing she’d steadily honed in her first three seasons. Young has continued building on that foundation each season, looking for new ways to get better. She credits Marsh with coming up with film cut-ups that blend the good and the bad, providing her with a visual look at the areas she needs to continue improving.

This offseason, Young stayed in Las Vegas to work with Marsh and the Aces staff to further dial in her game and find that next level. The focus was on becoming a better shooter off movement and continuing to diversify her game inside the arc, with finishing and post-ups.

“We worked on a lot of things [this offseason], obviously, but my three, we worked on that and getting it off in tight spaces, coming off staggers, getting it off a little bit faster,” Young detailed. “Being able to create for myself and get the three off, but also worked on getting downhill, finishing at the rim, post-ups. Just all things, really. I just try to come back each year a better player than I was the year before. So we spend a lot of time in the gym fine-tuning things and just working on things that we thought I could have done better last year.”

The three-point shot has taken a bit to warm up to start this season, but Young is also taking on a new, temporary role as the Aces point guard while Chelsea Gray works back from injury. Young has spent the last three years watching Gray operate on offense and has tried to be a sponge, learning how one of the league’s best sees the game, makes her reads, and always operates at her pace.

“Chelsea’s been great. As soon as she got here, I was just always asking her questions, I still do,” Young said of the veteran All-Star. “And so I learn a lot from her with the way that she plays. She’s super shifty, keeps the defense on their heels, and even in the post, like, her post-up game is ridiculous. So, I just try to learn things from her, just having post patience, I think that’s a big thing. Not getting antsy in the post whenever you get it and just making the right read, whether that’s scoring or kicking it to your teammates. But I think also just with passing, her court vision is amazing and so just kind of like learning from her and just trying to make the right read.”

The challenge for Young is to take those lessons and apply them to how she plays the game, rather than trying to replicate what Gray does. She sees herself as something of a middle ground between her co-stars in the backcourt, trying to combine some of the floor general work of Gray with the burst and athleticism of Kelsey Plum. While the jump shot hasn’t fallen in the early going at the same rate as the past two seasons (30 percent on 6.7 attempts), Young’s playmaking has impressed.

Young is scoring 22.7 points and dishing out 8.3 assists with just 1.3 turnovers per night in the first three games of the season, taking on a much larger creative load for the Aces while also taking care of the ball. While Young has spent years learning from Gray, watching film and drilling reads on the practice court, it’s a different challenge doing it on game day. Her quick acclimation to her role to start this year is a testament to the way she and the Aces approach their practice work, simulating game speed constantly to make sure what happens on practice court transfers to the arena.

“I think that’s just part of being a pro. Just your approach to the game every day. I think once we get warm, we go game speed. I think just shooting game speed, and doing the reps hard at game speed is what really helps translate it into whenever you’re actually in a game,” Young said. “So, yeah, it’s practice, but we just try to build great habits every day. And that’s playing at game speed everyday, playing hard, and just taking every every rep seriously like it is a game attempt in order to be able to do it, whenever the games are actually here.”

The same goes for the defensive end, where Young has long prided herself on being one of the league’s top perimeter defenders. She’s stated her goal is to be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year, with teammate A’ja Wilson as some of her chief competition.

All the while, she’s continued to build her reputation as one of the league’s peskiest defenders. While there’s plenty of focus on growing her offensive skillset, Young and the Aces make sure to drill the basics constantly on defense. Young says the Aces practice their shell defense daily, ensuring the fundamentals never slip so that on game day, their movements and base coverages are second nature. That gives them something to always fall back on, and also gives them a level to maintain, with the players keeping each other accountable for playing — as Young calls it constantly — Aces basketball.

“We all pride ourselves in defense, and holding each other accountable is the biggest thing. And everyone we have can defend,” Young explained. “A’ja is a Defensive Player of the Year. AC [Alysha Clark] is a great defender and she’s kind of like the defensive leader. She has a voice and she uses it. She’s always on me about my defense and just holding me accountable. Chelsea, she’s gonna get her charges. KP is going to be up and be disruptive. And so everyone takes pride in the defense. Whenever you play good defense, you’re able to get going in transition and the offense comes easier. So get stops on defense so that you can play offense.”

Beyond the practice work, Young has become a film junkie. Understanding that she’ll take on the opponent’s top guard most games, she dives into cutups to be prepared for the unique challenges each opponent presents.

“I spend a lot of time watching a lot of film on my matchups so I know their go-to moves and what they like to do,” Young said. “So I think, just making sure I’m prepared, I spend a lot of time watching film and watching my opponents. I mean, I like to play defense. It’s fun, and I think the preparation aspect of it is probably the biggest thing, and then just being able to apply it once I do get on the court.”

That love of the work is something that you can’t fake and is a major reason Young has steadily improved and grown into a star. From conditioning to film to on-court work, making improvements to your game is as much a personal commitment as it is a professional one. Coaches and staffers won’t chase you down to get in the gym, and in the hyper-competitive chase for roster spots in the WNBA, there’s always someone ready to take your place.

Being on a team that shares that commitment throughout the locker room and has the organizational structure to support it helps tremendously. For Young, Aces basketball isn’t just about what they do on the court, but how the group genuinely wants the best for each other.

“We all love each other. And we have fun while we’re playing the game. Playing the game the right way, and just building great friendships along the way,” Young explained. “I mean, it’s fun being on this team. The chemistry that we have, everyone kind of sees it on social media a little bit, but yeah, that’s really who we are. And so it’s fun being able to come to work every day and do what we love with people that we love.”

Young and the Aces will spend this season looking to show the work they put in this offseason has kept them at the top of the WNBA, chasing a rare three-peat. Once that’s over, she’ll start the process of finding a way to raise her level all over again.

Alan Richson was born to portray Reacher even though he’s eating ungodly calories and previously risked his health to get there (and is being healthier about this now, thank goodness). The show of brilliant simplicity gained a devoted audience upon debut, and that fervor grew to splendidly ridiculous heights with the second season. Before that season concluded, Prime Video (Amazon) announced that Ritchson’s Big Guy would return for another Lee Child-authored adventure somewhere in the U.S.

Since that shrouded revelation, numerous details have surfaced to tell us where Reacher will land and what he will do next, so let’s get started.

Plot

No shortage exists of Reacher books to fuel Reacher‘s seasonal adventures, and this series is having a ball bouncing around the source material. As viewers will recall, the first season adapted The Killing Floor, and the second season followed Bad Luck and Trouble. After a fair amount of teasing, Amazon revealed that the third season is based upon Child’s Persuader book (the Jack Reacher series’ seventh book), which is centered in Maine. That’s lobstering country for those who want to see Reacher eat. (Also, we will have to cross fingers for the fourth season to take on Tripwire to put Ritchson’s Reacher in Key West, where he can critique the key lime pie.)

Expect to see Neagley (Maria Sten) miraculously surface as a connecting thread and ally in this adventure. Also get ready for Reacher to move on from both both Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) and Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan), who are both off pursuing their lives after being Reacher love interests. This season, Reacher will get randy with DEA agent Susan Duffy, who will be portrayed by Sonya Cassidy.

The most ominous news thus far about this season, however, is that Reacher will no longer be the Biggest Guy around. The Bad Dudes found a Bigger Guy to fight Reacher, and his name is Paul “Paulie” Masserella. He will be portrayed by Olivier Richters, a.k.a. “The Dutch Giant,” the world’s tallest bodybuilder who stands 7’3″ IRL as opposed to Alan Ritchson’s 6’3″.

Already, Paulie is wreaking havoc on the Reacher set while attempting to show Reacher who is boss of the dry erase pens.

Sure, nobody would want to run into this guy in a dark alley or in the daylight, but c’mon, do we expect him to have the mind of Reacher? Not gonna happen. Still, expect some bruises. I mean, look at this dude’s thighs:

Cast

Alan Ritchson’s leading man has nearly erased the memory of Tom Cruise’s Reacher off the map, and that’s how things shall stay. However, the Bigger Guy called Paulie will be portrayed, as mentioned above, by Olivier Richters, and Susan Duffy will be portrayed by Sonya Cassidy. And thank goodness that we can always rely upon Maria Sten as Neagley.

Release Date

Amazon revealed that the wait for more Reacher will end in 2025. The bad news, however, is that we have to wait until 2025 to see Reacher punch something anew.

Trailer

Since no trailer exists yet, perhaps thirst can be sated by looking back at the funniest first-season moments. Roscoe Conklin, you are missed.

Theaters kids everywhere, rejoice! There will finally be an on-screen version of “Defying Gravity” for you to sing along with and fulfill your dream of flying on a broom into the sunset. Start practicing that high note now.

The highly-anticipated Wicked adaptation is heading to theaters this fall with an all-star cast, a blonde Ariana Grande and Peter Dinklage as a goat professor. What more could you want from a fairy tale?

Based on the book and Broadway adaptaion of the same name, the movie will tell the “unofficial” story of how the Wicked Witch became so wicked all those years before Dorothy appeared in Oz, told through some over-the-top dance numbers. Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming film.

Plot

The story follows a pair of witches, Elphaba and Glinda, who form an unlikely bond after meeting at a prestigious school. There, they learn about their important destiny in the land of Oz. Ariana Grande portrays Glinda, the bubbly (literally!) young witch while Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba, the outcast with green skin and a lot of power. After the two become roommates, they are forced to see the world through new perspectives, while learning the dark secrets of Oz and the powerful wizard.

Here is the official synopsis:

The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Unlike Wonka, Warner Bros wants you to know this is a musical starring two of the most powerful vocalists right now. Both Grande and Erivo sang live on set, which is rare for a movie-musical “These are live vocals,” Director Jon M. Chu told Vanity Fair. “When we were shooting it, those girls were like, ‘F*ck the pre-records. We’re going live.’”

Cast

Aside from Grande and Erivo, the movie stars Jonathan Bailey as the love interest Fiyero, Ethan Slater munchkin Boq, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Glinda’s BFF, Jeff Goldblum as the all powerful Wizard, and Michelle Yeoh as the mysterious Madame Morrible. And Peter Dinklage as a cute goat!!

Grande has been manifesting her role as Glinda since she was a Nickelodeon star. “I had no expectations, I was just thankful to go in at all, I was so excited to have the opportunity to audition,” Grande said earlier this year on the Zach Sang Show, “Since I was 20, I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t know when this is happening, but when it’s happening, may I please at least just audition?’ That’s all I wanted, was an audition. I’ve never wanted anything more.” As Grande famously believes, “I want it, I got it, I want it. I got it,” and so forth. You can see clips of her audition below:

Release Date

In 2022, it was announced that the story would be split into two parts, in order to really drag out our time in Oz. Currently, Part One is set to hit theaters on November 27th, 2024, and Part Two is slated for November 26th, 2025.

Trailer

The full trailer was released earlier this month and featured a glimpse at the dazzling sets and larger-than-life musical numbers:

Industry has, unfairly or not been compared to both Succession and Euphoria but stands on its own well-heeled feet. The show has also been called a Gen-Z-friendly Succession, which isn’t the worst analogy but also does not give due credit to the show that can only properly be experienced by streaming it on Max. In short, this is a thrilling series about the 20s-something financial set, who work hard and (at times) party harder.

The third season of this underappreciated gem will soon hit HBO in the U.S. and BBC One in the U.K. In addition to the ensemble cast already present, a familiar face to HBO viewers will soon appear. Let’s talk about what we can expect when the workplace drama returns.

Plot

These fledgling Pierpoint investment bankers will continue to push through their stress-filled daily lives at work while letting the good times roll after hours. That includes enormously messy personal lives as individual ensemble members rise and fall in the ranks. Creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay also enjoy a wink and a nod to other HBO shows, including this Reddit-noted labeling of Rishi (Sagar Radia) dressing like Kendall Roy:

What’s new this season? The character of Sir Henry Muck, who is a tech CEO portrayed by Kit Harington. According to BBC, his character is “the embodiment ‘of old money’ privilege.” Does Harington look like he knows more than Jon Snow in this first-look photo?

From the show’s third-season description:

As Pierpoint looks to the future and takes a big bet on ethical investing, Yasmin (Marisa Abela), Robert (Harry Lawtey), and Eric (Ken Leung) find themselves front and center in the splashy IPO of Lumi, a green tech energy company led by Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington), in a story that runs all the way to the very top of finance, media, and government. Since leaving Pierpoint, Harper (Myha’la) is eager to get back into the addictive thrill of finance and finds an unlikely partner in FutureDawn portfolio manager Petra Koenig (Sarah Goldberg).

Cast

New additions to the cast include Kit Harington, Sarah Goldberg, Roger Barclay, Fiona Button, Miriam Petite, and Adam Havill. Returning actors include Myha’la, Marisa Abela, Conor MacNeill, Adam Levy, Sarah Parish, Harry Lawtey, Ken Leung, Sagar Radia, Indy Lewis, Trevor White, and more.

Release Date

The bell will ring (perhaps that’s not the best lead-in but fits the theme) on Sunday, August 11 at 10:00pm EST. The season will contain eight episodes.

Trailer

No third-season trailer exists yet. However, these clips might persuade you to join the Industry audience if you aren’t curious enough already.

Friday night was a big matchup of top rookies in Los Angeles, as Caitlin Clark and the Fever arrived at a packed Staples Center to face the Sparks with fellow top-4 picks Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson.

In the first half, it looked like Indiana would drop their sixth straight to open the season, as Jackson (16 points) and Dearica Hamby (18 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists) led L.A. in scoring and Brink (15 points, nine rebounds) provided the rim protection as the Sparks took an 11-point halftime advantage.

The Fever would claw their way back into the game in the second half behind strong nights from Aliyah Boston (17 points), Kelsey Mitchell (17 points), and Temi Fagbenle (18 points), making up for another rough shooting night from Clark.

The top pick missed her first seven threes but was able to make a positive impact with her passing and rebounding, as her teammates picked up the scoring slack around her. However, as the Sparks, led by a late push from Brink, tried to close the gap, Clark (11 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) found her stroke and hit a pair of huge threes in the final three minutes to turn a three-point lead and turn it into a six-point advantage.

Clark’s timely buckets lifted the Fever to a 78-73 win and finally got them in the win column. It was another game of ups and downs for Clark, who continues adapting to the WNBA game, but her last two shots were evidence that her confidence hasn’t been diminished in the slightest by early season struggles.

The Sparks just didn’t get quite enough around their top trio, and thanks to a balanced effort from the team and some late heroics from their young star, the Fever can remove the weight of wondering when they’ll finally win before traveling to Las Vegas on Saturday.

Only two wins stand between the Dallas Mavericks and a berth in the NBA Finals. Despite trailing by as many as 18 points in Game 2 of their Western Conference Finals road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas chipped away in the second half and were able to pick up a 109-108 win thanks to some late heroics by Luka Doncic, who drilled a stepback three with three seconds left over Rudy Gobert to secure the win.

Right after he made the jumper, Doncic, uh, had some stuff to get off his chest to the Defensive Player of the Year, as he let Gobert know his thoughts about whether or not he could guard him. (Spoiler: Luka Doncic does not think Rudy Gobert can guard him.)

Doncic discussed his game-winner on Inside the NBA after the game, and expressed his surprise that the Wolves let Gobert get switched onto him. And then, Doncic went into his postgame interview with the media, where he decided to have a little fun and tell everyone that he didn’t actually say this to Gobert. Instead, he claims, he had a little something to say in Slovenian.

Normally lying to the media is a bad thing, but this is a bit of an exception because it’s both very silly, and also, clearly a lie.

Luka Doncic handed the Minnesota Timberwolves an absolutely gut-wrenching loss on Friday night, as the Mavs superstar hit a stepback three over Rudy Gobert with three seconds left to give them a 109-108 win and a 2-0 series lead.

Dallas trailed by as many as 18 in the first half, but their defense tightened up in the second half and Luka and Kyrie Irving came alive, swiping yet another game on the road in this Western Conference Finals. After the game, Doncic joined the Inside the NBA crew for a postgame conversation, and unsurprisingly, Draymond Green had one thing on his mind.

Green wanted to talk with Doncic about targeting Rudy Gobert on that final possession, asking Doncic if that was the matchup he was looking for coming out of the timeout. Luka confirmed it was, saying, “we wanted that.”

In case Green’s feelings on Gobert weren’t already known, in the middle of the interview he got more “Draymond Sucks” chants, and shouted back “Rudy sucks,” with Chuck cracking the desk up by telling them to go home and they’ll “see you next year.”

Once the interview continued, Doncic noted he was “a little bit” surprised the Wolves gave him that switch and didn’t send a double, leaving Gobert on an island on the perimeter where he is not at his most comfortable. Shaq asked if he’d attack any big that way, with Luka noting it’s matchup dependent and with Rudy, “I can’t move fast, but I can move faster than him.”

This interview followed a spirited debate about whether Gobert should’ve been on the floor, with Green, Shaq, and Chuck agreeing they should’ve had someone else out there that could switch. Kenny disagreed and felt it wasn’t an issue of Rudy being out there or not, but instead was a strategic issue of not doubling Luka, feeling Doncic would’ve done that to anyone.

While that may be true, Doncic certainly seemed happy to see Gobert on him, and despite being a bit coy on the TNT desk, he let Rudy know exactly how he felt in the moment.

The series will now shift to Dallas, where the Mavs will try to protect home court and, possibly, polish off a sweep to punch their ticket to the Finals for the first time in over a decade.

Luka Doncic is a bad, bad man, and on Friday night, his playoff legend grew a little more. Doncic put Rudy Gobert on skates on the team’s final possession of the game to knock down a game-winning stepback three, and as a result, the Dallas Mavericks picked up a 109-108 win to give themselves a 2-0 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.

After letting homecourt advantage slip away in Game 1, Minnesota looked like it was going cruise to a blowout win during the first half of Game 2. With Doncic looking a little banged up and Kyrie Irving struggling to impose himself in the first half, the Wolves were able to open up a lead of as many as 18 points in the second quarter to get the home crowd at the Target Center rocking.

While the lead got to 58-40, Dallas was able to get into a bit of a rhythm to close out the first half. It wasn’t much — only an 8-2 run to close the period which saw the Timberwolves make one shot from the field in the final 4:27 — but it was just enough to get the deficit down to something more manageable, and instead of wondering if Doncic and Irving would get to rest up during the fourth quarter, the Mavericks went into the locker room down by 12.

While the two teams traded blows early on in the third, the Mavs eventually came to life behind Doncic, who had 11 points and three assists in the frame.

With Doncic spearheading the effort — whether he was hitting shots on his own or generating looks for his teammates — Dallas was able to go on a 21-7 run that got the Wolves lead down to two points. Minnesota was able to get a jolt of energy late in the period when Reid hit a three in its waning moments, but after looking comfortable for much of the first half, their lead was only 86-82 heading into the fourth.

And then, just like that, Dallas took the lead. Behind a pair of triples by Irving — his first two of the series — the Mavs went on an 8-0 run in the first 97 seconds of the fourth to take their first lead since early on in the first quarter.

The two teams passed the lead back and forth, with Irving and Reid taking and making big shots throughout the first half of the period.

A quick, 6-2 burst by the Wolves helped them open up a narrow, three-point lead, but they couldn’t quite extend it, as the Mavericks always seemed to have an answer. And then, a funny thing happened: Irving missed a wide open three off of an offensive rebound on one possession, and after Edwards nailed two from the charity stripe right after that, the usually reliable guard went 0-for-2 from the free throw line.

It was a five-point cushion that felt gigantic with 89 seconds left, but Irving managed to get an open look on a corner three that he nailed.

On the next possession, the referees declared that Irving knocked the ball out of McDaniels’ hands and out of bounds. But review showed that Irving actually grabbed McDaniels’ arm — which cannot be called on replay — and forced McDaniels to drop the ball out of bounds, which gave possession back to Dallas with 47 seconds left.

Doncic missed a midrange jumper the next time down, and with Dallas opting not to foul, the stage was set for Edwards to drive a stake into their heart. Instead, he picked up his dribble at the free throw line and got enveloped by Dereck Lively, and in a moment of panic, he tried to pass to Reid, who wasn’t in the spot Edwards expected. The ball landed out of bounds as a result, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Doncic made them pay for switching Gobert onto him by drilling a stepback three to give Dallas a one-point lead, then took advantage of a chance to talk gobs of sh*t to the French big man.

With exactly three seconds left, Minnesota had time to get a good look. McDaniels got the ball into Edwards, who gave it to Reid for an excellent look that rimmed out.

Doncic led all scorers with 32 points, and had a triple-double thanks to his 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Irving deputized him with 20 points, while the duo of Lively and Daniel Gafford combined for 30 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks. For Minnesota, Reid’s 23 points led the way. While Edwards had 21 and Karl-Anthony Towns had 15, the two combined to shoot 9-for-33 from the floor, which is not going to be good enough against the Mavericks.

Now, the series will shift to Dallas, and while the Mavs should feel fantastic considering they took both games off of the Wolves on their home floor, Minnesota has been an outrageous road team during this postseason. Game 3 will take place on Sunday night at 8 p.m. EST on TNT.