GoneTrending

The Boston Celtics put at least a minor scare into the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their best-of-seven matchup on Saturday. Boston led by as many as 12 points before halftime and held an advantage in the second half, only to falter late and lose by an 11-point final margin. In Game 2, however, there was no such drama, as the Nets threw the first, second and third punches to open up a significant lead they would never relinquish on the way to a 130-108 victory.

While things were relatively tight in the opening minutes, the Nets put distance between themselves and the Celtics with a 16-0 run in the first quarter. That push gave Brooklyn a 30-13 lead and, at that juncture, Nets wing Joe Harris was outscoring the Celtics by himself with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting and 4-for-4 from three-point range.

By halftime, the Nets led by 24 points and Harris had 22 points of his own, including a 6-for-8 mark from three-point distance.

Brooklyn put on an offensive clinic from start to finish, shooting 59 percent from the floor and 14-of-26 from three in the first 36 minutes. The Nets did pedal off late to settle in with a smaller margin of victory, but Brooklyn did lead by as many as 33 points and old friend Blake Griffin contributed the biggest highlight of the second half.

Things got so dire for the Celtics in the fourth quarter that some fans at Barclays Center began chanting for Boston backup center Tacko Fall to check into the game. The issue, though, was that Fall was inactive for Game 2.

Even with Brooklyn openly coasting in the fourth quarter, they finished with 52/45/96 shooting and 31 assists on the way to a (very) easy 13-point output. Kevin Durant produced 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists in fewer than 30 minutes on the floor, with Harris generating 25 points on only 14 shot attempts. Kyrie Irving (15 points, six assists, six rebounds) and James Harden (20 points, seven assists, five rebounds) were able to save energy for later in the series and beyond while still performing at a high level.

On a night when Jayson Tatum exited after being poked in the eye, Game 2 was a reminder that Brooklyn’s overall baseline is far higher than that of the Celtics, particularly without Jaylen Brown. Though anything can happen, the Nets appear to be in complete control with a 2-0 series lead, and the two teams get back together on Friday evening for Game 3 in Boston.

Tuesday marks exactly one year since George Floyd was tragically killed by Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin. The incident sparked nationwide protests, with millions angry that yet another Black life was lost at the hands of police. Days later, Chauvin would be arrested and charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter; in April, he was found guilty on all counts. Fast-forward to today and the family of the late George Floyd visited the White House to meet with President Joe Biden. They were also accompanied by Lil Baby.

Floyd’s family met with the president to discuss police legislation. Video provided by TMZ shows the rapper, when asked about the specifics of their meeting with President Biden, saying he was “trying to pass the George Floyd Police Act bill.” Shortly after a guilty verdict against Chauvin was reached, Biden asked lawmakers to revisit the bill, formally known as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would ban chokeholds, make it easier to prosecute officers for fradulent offenses, and place restrictions on the use of deadly force.

This is not the first time Lil Baby has helped Floyd’s family. Back in December, he and former NBA basketball player Stephen Jackson threw a birthday party for Floyd’s daughter, Giana, with help from Atlanta restauranteurs Ericka and William Platt of Restaurant Ten and Rosie’s Café.

The trust between Democrats and Republicans has greatly eroded over the last handful of years, and especially so over the last handful of months, when a violent siege by Trumpists into the Capitol, endangering all their lives, has led to…nothing. Not even Mike Pence’s brother seems to care about it. Republicans continue to support a disgraced septuagenarian former president-turned-blogger who now lives in resorts with strangers. But at least there’s two Democrats who still believe the GOP will do the right thing: Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin.

The two senators have been the most vocal about not toeing the party line. They refuse to help destroy the filibuster once and for all, and they refuse to believe Republicans will put country before party and help launch a commission into what happened on Jan. 6. The bill narrowly passed the House, with little GOP support, and it won’t pass the Senate without 10 Republicans voting for it. (So far two have publicly said they will, and one of them, of course, is Mitt Romney.) But Sinema and Manchin have a plan to get them to do the right thing: ask them real nicely.

On Tuesday, Sinema and Manchin released a joint statement, in which they said they “implore our Senate Republican colleagues to work with us to find a path forward on a commission to examine the events of January 6th.” They stated that the commisson “is a critical step to ensuring our nation never has to endure an attack at the hands of our countrymen again.”

But it’s unlikely simply appealing to better instincts will work. Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, has come out against the commission, alleging that it was “slanted and unbalanced.” The two senators’ joint statement may wind up appealing to nobody — not Republicans, who seem dead-set against investigating into a deadly skirmish that may implicate some of them, and not Democrats, many of whom will likely see it as insufficiently persuasive.

The latter came out in force over social media, many mocking the two for thinking that imploring them to do the right thing will do anything but make Republicans laugh.

Some tried to beg the two to wise up.

And others tried to tell them, patiently, that GOP indifference to the commission is the final sign that killing the filibuster is the only way to save democracy from a party still in thrall to a madman.

Whatever happens, it’s unlikely Sinema can save her reputation, which has been tattered by things like flippant way she voted down a bill to finally raise the minimum wage and an Instagram brunch post where she appeared to tell her many righteous critics where to go.

After a breakout campaign in 2020 in which he posted a 2.28 ERA, Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Zach Plesac is off to a bit of a slow start in 2021. Plesac’s ERA sits at 4.14, a respectable but unspectacular mark, through his first 10 starts and the 26-year-old allowed five runs (three earned) in only 3.2 innings in a loss to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. However, Plesac’s performance isn’t the biggest story surrounding the Indians this week, as the focus is now on an injury he suffered and the manner in which it occurred.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona indicated on Tuesday that Plesac will be placed on the injured list with what the team is calling a non-displaced fracture in his right (pitching) thumb. That isn’t an incredibly odd injury, but Francona elaborated on just how it happened, and that is the strange part.

“He was, I think, probably rather aggressively ripping off his shirt,” Francona told reporters, via MLB.com. “He called [athletic trainer] James Quinlan, and James called me. It was pretty swollen yesterday. … As you can imagine, our wheels started to turn.”

Yes, a professional pitcher seemingly suffered a real injury while removing his shirt “rather aggressively” after a start.

It wasn’t immediately clear that Plesac would have a significant ailment, but he was still swollen on Monday and an X-ray occurred from there. From there, the Indians indicate that Plesac will see a hand specialist to determine the next steps, but considering the crucial nature of a throwing hand for a pitcher, this could be a rather precarious injury. Outside observers certainly wish Plesac the best in his recovery, but this can also safely be added to the list of bizarre injuries in recent sports history.

When it became clear that Trump was not going to be president for a second term, many laid out how screwed he was when no longer shielded by the presidency. He owed money all over town. He and his organization and those who helped run them had almost certainly broken many, many laws. The sky would fall upon him. It’s been over four months since he left office and that hasn’t come to fruition. But as of Tuesday it’s one step close.

According to The Washington Post, Manhattan’s top prosecutor, District Attorney Cyrus Vance — who has been investigating the now-former president and his associates for the last two years — has taken things next level, convening a grand jury to determine whether or not to move forward with indictments. That doesn’t mean anyone’s going to jail, soon or later, but what it does suggest, as per WaPo, is that Vance “believes he has found evidence of a crime — if not by Trump then by someone potentially close to him or by his company.”

Vance’s investigation is expansive, reaching back even before Trump became president. Among the issues they’ve been studying is, as per the Post, “whether the value of specific properties in the Trump Organization’s real estate portfolio were manipulated in a way that defrauded banks and insurance companies, and if any tax benefits were obtained illegally through unscrupulous asset valuation.”

Don’t hold your breath for a decision, though: Given the size and scope of the investigation, the panel judging it is meeting three times a week over the next six months.

Trump could not be reached for comment, nor, as of this writing, has he posted about it on his blog. In the past he has called the investigation a “witch hunt,” as he’s dubbed any attempts to probe into his potentially underhanded legal transpirings. Still, might as well get the popcorn ready.

(Via The Post)

Shortly after the release of his latest album, The Off-Season, J. Cole played his first game in the Basketball Africa League. The Dreamville rapper had signed with the Rwanda Patriots to play six matches with the team. Three games have already gone by and while it may be exciting for some to watch Cole play professional basketball, his stats haven’t been great. The rapper has only scored five points in those three games, a performance that caused one BAL player to criticize his roster spot.

“For a guy who has so much money and has another career to just come here and average, like, one point a game and still get glorified is very disrespectful to the game,” Terrell Stoglin, a guard for AS Salé, said. Some people agreed with Stoglin, while others, like Rick Ross, did not. In fact, Ross took to his Instagram Story to respond to Stoglin’s statement.

“In no way is this meant to be disrespectful, but first and foremost, should no Black man’s dreams be censored nor limited,” Ross said. “Comin’ from a brother, I think you would understand what building these types of relationships would do for the business. For the eyes on the industry, you know what I’m sayin’?” He added, “You should be there to support the brother. If he made one point on the first game, by the time he get to the 10th, you should make sure he makin’ six a game, you understand?”

You can listen to Ross’ reply in the video above.

On Tuesday, the NBA announced that Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis has been fined $50,000 for visiting a club on Sunday, May 23. Per the league, Porzingis violated the league rule that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, prohibits a player from visiting any bar, club, lounge, or similar establishment. This rule is in effect regardless of if a player has been vaccinated or not.

Porzingis, per the league’s assessment, did not “create risks” that could spread COVID-19, so he does not have to quarantine (and thus miss multiple playoff games against the Clippers) as a result.

The news of this comes days after LeBron James made headlines for not getting reprimanded after attending a promotional event for his tequila brand that was determined to violate the league’s health & safety protocols. The league, in a statement, addressed the comparison directly, per The Athletic‘s Shams Charania.

“While we understand the inclination to compare this incident to protocol violations by other players, including LeBron James, those facts are very different. LeBron briefly attended an outdoor event related to an individual commercial activity where everyone was either required to be vaccinated or return a negative COVID test,” the statement reads. “The league reviews each potential protocol violation on a case-by-case basis, and determines quarantines and imposes discipline based on the individual facts and circumstances of each matter.”

From a basketball point of view, this is also a win for Dallas. Porzingis has been up-and-down in his Mavericks career, but they probably need him in hopes of beating the Clippers in round one. Dallas, who is currently up 1-0 in the series, plays in Los Angeles on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. EST. In Game 1 of the series, Porzingis had 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting and 4 rebounds in a 113-103 win.

It’s always delightful to see a good news reveal video, but this couple’s proud, joy-filled reaction to their daughter surprising them with an acceptance letter to an optometry school is nearly impossible not to smile at.

Gurjiv Kaur, a graduate of University of California, Irvine, shared the video on Twitter, and it’s been retweeted nearly 100,000 times.

“So I told my parents we were making a video for extra credit,” she wrote. “But what they actually read was my first acceptance into optometry school.”

In the video, Gurjiv hands her parents, Karamjit Kaur and Jagdeep Singh, a folded piece of paper and casually tells them just to read it aloud, “like tongue twisters.” But when her dad starts reading the letter, with mom reading over his shoulder, the joy of the surprise begins—and it only gets better from there.

“Oh my God!” exclaimed her dad. “This is incredible! Whoa!”

“What??” her mother asked incredulously. “You just had your interview today!”

The acceptance letter came from the University of the Incarnate Word’s Rosenberg School of Optometry in San Antonio, Texas via email shortly after Gurjiv’s interview.

so i told my parents we were making a video for extra credit but what they actually read was my first acceptance in… https://t.co/sMfUVsnO8o

— gurjiv, (@jeeeverz)
1621398643.0

In this sweet viral video sundae, the “Dear Gurjiv, COMMA,” is surely the cherry on top. But the smiles, the pride, the finger wagging to the sky as dad says, “Let me read this!” and the laughter from Gurjiv who clearly knew her parents’ reaction would be worth capturing on video—all of it is just priceless.

The university that sent the letter even shared the joy on Twitter as they shared the video with the comment, “We’re not crying, you’re crying! Welcome to the UIW family, Gurjiv (and parents)!”

🥲🥲🥲

We’re not crying, you’re crying!

Welcome to the UIW family, Gurjiv (and parents)! ❤️ https://t.co/aamYxxQNqb

— UIW (@uiwcardinals)
1621440575.0

After the video went viral, Gurjiv wrote that she was “humbled by all the love and encouragement” and thanked everyone for their kind words.

“I definitely did not expect it to go that big,” she told TODAY. “I’m really glad that a lot of people found joy in seeing my parents’ reaction. It made them so happy.” She said that her dad has since read the letter over multiple times and keeps practicing how to say “optometry.”

Thank you, Gurjiv and parents, for this dose of wholesome delight.

Last week, comedian Chris Rock spoke out about cancel culture on Power 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club” saying it’s made entertainment become too “safe” which has been terrible for the industry and audiences alike.

“And when everyone gets safe and nobody tries anything, things get boring,” he told the New York station’s Angela Yee and DJ Envy.

“I see a lot of unfunny comedians, I see unfunny TV shows, I see unfunny awards shows, I see unfunny movies — because everybody’s scared to make a move,” he said.

Rock has a point in saying that fear of a backlash has forced a lot of people to reevaluate their material and for entertainment companies to avoid controversial topics and entertainers. However, actor Seth Rogen believes that when it comes to comedy, the real problem has more to do with the medium’s limited shelf life, than regressive political correctness.

“There are certain jokes that for sure have not aged well, but I think that’s the nature of comedy,” Rogen told “Good Morning Britain,’ adding that some of the jokes in his films haven’t aged well.

“I think conceptually those movies are sound and I think there’s a reason they’ve lasted as far as people still watching and enjoying them today. Jokes are not things that necessarily are built to last,” he said.

He added: “To me when I see comedians complaining about this kind of thing, I don’t understand what they’re complaining about. If you’ve made a joke that’s aged terribly, accept it. And if you don’t think it’s aged terribly, then say that.”

Rogen continued, saying that criticism is “one of the things that goes along with being an artist.”

“To me, it’s not worth complaining about to the degree I see other comedians complaining about,” he added.

Seth Rogen says he doesn’t understand why some comedians complain about “cancel culture”:

“Saying terrible things… https://t.co/bqJpdoHxWa

— The Recount (@therecount)
1621975416.0

The “Pineapple Express” star says he’s avoided having to apologize for tweets or jokes he’s made in the past, because he’s never thought punching down was funny. “I was never a comedian that made jokes that were truly designed to target groups that were subjugated in some way,” he said.

“Have we done that without realizing it? Definitely. And those things are in our movies and they’re out there, and they’re things that I am more than happy to say that they have not aged well,” he added.

Rogen believes that a lot of it just comes down to simply being a decent human being.

“Saying terrible things is bad, so if you’ve said something terrible, then it’s something you should confront in some way, shape, or form. I don’t think that’s cancel culture,” Rogen said. “That’s you saying something terrible if that’s what you’ve done.”

Rogen and Rock’s recent comments on cancel culture show why the controversy surrounding the issue is so tough. We should work to foster a society where artists are free to speak their minds, especially in the world of comedy, an artform based on pushing boundaries.

However, we’ve also progressed as a society to the point where it’s fair to criticize artists who take shots at people from marginalized communities who don’t deserve to be targets.

If you ask Earthgang about their upcoming sophomore album, Ghetto Gods, the Atlanta rap duo will tell you it’s ready to be released. In fact, they originally teased that it would arrive on the same day as J. Cole’s latest effort, The Off-Season, which dropped on May 14. Sadly hat day came and went without Ghetto Gods, for reasons unknown to fans as well as the rappers themselves. Luckily, it appears that it’s finally on its way, as the duo released one of its songs, “Aretha.”

It’s a soul-driven effort that sees the duo reflecting on the highs and lows that occurred during their journey as artists. Johnny Venus leads the way with a verse recounting a disappointing moment from his career. “‘Options‘ dropped, barely made a sound, damn / I guess we let Nas and Cole down,” he said, referencing Earthgang’s 2020 single with Wale. As for WowGr8, he brings a bit more optimism to the mix. “This what I’m addicted to, this all I’m committed to,” he declares. “Set my sights on bigger moves, feel like this is middle school.”

“Aretha” is Earthgang’s second track in a little over two weeks, as they teamed up earlier this month to remix Drake’s “Lemon Pepper Freestyle.”

You can listen to “Aretha” in the video above.

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