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The Mavericks will head home to Dallas one win away from finally getting by the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. After getting sent home by the Clippers in 2020 and 2021, Dallas is looking to exact some revenge and delivered quite the message on Wednesday night in L.A. as they trounced the Clips, 123-93.

A game after coming close to a 31-point comeback in Game 4, the Mavs were able to get off to a much better start this time around, as the two teams traded leads for much of the first half. Things turned late in the second when Dallas ripped off a big run to close the quarter, turning a back-and-forth battle into a 10-point lead at halftime. They made that run thanks to two major factors: pushing the pace to get out in transition and four first half threes from Maxi Kleber.

On the other side, the Clippers stars got off to a poor start and never really improved, as the heroes of Game 4, Paul George and James Harden, had a truly horrific night on offense. The two stars combined for 22 points on 6-of-25 shooting, as they were just incapable of getting into any kind of rhythm as the Mavs turned up their defensive energy for the pivotal matchup.

In the second half, the onslaught continued from the Mavs, as Luka Doncic (who had a quiet scoring first half) erupted to push the Dallas lead out to 20 going into the fourth and then continued to pull away to a 30-point win.

Doncic led the way with 35 points and 10 assists, but he did get help, even if not from the usual sources. Kyrie Irving had a quiet scoring night with 14 points, but his energy and effort on the defensive end and helping to push the pace was noticeable. With Kyrie not scoring it particularly well, other Mavs stepped up in a major way to pick up the slack. Kleber hit five threes for 15 points, Jaden Hardy had 14 off the bench, and the Der[ri/e]cks (Jones Jr. and Lively II) both chipped in 12.

That well-rounded effort was more than enough on a night where the Clippers just had nothing offensively — as a team they shot 37.9 percent from the field and 25.7 percent from three. George and Ivica Zubac were their leading scorers with 15 points, and you probably won’t find many teams in the playoffs in 2024 that will win with a leading scorer under 20 points.

Now the series goes back to Dallas, who will look to close things out at home. The Clippers do know how to get a win on the road in this series, but they’ll need far more assertive and effective play from Harden and George to force a Game 7 back in L.A. The Mavs, meanwhile, will look to bottle up their two-way effort from Game 5 and fly it home with them to earn a date with the Thunder in the second round.

Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder co-starred in the Showtime series The Curse, which aired its finale in January. The series was co-created by Fielder and Benny Safdie and produced by A24, and Stone’s roles in The Curse and Poor Things (for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress) solidified her as “The New Queen Of Cringe Comedy,” according to Uproxx’s Danielle Ryan.

A24, Fielder, and Stone are reportedly continuing their successful working relationship. According to The Hollywood Reporter, A24 is attached to Checkmate, “a hot feature package centered on a book proposal by Ben Mezrich, the author whose books were adapted into films such The Social Network and Dumb Money.”

THR‘s Borys Kit reported that, “if deals close,” Fielder will direct and Stone “will produce along with her husband and partner Dave McCary via the duo’s Fruit Tree banner. […] Sources say the book deal is closing or has closed while the talent deals are still being hammered out.” A24’s offer “guaranteed seven figures” and “was swiftly accepted,” according to Kit’s sources.

Additionally, Kit relayed the purported Checkmate premise, as excerpted below:

“Per the proposal that was being circulated, the book will spotlight the biggest scandal in the history of chess, focusing on the generational battle between Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and the young bad boy of chess, Hans Niemann. The latter was accused of cheating in one of the pair’s head-to-head matches, which became an all-consuming scandal in the world of chess and beyond. Per the package, the story is not only about the rivalry and the scandal, but the macro backdrop is the rise of a billion dollar chess industry and so-called ‘collision of tradition and innovation’ in the game.”

Wednesday night was a big one in the Mavs-Clippers series, as the two teams met in Los Angeles for a pivotal Game 5 (I’m legally obligated as a sportswriter to call it that) with the series tied 2-2. The first half was a back-and-forth battle until the Mavs went on a late second quarter run to pull ahead by 10 at the halftime break on TNT. Once the halftime buzzer sounded, it was time for Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson to break down that half of basketball in the studio.

However, before they could get to that, TNT’s production team decided to tap into the dominant story of the day in the world of pop culture, playing Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss that he released earlier in the day, “Euphoria”, in the transition from the booth in L.A. to the studio in Atlanta. Only half of the desk realized what was being played in the background as Ernie did his lead-in, with Shaq and Kenny both chuckling about how they were suddenly in the middle of the rap beef.

The least surprising thing ever is that Shaq (literally a DJ) and Kenny (a man who still listens to new music) would recognize the Drake diss playing while Ernie (old, white) and Chuck (listens to country) would be oblivious. Shaq and Kenny got a kick out of it, with Jet joking that they were inserting themselves in the middle of the rap beef and they needed to play Drake’s “Push Ups” to stay neutral in the battle between the Los Angeles and Toronto artists.

Does the following scenario make you feel anxious? You are in line at Target, and someone behind you recognizes you from an old job you had and asks, “How are you?” and you reply, “Fine.” Then, both of you stare at each other for 10 seconds, waiting for someone to say something next.

Sherry Amatenstein, LCSW, suggests that before we answer the question, we should attempt to ascertain if the person we’re talking to really wants to know. Are they being pleasant or just trying to make small talk? If you think they want to see how you’re doing, feel free to disclose what’s happening in your life.

But if it’s just a stop-and-chat or you don’t know the person you’re talking to, then it’s fine to respond with a clever response that may elicit a chuckle or spread some goodwill without telling them your life story. You can easily replay with a “Fine, how are you?” and put the conversational ball back in their court.

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However, if you are looking for a more clever response, a Redditor who goes by Myloceratops crowd-sourced the best answers to the big question and received over 900 responses. Most of them were witty comebacks to the question that we can all tuck into our pack pockets to use when we want to see more interesting than someone who just gives a pat “fine” response.

Here are 17 of the best responses to someone asking, “How are you?” for you to use the next time you’re making small talk.

1.

“I have two stock answers: Not too bad. Distinctly average.” — Floydie1962.

2.

“Saw a shirt I loved: ‘The horrors persist, as do I.'” — Evilbunnyfoofoo

3.

“I kinda like the Norwegian, ‘Up and not crying.”‘ — 5tr4nGe

4.

“Dying a little more every day.” — Much-Signifigance212

5.

“Do you really want to know?” — Hatjepoet

6.

“In my country, people sometimes say ‘Kann nie genug klagen.’ It’s roughly translated to ‘I can’t complain enough.'” — OldProblemsNeverDie

7.

“‘I’m on the right side of the dirt’ is one of my go-to responses.” — JiveTurkeyJunction

8.

“Feeling good and looking better I’ll make a burlap sack feel like the cashmere sweater.” — Late_Review_8761

9.

“It’s a dog-eat-dog world and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear.” — 27_crooked_craibu

10.

“If I was any better, there would be two of me.” — not_that_rick

11.

“At work, it’s ‘Better by the hour.'”— Otherwise-Tune5413

12.

“‘Oh you know, living the dream’ is the only one I’ve got ready to go lately.” — KittyBooBoo2016

13.

“Busier than a one-legged cat trying to bury a sh** in a frozen pond.” — SpoonNZ

14.

“”I think I’m going to make it’ usually gets a chuckle.” — Bebandy

15.

““Im good, and you?’ I’m Gen X. I don’t burden other people with my problems.” — Mrbootz

16.

“My next complaint will be my first complaint.” — NoGood

17.

“‘I feel like a silly goose today!’Guarantee they’ll never try to make small talk with you ever again.” — Front-Craft-804

The Boston Celtics will not get upset by the Miami Heat this year. Boston welcomed Miami to TD Garden on Wednesday night and left no doubt, as they completely overwhelmed their rivals from South Beach from the very start of the game and could have started planning for their conference semifinal matchup by the time the two sides went into the locker room for halftime. When the final buzzer went off, the Celtics picked up a 118-84 win.

Two players primarily spearheaded the Boston offense on Wednesday: Derrick White and Jaylen Brown. Both had been magnificent throughout the series, and once again, they brought their A-game with a chance to close the Heat out. White continued his recent hot streak from three, as he knocked down five of his 10 attempts from deep as he put up 25 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 29 minutes of work.

As has been the case for much of the series, Miami just didn’t have much of anything for Brown, who went for 25 points and six rebounds. He shot 11-for-19 from the field, but six of those eight misses came from behind the three-point line.

Boston, which did not have the services of Kristaps Porzingis on the night, was buoyed by a productive night off the bench by Sam Hauser’s 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting from deep, along with a double-double by Jayson Tatum, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

For Miami — which learned before the game that Jaime Jaquez Jr. would join Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, and Josh Richardson on the sideline due to injury — Bam Adebayo led the way with 23 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals. But the problem was a lack of a consistent threat from the perimeter, as the Heat could not keep up with the fact that the Celtics went 16-for-40 from three. As a team, Miami shot 3-for-29 from behind the arc, while top perimeter threat Tyler Herro was only able to put up 15 points on 6-for-19 shooting.

The Celtics now get to sit, put their feet up, and wait to see what happens in the 4-5 series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic. While the Cavs hold a 3-2 lead in the series, Game 6 will take place in Orlando, and the home team has won every game to this point.

Kendrick Lamar and Drake have a longstanding beef, as chronicled by Uproxx’s Aaron Williams, and it’s sizzling this week. On Tuesday, April 30, Lamar dropped “Euphoria,” the latest in a string of diss tracks between Drake, Lamar, J. Cole, and more that began with Lamar’s verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.” The six-minute sprint of a song packs in myriad Drake disses, and everyone from Joel Embiid to Rick Ross is chiming in.

Angel Reese is not interested in entering the fray. The Chicago Sky posted a video on Wednesday, May 1, showing the WNBA team’s players answering a loaded question: “Drake or Kendrick?” Reese’s teammates each chose a side — the results were lopsided in Drake’s favor — but Reese knew better. “I’m not getting in this controversy because I’ll be on Twitter, The Shade Room, all that,” Reese said. “Nope!”

Last month, Reese was drafted seventh overall by Chicago after a decorated collegiate career at LSU, where she and the Tigers won the national championship in 2023. Anyway, Reese’s favorite rapper might be her former LSU teammate, Flau’jae Johnson. The two co-starred in NLE Choppa’s “Champions” video last year, and Reese was also featured in the video for Latto and Cardi B’s “Put It On Da Floor Again.”

In early April, Imagine Dragons dropped “Eyes Closed,” a rock-charged anthem of reemergence. The track arrived a few weeks before the Dan Reynolds-led band announced LOOM, their forthcoming album.

“Eyes Closed” already got the acoustic treatment, but Imagine Dragons aren’t done with it. This week, it was revealed that “Eyes Closed” featuring J Balvin will arrive this Friday, May 3. Imagine Dragons have been teasing the collaboration for days — most recently with an Instagram video showing Balvin and Reynolds dancing to the track.

LOOM is due out on June 28, and Imagine Dragons will support the album with their LOOM World Tour, which will begin in Camden, New Jersey on July 30 and run through October.

“After taking some time off the road and spending time catching up with family and loved ones, I finally have felt the desire to go back to the sonic places that originally brought me the most joy, but with a new outlook and mentality,” Reynolds said at the time of the tour announcement, as per Rolling Stone. “The world looks much different after being a band for more than a decade. But some things will always remain the same. It’s finding that right balance of nostalgia and freshness that brings me the most joy in the studio. We had a lot of fun making this one and hope you enjoy it too.”

Watch the original “Eyes Closed” video above, and watch the LOOM album trailer below.

LOOM is out 6/28 via Interscope. Find more information here.

The Phoenix Suns went all-in on putting their team together ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season. Unfortunately for them, things did not end the way they wanted, as Phoenix just could not stay healthy during the regular season and looked like they couldn’t quite get on the same page as they got swept in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Now, the Suns head into an offseason where they don’t really have a ton of avenues to get better — their cap sheet is brutal, they gave up all of their draft capital to build this team, and it sure seems unlikely they’d be willing to move either of their stars who don’t have a full no-trade clause. As such, they have to look towards internal improvement, and in the eyes of general manager James Jones, this includes trying to be the first team to “maximize Kevin Durant.”

“A constant focus for us is to continue how to figure out and maximize Kevin Durant. No one has done it yet. I believe we’ll be the first team to do it. Roster because we can maximize him, we can maximize our entire roster, we’re a better team.”

Jones went on to say that Durant had “a phenomenal season this year offensively,” and believed he had “some of the best stretches of his career this year” during his first full season in Phoenix. He did, however, express that the team’s issue was “the totality of figuring out when and where and how to do it together, we just could not get on the same page, we ran out of time.”

Since entering the NBA in 2007, Durant has won a pair of NBA championships, a pair of NBA Finals MVP awards, and was named the league MVP back in 2014. A member of the league’s 75th anniversary team, Durant, who turns 36 in September, has earned 10 All-NBA nods, six of which came on the first team, along with 14 All-Star Game appearances. He appeared in 75 games for Phoenix in the regular season, and averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and five assists in 37.2 minutes per game.

Imagine someone handing you a photo of a random street corner, neighborhood or field anywhere in the world and expecting you to know where it is. Occasionally, you might get lucky and see a sign or a landmark that gives a helpful clue, but chances are good that all you’d have to go from is some vegetation and maybe a building or two to guess from. We live in a huge world—seems impossible, right?

But that’s often all that GeoGuessr pros need to be able to tell you in seconds where on the globe the image came from, often within just a handful of miles.

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When Swedish IT consultant Anton Wallén launched the GeoGuessr app in 2013, he surely didn’t expect it to launch an entire global esport phenomenon. It was just a fun game to be dropped somewhere on the globe and try to guess where you are. But thanks to the pandemic forcing people to travel virtually for a while, it took viral hold as a competitive game in 2021. Now there’s even a GeoGuessr World Cup championship, and it’s a wild ride to watch.

In fact, these players are so fast at pinpointing locations based on photos that would have most of us scratching our heads, saying, “Heck, that could be anywhere,” it’s almost hard to watch. Check out even just a minute or so of these highlights:

One of the most popular Geoguessr players on social media is Trevor Rainbolt, one of the hosts of the 2023 GeoGuessr World Cup. While he says he’s not as good as some of the other pros, his TikTok account has 2.7 million followers and he consistently demonstrates his ability to find anything on the planet based on an outdoor photo. Literally anything, anywhere.

Rainbolt explained to WIRED some of the tools and tricks of the Geoguessr trade, and it’s both incredibly impressive and surprisingly mundane. Obviously, when there are street signs visible that offers a huge clue, but players learn details about every element of different countries’ landscapes, from telephone poles to vegetation the way lines are painted on the street to what garbage bins look like in different cities. They even get so specific as the color and texture of soils.

Watch Rainbolt explain:

Geoguessr players educate themselves using Google Maps so thoroughly that they are able to piece together every tiny clue to make an educated guess about where an image comes from. But it’s the speed with which the pros make their guesses that’s so mesmerizing—the result of years of learning and practice, just like any other highly developed skill.

If this all seems a bit pointless (though one could argue there’s always a point to knowing where you are), there are actually some really heartwarming things that have come out of the “geonerd” world. For instance, a woman had a photo of her mom, but zero other information about her. Rainbolt was able to pinpoint the exact location the photo was taken, giving the woman a clue into her own past.

@georainbolt

this one felt good #geo #geoguessr #geography #geowizard

And another similar request yielded similar results:

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@georainbolt

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Sometimes people’s requests are even more challenging, and yet Rainbolt manages to find locations with remarkable accuracy.

@georainbolt

road matching #geo #geography #geowizard #geoguessr #ReadySetLift

People often tell him he should be hired by the CIA or FBI, and for sure that seems plausible. But what’s great about what he does is that he explains exactly how he does it. It just takes countless hours over years and years to get to know the planet as well as he and other Geoguessr pros know it.

Anyone can play—just download the GeoGuessr app or play online and give it a go. Fair warning, though. It’s not nearly as easy as these guys make it look.

Highly recommend following @georainbolt to watch more.

There is likely not a single person on this Earth that has not mispronounced something. Sometimes people mispronounce words they know how to say, but for some reason in that moment it fell out of their head and ran away. But most of the time people read a word that they’ve never heard spoken and pronounce it the way they think it sounds.

If you think about it, the English language has so many different rules that it can be hard for native speakers to figure out the sound of certain letters within a word. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people mispronounce things all the time, but one woman shared a beautiful sentiment on mispronunciation through tears of laughter.

Monica Turner shared a video on her Instagram page, Monica’s Open House, of her reaction to a man who was announcing the Pepsi Co. recall of Schweppes Ginger Ale. The man in the video mispronounced the name of the ginger ale, calling it shu-wa-pee-pees.

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This mispronunciation sent Turner into a giggling fit so intense that she started crying tears of laughter. While other people might have taken the video as her making fun of the young man, Turner was actually just tickled by his mispronunciation, not that he mispronounced the word in general. The woman contained her uncontrollable laughter long enough to explain something many people may need to hear.

“Ok, ok, hold on,” she says while collecting herself. “Don’t ever be embarrassed about mispronouncing a word because that means you read it, you didn’t hear it. If you heard it you would’ve pronounced it properly, but you read it so don’t ever be embarrassed. Ever, about mispronouncing a word, ok? Cause that gives you a leg up in my opinion.”

Commenters found the mispronunciation just as hilarious as she did but also loved her response.

“Shu wa pee pee? This could be the best mispronouncing of a word I’ve ever seen,” one person says.

“I love your explanation on mispronounced words. You read the word you have not heard the word. That is the best response to stop someone from feeling embarrassed,” another writes.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Monica Turner (@monicasopenhouse)

“I have never heard the way that you explained away a possible insecurity. And I just want to say if your a mom, then that’s incredible and your kids are so lucky. But for anyone else who watched this video I hope they took note of the fact that you said that he read that word instead of hearing it. There’s so many different ways to learn, and the fact that you took the time to say that and make that clarification I think it was beautiful and I’ve never heard that in regards to words before, and I pride myself on English and literacy. I will forever explain things this way, if I ever hear a word mispronounced again. Thank you for the laugh and the perspective,” someone shares.

There is nothing wrong with mispronouncing a word, everyone does it and this just may be the best reason to never be embarrassed about it.