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The Lakers are headed back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010 after beating the Nuggets, 117-107, in a deciding Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. A tremendous performance from LeBron James capped off with yet another postseason triple-double set the tone for the Lakers, while the Nuggets could not overcome an injury to one star and foul trouble by the other.

The result was a bitter end to Denver’s stellar playoff run and the crowning of the Lakers as the West champions in James’ second season with the franchise.

There’s still no answer for LeBron James in an elimination game

Two portions of this game were dominated by James, and they both showed us what he’s still capable of when he has to reach into his bag in tight moments. In the second quarter, Nikola Jokic hit the bench for the final 10 minutes of the half due to foul trouble, giving the Lakers a perfect opportunity to increase their lead. But rather than put the finishing touches on a blowout, Los Angeles’ offense sputtered like it has been prone to doing all season. That meant the Lakers needed every one of James’ forceful downhill drives. Needless to say, with James playing aggressively in the paint, the combo of Mason Plumlee and Michael Porter Jr. did little to stop him.

The second time we saw vintage James was in the fourth period. After a run by Denver late in the third, James came out determined to end the series. James quickly finished off his triple-double with his 10th assist, then slowed the game way down to pick apart the Nuggets’ defense and nurse the lead. It’s been a long time since we saw James reach deep down and completely dominate as a scorer, but he got better and better over the course of the game before hitting the dagger with less than two minutes to go.

James finished with 38 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists in finishing the job to get into his 10th NBA Finals.

Jerami Grant showed up in the biggest moment of Denver’s season

On a night in which Jamal Murray was hobbled by serious right knee soreness, Jokic struggled with foul trouble, and Gary Harris and Paul Millsap stayed quiet, Denver needed someone to step up. That became Grant, who scored 14 points in a close-fought third quarter and played with a level of confidence on both ends that came as a surprise considering his typically complimentary offensive role. Whether it was making open threes, taking on mismatches in the post, or even guarding James and Anthony Davis, the soon-to-be free agent Grant played assertively and finished as Denver’s leading scorer.

This game being the NBA’s lasting memory of him heading into free agency is pretty nice, too. Grant already figured to be in high demand because of the rarity of competent three-and-D forwards in the league, but showing in the playoffs that he can check superstar play-makers and score capably will only improve his market more. The Syracuse alum can be a free agent this offseason if he opts out of his contract.

The game was decided inside and the Lakers’ bigs won

Denver head coach Mike Malone made headlines when he drew attention to the physicality on the interior after Game 4. Malone criticized foul calls on the part of the referees but also his own team’s inability to rebound against the Lakers’ bigs. That came back to bite the Nuggets again in the deciding game of the series.

Between Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard, the Lakers were able to control the paint even when Jokic was on the court. A key decision by Frank Vogel to put Howard in the starting lineup midway through the series continued to help Los Angeles, as Howard helped draw a few fouls on the Serbian big man and made him work on the glass.

But it was Davis (27 points and five rebounds) who made key plays to help take the game home alongside James. The rare big man defender who can still make an impact when the tempo picks up, Davis was able to keep the game played on the Lakers’ terms by forcing turnovers when Denver got sloppy. The highlight of the night was Davis’ huge block on Porter, a perfect example of Davis coming up big in his first conference finals.

Once Davis settled in on offense and was able to play off James, the Lakers’ offense came together. On the other side, with Jokic in foul trouble, Plumlee and Millsap played far too poorly to make up for it. A great night from Davis and an adjustment by Vogel to play Howard more proved enough to take down Denver’s front court.

Life in 2020 has prompted a number of reunions done virtually, the highest profile versions of which have come from the cast of various TV shows and movies getting together through video chats. The latest of those is a Veep reunion, as announced by star Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Twitter.

The political comedy is definitely taking a side in the upcoming presidential election, as it will double as a fundraiser for the Democratic party in Wisconsin. Earlier in the month, a table read of The Princess Bride raised more than $4 million for the Democratic party in the same state. The Veep event aims to do the same, and invites people to donate to the party in order to access the reunion event.

“The future of democracy is on the line, people,” Louis-Dreyfus said in a video posted on Twitter. “Come and join us and be part of winning Wisconsin, taking down Trump and electing Joe Biden.”

According to Variety, the one-time event features many of the stars from the HBO show, including some “surprise guests.”

The reunion will take place on Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. CST and will feature “Veep” cast members including Louis-Dreyfus, Anna Chlumsky, Reid Scott, Sam Richardson, Tim Simons, Tony Hale, Clea Duvall and Matt Walsh, plus some surprise guests. David Mandel, an executive producer on the show, will moderate the event, which will only be livestreamed once.

There’s some other new Veep content out there as well, as HBO posted a very profane tutorial on how to survive office politics earlier in the month culled from over the show’s illustrious run.

The fundraiser for Wisconsin Democrats might not be as vulgar, but one thing that’s nearly certain is it will make Ted Cruz very mad.

M. Night Shymalan’s new movie officially has a title, and according to his Twitter account filming is already underway. But talking about the new movie might be a bit of a hassle, as the movie is called Old.

Shymalan posted about the movie, which apparently will be called Old according to a poster that he included along with the tweet.

“Feels like a miracle that I am standing here shooting the first shot of my new film. It’s called ‘Old,’” Shymalan wrote.

The poster looks like a black and white image of an hourglass, though it appears that people are falling through the hourglass rather than sand. You never want to speculate too much about where a Shymalan movie is headed, but it seems safe to say it’s about the passing of, you know, time.

“A new trip from writer/director M. Night Shymalan,” the caption on the poster reads. “It’s only a matter of time.”

As Variety noted, not much is known about the actual film aside from some casting notes. And it does seem like despite filming during a pandemic they’re trying to keep things safe. Even alone in a field, Shymalan was wearing a protective mask in the image he posted to Twitter.

Still, until its release Shymalan’s “new” movie will be Old. Which isn’t confusing to talk about at all.

Kehlani‘s stellar year continues with a new video besides Russ. The Oakland singer impressed listeners, as she’s done for her entire career, with her phenomenal It Was Good Until It Wasn’t album. Its release has been supported by equally impressive and eye-catching videos for songs like “Toxic,” “F&MU,” and “Can I.”

Lending her vocals to fellow west coaster Russ, the two artists connect as two lovebirds attempting to make a broken relationship whole again for their “Take You Back” collaboration. Residing at edge of the old-style balconies to their respective homes, Russ begins the song by apologizing for his wrongs and forgiving Kehlani for her wrongs in their relationship before begging return so their relationship can continue.

“Young and in love, so we prone to mistakes /I ain’t gon’ front like I know what it takes,” he sings adding, “‘Cause I f*cked up, then you f*cked up / Now it’s f*cked up, goddamn.”

Now that he’s said what he needed to say, Kehlani steps in to discuss her own doubts about their relationship’s potential if they do decide to start it again. “Take you back, why should I take you back?” she questions while reminding him in the next line that it was, in fact, Russ who brought the relationship to an end. “You the one that f*cked this up, yeah / You the one that turned this out.”

However, Kehlani gives in to Russ’ requests as they reunite as one while the world crumbles and burns around them. Watch the “Take You Back” video above.

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

Back in October of 2017, the Denver Nuggets opted to reward Gary Harris with a lucrative contract on the heels of a promising third year in the league. Harris, a former standout at Michigan State, put forth a few career-best marks that season — 14.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while connecting on 42 percent of 4.5 threes a game — and as a result, Denver gave him a four-year, $84 million extension.

He made that look quite good the following year, upping his scoring to 17.5 a night while hitting a tick under 40 percent of his threes, and then, injuries began to hit. The list of knocks he’s picked up in his career have particularly escalated since December of 2018, when he picked up a pesky hip injury against the Raptors. He’s had plenty of highs and lows, with his defense long being a bright spot, but he’s struggled to consistently look like the guy who got paid a pretty penny.

Another hip injury held Harris out of the Nuggets’ seeding games and the team’s first five postseason tilts in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble, and when he returned to the series against the Utah Jazz, he very much looked like someone who hadn’t played in five months because of a mix of a pandemic and an injury. And then, after an unspectacular first game against the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round, something clicked. Here’s some numbers:

Harris, quite literally, went from the least-efficient shooter on the team by both effective field goal percentage and True Shooting percentage to the most-efficient shooter on the team by both metrics. Only Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokic had better net ratings in games 2-7 against the Clippers than Harris, and only Jokic had a better offensive rating. He is not the reason that they were able to beat a Clippers team that a whole lot of people picked as the title favorites, but man, did it help Denver a lot that Harris started to look a whole heck of a lot like he did on his best days, giving them a very solid contributor on offense and a floor-spacing threat who will use his 6’4, 210 pound frame on the other end of the floor to pester opposing players.

That defense, by the way, was something to behold. Harris is a Michigan State player in every positive sense of the word, something that Paul George in particular learned the hard way. According to NBA.com‘s matchup data, Harris was the primary defender against George in each of Denver’s wins in that series. Only once did George score more than three points in a game in that matchup, and he shot 5-for-15 against Harris in those games.

With Will Barton out due to an injury, Harris being able to give the team even 80 percent of what he is at his best is a really big boost. We saw that against the Clippers, but unfortunately for the Nuggets, that hasn’t exactly been the case in the conference finals against the other team that normally calls Staples Center home.

Harris has gone back to being the guy who struggled in his first three postseason games. His net rating of -13.5 is the second-worst on the team, ahead of only Jerami Grant, and his offensive rating of 101.5 is the worst among Denver’s players. That’s also the case for his eFG% (34.8 percent) and TS% (37.7 percent). He’s scoring 4.5 points in 25.2 minutes per game while hitting 26.1 percent of his shots from the field and 36.4 percent from three.

In the ultimate “it’s a make or miss league” statement, the big difference between that hot stretch against the Clippers and his ongoing struggles against the Lakers has been Harris’ inability to hit the relatively easy shots from deep. He’s still competing his ass off on defense, because I simply do not think he can fathom doing otherwise, but his three-point shooting, particularly on shots deemed “wide open” (the closest defender is 6+ feet away), hasn’t been up to par.

On one hand, yes, you are right, making these sorts of statements about 36 total shots over 10 games is risky. On the other, it’s not like he’s getting buckets elsewhere, either — those two types of triples made up 55.5 percent of Harris’ field goal attempts in the games against the Clippers and 47.8 percent of his shots against the Lakers. This is what he’s being asked to do more than anything else on offense and the shots just are not going in. And besides, it’s not like the other shots he’s been given are going in, either, as Harris is 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) on two-point field goal attempts against the Lakers, too.

Being able to give the Nuggets something is huge. Keeping defenses honest means that the guy who has primarily guarded him in this series, Danny Green, is unable to provide the help defense against Jokic and Jamal Murray that he is so good at providing. Green (or whomever is checking Harris at the time) would have to be more willing to stay home, giving Jokic more space to orchestrate the Denver attack and Murray more room to attack when he decides he’s going to take over a basketball game. For how good those two are, the Nuggets are at their best when they have a few options on offense, if only because Jokic can somehow find anyone who is even a little open without trying all that hard. Harris needs to give them that sort of option.

Denver has come back from a pair of 3-1 series deficits this postseason, an absolutely stunning accomplishment that makes the uphill battle they currently face against LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and co. seem ever so slightly less insurmountable. Still, to make lightning strike a third time, Harris looking like the guy who deservedly got a big money extension is crucial. We know he has it in him, as evidenced by what he did against the Clippers, and if he shares the sense of urgency we’ve seen out of his team when their backs have been against the wall in the playoffs, Saturday night’s Game 5 will be quite the platform for him to rise to the occasion.

Lil Durk is arguably having the strongest year of his career, and with it comes a new music video. The Chicago artist landed his highest-charting album with Just Cause Y’all Waited 2, as it debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard albums chart. Soon after he released a deluxe re-issue of the album with seven new songs.

His biggest moment of the year, however, came beside Drake as the two connected for their “Laugh Now, Cry Later” song and video, one that is set as the lead single to the Toronto rapper’s upcoming sixth album. Supplying yet another guest feature to the music world, Lil Durk joins Bia in her new video for “Same Hands.”

In the video, Lil Durk plays the role of Bia’s partner-in-crime who is often confused as his love interest.

“I don’t trust her, I just stay with her,” he raps on the song adding, “I don’t even go on dates with her.”

The bigger picture between the two is ensuring the money keeps pouring in and to do that, Bia alludes to her ability to play both sides of the game. “Crushin’ up the drugs with the same hands, that I fix to pray with,” she says on the song. Playing to her friendly side well enough to keep Durk around, she uses him to help execute a home invasion in what looks like a small cabin in the middle of nowhere. Successfully completing the job, the two drive off, but not without disposing the evidence first.

As it turns out, James Dolan does not like it when people criticize the job he’s done as the owner of the New York Knicks. The latest example of this comes via the New York Post, which learned of Dolan’s efforts to knock off United States representative Max Rose, a Democrat who represents the state’s 11th congressional district.

Rose, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart winner who upset a Republican incumbent in the 2018 election, is facing a challenge from state assembly member Nicole Malliotakis. The race is considered a toss-up by Cook Political Report, and Dolan wants to do what he can to make sure Malliotakis gets the seat after Rose told TMZ that he wants Dolan to sell the Knicks.

“I’m a Knicks fan to the day I die, but Dolan’s gotta sell. Right now, this is an absolute disgrace,” Rose said. “They don’t make the playoffs. Nothing’s happening. Every year that they don’t make the playoffs, New York City loses out. We lose a piece of our soul. Sell tomorrow. Sell today. Do it for the good of all of us, brother!”

This irked Dolan, who has never exactly taken these critiques well, and led to him cutting checks and expressing his desire to see Rose lose.

“Max Rose thinks he can make our team and my ownership his political platform,” Dolan wrote in an email he sent to some friends, according to The Post. “I need to let him know that we will not stand for this. The best way to do this is to help his opponent. He is in a tight race for the US Congress in Staten Island. … Please join me in helping Nicole defeat Max Rose for Congress.

Dolan mentioned in the email that he made a $2,800 donation, the most an individual can give to a candidate, to Malliotakis, along with a $50,000 check that MSG Sports gave to conservative PAC The Governing Majority Fund. In a conversation with The Post, Dolan called Rose’s comments “very disrespectful to his own constituents that they would think that this is something that would help them make up their mind about who should represent them in Congress.” He also stated his desire to make sure the Republican Party in the city becomes more prominent, saying he is “very pro-two party democracy and do more to help balance the scales.” During the 2016 presidential election, 79 percent of voters in New York City voted for Hillary Clinton, while 19 percent opted for Donald Trump.

As for how Rose responded to all of this, he took to Twitter to look for donations and gave The Post a quote that prodded Dolan over his decision-making at the helm of the Knicks.

“Glad to see James Dolan is taking his talents to boost Nicole’s campaign. God knows he’s got the Midas touch,” Rose said. “Never forget the Eddy Curry trade!

Back on Oct. 26, 2019, the pesky Kansas State Wildcats welcomed the fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to Manhattan and knocked them off in a high-scoring affair. A whole lot has happened in the 11 months since then, but when the two programs squared off again on Saturday, we got the same result: Kansas State, this time in front of a socially distant crowd in Norman, took it to the No. 3 Sooners and pulled off a stunning 38-35 upset.

This year’s game featured some fireworks, but for most of the first three quarters, it seemed like Oklahoma would move to 2-0 on the year. Following a touchdown run by Seth McGowan with less than three minutes left in the third quarter that was set up by quite the catch-and-run by Drake Stoops, the Sooners found themselves up, 35-14.

Kansas State, however, is a tough, well-coached team, and managed to rip off 24 consecutive points following that score. The Wildcats relied on the legs of veteran signal caller Skyler Thompson on back-to-back possessions to ram the ball into the end zone, getting them within striking distance early in the fourth.

On the ensuing Sooner drive, Reeves Mundschau’s punt got blocked by A.J. Parker, and two plays later, Deuce Vaughn was in the end zone.

Again, the Wildcat defense put the clamps on the high-flying Oklahoma offense, and following a short drive, Kansas State’s Blake Lynch banged one in from 50 yards out to put his team ahead.

Whatever mojo Oklahoma’s offense had prior to this torrid run by Kansas State completely evaporated. The team’s response to the field goal was a three-and-out, and after forcing one on the next Wildcat possession, the Sooners were only on the field for two plays before their fate was sealed. With the ball on their own 24 and 49 seconds on the clock, true freshman signal caller Spencer Rattler followed up an incomplete pass with his third pick of the day to make the result inevitable.

Not only did this loss give Oklahoma the unfortunate distinction of losing to the same team twice in two consecutive seasons, it also gave them a pretty unfortunate distinction after losing as a 28-point favorite.

The Sooners have a weird way of bouncing back from early losses and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff, so we’ll have to wait and see what the next few months have in store, even in this pandemic-shortened season. Still, this is one heck of a win for Kansas State, which picked up a major distinction of their own by going on the road and knocking off an AP top-3 team for the first time in program history.

Travis Scott shared his latest single, “Franchise,” with Young Thug and MIA and added to the long list of highlight moments in 2020 for the Houston star, The song arrived with a quirky video shot at Michael Jordan’s famous Illinois mansion.

Borrowing a scene from the basketball legend’s The Last Dance documentary which finds him driving out of the gates of his mansion, the video quickly transitions to Travis and a few friends in expensive cars driving through the gates and around the estate. Scott then goes on to get some pushups in at the mansion’s basketball court and enjoy a few rounds of golf outside. While one may imagine the mansion is not the easiest location to secure for a music video, TMZ Sports reported that Travis had no issue getting approval from Jordan to shoot the video.

The website said that when Travis decided that the Chicago Bulls legend’s mansion would be ideal location for his music video, he contacted him and reportedly got the green light “without hesitation.” With that being said, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Travis got the approval from MJ with ease as the Houston rapper previously released several colorways of the Air Jordan 1, 4 and 6 sneakers.

It should also be noted that the video is a good look for the estate MJ as it could possibly boost it closer to the $25 million price it was listed under back in 2012. The mansion is currently listed at $14.8 million. Check out the “Franchise” video with Young Thug and MIA here.

[via TMZ Sports]

The general weirdness of this college football season aside, the 2020 college football campaign hasn’t been quite as off the rails as we’ve come to expect from years past. Fortunately for those of us who relish the opportunities for chaos we frequently see in this sport, 19th-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia Southern were able to satiate that desire with a crazy finish that saw the Ragin’ Cajuns come out on top, 20-18.

It did not seem like the game’s waning moments were going to go particularly well for ULL. They punted the ball to the Eagles while up seven and with a little more than 90 seconds on the clock. Five plays later, and Georgia Southern quarterback Shai Werts looked like he was going to loft a pass just past Khaleb Hood, who jumped and extended his right arm to reel in a one-handed grab.

This did not single-handedly (pun absolutely intended) make up the deficit, but it did put the Eagles in position to tie things up. Instead, they opted to go for the lead, which resulted Werts showing off some impressive balance and coordination to evade pressure, stay upright, and eventually find Darion Anderson in the end zone.

The Cajuns did get the ball back, although with 54 seconds on the clock and 75 yards between them and the end zone, they faced a major uphill battle. A 19-yard gain on the first play of the drive was immediately followed up by a holding that set them back, and despite getting onto the other side of the 50, their efforts to take the game off of the foot of their kicker were for naught. Eventually, with the ball down on Georgia Southern’s 36, Louisiana-Lafayette turned to Nate Snyder, who entered 1-for-4 on field goal tries on the season.

Still, college football has a funny way of putting guys in positions to make up for past problems. So with the game on the line and Snyder staring at what would have been the longest field goal of his career, well, you can probably guess what happened, if only based on the fact that the crowd started celebrating about a second after he booted the ball.

The Cajuns will get next weekend off before a trip to Boone to take on Appalachian State. Despite how this game ended, I’d guess they would rather pick up a slightly more comfortable win in that one.