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The Los Angeles Lakers dominated the proceedings for more than three quarters on Thursday evening, outlasting the Houston Rockets by a final score of 110-100 to take a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Semifinals. While the Lakers unquestionably took their foot off the pedal in the closing period, it was an emphatic win for the top-seeded squad.

With that as the backdrop, here are three takeaways from Game 4 that could inform Game 5 (and beyond).

1. The Lakers got important contributions from a bevy of supporting pieces

As usual, the Lakers were led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, though James wasn’t quite as dominant as usual. The future Hall of Famer finished with “only” 16 points, missing all five of his three-point attempts, but James did add 15 rebounds and nine assists to match 29 points and 12 rebounds from Davis. Still, it wasn’t a game that was headlined by the leading duo to the degree of many others, with the Lakers receiving tangible help from their supporting cast.

In a stunning development, 19-year-old wing Talen Horton-Tucker made an appearance in the first half, playing seven minutes and scoring five points to go along with two steals.

Elsewhere, Alex Caruso enjoyed one of the best games of his career, including a stretch in the early portion of the second quarter in which he fueled a 7-0 run with four points, a block, a steal and an assist.

Caruso finished with 16 points in 30 minutes, but it was an all-court effort from the 6’5 guard. He was put in tremendous defensive work, knocked down shots (including the eventual dagger late) and found open shooters.

The higher-paid supporting pieces were also strong for Los Angeles, with Danny Green scoring 10 points and providing two-way play. Finally, Rajon Rondo enjoyed another impactful game, channeling “Playoff Rondo” with 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in 29 minutes.

All in all, it was a strong effort from the Lakers, but it certainly wasn’t all about AD and LeBron on this night.

2. Houston is in deep trouble, but they have to shoot more threes

For three-plus quarters, Game 4 was a dismal performance from Houston’s offense. The Rockets made things competitive with an admirable push in the fourth quarter but, in an overall sense, there was plenty to criticize, headlined by a game plan that doesn’t jive with the team’s strengths.

In the first half, the Rockets had almost as many turnovers (9) as three-point attempts (13) and, through three quarters, Houston made a bit of unenviable history with a lack of fastbreak and second-chance points.

Houston (mercifully) tallied a fastbreak bucket in the fourth quarter but, for a team built entirely on a small-ball approach, they simply didn’t shoot enough three-pointers yet again. The Rockets did end the night with 33 long-range attempts and, from a distance, that might look fine through a normal NBA lens. However, Houston shot 51 threes per game against Oklahoma City in the first round and, in the regular season, the Rockets led the league by four full attempts per game at 45.3.

In the first half, the Rockets went just 3-of-13 from long range and, while the second half was better, that is simply not a recipe they can afford to follow. It is very difficult to win without heavy three-point deployment, especially when the Rockets produced nothing on the offensive glass or in transition, and Houston’s roster construction is such where they simply have to play the numbers game against a big, physical Lakers team.

It certainly didn’t help that James Harden converted only two field goals in the entire game but, even if he had it going, the Rockets still need to play to their strengths.

3. No center, no problem for the Lakers

For most of the first three games, the Lakers played without a center on the floor. JaVale McGee played 27 minutes and Dwight Howard played 11 minutes, with Los Angeles quickly shifting away from both veterans in favor of Anthony Davis or Markieff Morris in the middle. In Game 4, Frank Vogel didn’t even wait, starting Morris alongside Davis and eschewing McGee and Howard entirely.

It is jarring to see that, even without a center, the Lakers utterly dominated on the glass, holding to the Rockets to one single offensive rebound and grabbing a 52-26 overall rebounding advantage. Los Angeles struggled, at least relatively, with McGee (-2 in 27 minutes) and Howard (-8 in 11 minutes) on the floor, but going smaller is a luxury that the Lakers have because, well, they are still bigger than the Rockets.

Davis is a center-sized entity in the modern NBA and, while P.J. Tucker does a fantastic job against him all things considered, the Rockets didn’t have any answers in this game. The Lakers are certainly giving up a bit of rim protection, but Houston is also playing directly into their hands by not firing away from long distance. If Los Angeles can continue to maintain complete control on the glass and in the paint, all while keeping the Rockets away from the three-point line, this series likely ends in five games.

Chloe x Halle’s 2020 has been quite impressive and on Thursday night, with less than three months left in the year, the R&B duo added another big moment to their résumé. Heading to the center of an empty stadium, Chloe x Halle delivered a socially distant performance of the national anthem to kick off the NFL’s new season prior to the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans game. They used the big moment to bring awareness to two of the many names lost at the hands of police brutality, with Chloe Bailey wearing an airbrushed t-shirt with Breonna Taylor’s name and face on it. Meanwhile Halle Bailey wore a similar tee bearing George Floyd’s face and name.

Chloe x Halle’s performance comes after they delivered a futuristic and dazzling performance of “Ungodly Hour” at the MTV VMAs. Prior to that show, Chloe x Halle stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to give yet another thrilling performance of “Do It,” a song that has become their most successful release to date.

On a more recent note, Chloe x Halle released a “Do It” remix last week with guest verses from Doja Cat, Mulatto, and City Girls.

You can watch their national anthem performance in the video above.

When San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started sitting during the national anthem—and then kneeling at the suggestion of a veteran—in 2016, he pushed the conversation about racial justice and police brutality into the U.S. mainstream. Some loved him for it, some hated him for it, but there’s no question that he got everyone talking about it.

However, widespread support for his message didn’t come until this year. As racial justice protests exploded across the country and spread throughout the world this spring, a distinct societal shift occurred. And as sports have started making a pandemic comeback, more and more athletes have loudly raised their voices for racial justice. Where we had seen a handful of individual athletes kneel during the anthem, we now see entire teams in various professional sports making powerful statements supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. The NFL itself has come out and publicly admitted they were wrong to try to get players to stop kneeling during the anthem.

Tonight is the first NFL game of the season, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans. The teams has announced that they were going to do something special to make a unified statement on equality.

First, twin singers Chloe x Halle sang an absolutely gorgeous rendition of the national anthem, while also making a powerful statement with their clothing. One of the singers wore a t-shirt with George Floyd’s face and the words “Rest in Power/George Floyd” and the other wore a shirt with Breonna Taylor’s face with “Say Her Name/Breonna Taylor” written above and below it.

As the pre-recorded anthem was played, many of the Chiefs players stood arm in arm, while one player knelt with his fist raised. The Texans chose to remain in the locker room until after the anthem was played.

Before kickoff, the teams met in the middle of the field for a “moment of unity” dedicated to the ongoing fight for equality in our country. As the teams stood, seven phrases that were chosen and agreed upon by the players were displayed on the videoboards within the stadium:

– We support equality

– We must end racism

– We believe in justice for all

– We must end police brutality

– We choose unconditional love

– We believe Black lives matter

– It takes all of us

Unfortunately, it sounded like many of the fans booed during the moment of unity. It definitely wasn’t silent.

It’s clear that we still have a long way to go, and as the movement toward racial justice and true equality advances, there will be backlash, just as there always has been. But at least we’re seeing it front and center now, even if it pisses some people off. No one can turn a blind eye and ignore it now. And it’s up to each of us to decide what side of history we’re going to stand on.

The Air Jordan XXXV is on its way at some point in the near future. While Jordan hasn’t announced anything official with regards to a release date, the latest in the Air Jordan signature line has made its way to the Orlando NBA Bubble for weartesting.

Jayson Tatum was the first to show off a pair in hand on Wednesday, but wore his Taco Jay 34s on the court for Game 6 against the Raptors.

On Thursday night, Jeff Green became the first NBA player to debut the sneaker on court as he wore the 35s for Game 4 of the Rockets series with the Lakers, showing off the upcoming release on foot for the first time.

Given it’s on-court debut, one would expect some further details on the sneaker to be released soon. It keeps what looks to be the same midsole tech and design from the 34, while also bringing in some design details to pay homage to the Jordan V with the tongue design and the back half of the upper (complete with the 23 on the side of the heel). That was how the 31s and 32s began, was with spinning forward a modern take on the original lineup, but they quickly moved away from that with the 33 and 34. Now that effort seems to be back, at least for this year’s edition.

Throughout his career, Lil Wayne has given fans a number of potential answers to what the “F” in “Weezy F Baby” stands for since he introduced the nickname back in 2004, from “front door,” off of his and Drake’s “Miss Me” collaboration, to “finisher,” off “6 Foot 7 Foot.” One of the more popular answers happens to be a word that doesn’t start with the letter “F.” In his 2009 song “Yes,” Wayne raps “Weezy F. Baby, and the F is for phenomenal.” According to his longtime manager Cortez Bryant, the line was not intentional.

“The word starts with ‘ph,’ but he said ‘f,’ right?” Bryant said in an interview on Andrew Barber’s Fake Shore Drive show. “He was like, ‘Oh sh*t, I gotta change that.’ We released it. We had an argument about that. He not understanding the concept about digital, and it’s gone now…We had pressed tons of CDs, but he didn’t realize he spelled it wrong, and I didn’t catch it.”

Bryant then touched on Wayne’s passion for lyrics and wordplay. “Wayne is a perfectionist about that, using his words and prepositions in [the] correct way,” Bryant continued. “He might misspell something on purpose for lyrical exercise and wordplay, but he’s really precise about his wordplay. He was really down, pissed, ‘F*ck the whole mixtape’ just because of that one damn line.”

Bryant’s interview comes days after he discussed the possibility of a second Drake Vs. Lil Wayne tour on Brian “B.Dot” Miller’s Art of Facts Instagram show. “They talked about it,” he said. “I do think we need to do it again.”

You can watch Bryant’s interview in the video above. The “F for phenomenal” bit starts around the 19:11 mark.

The NFL season kicks off on Thursday night with a rematch of the AFC Divisional Round game between the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs and the Houston Texans.

It will not just be the first game of the season but the first look at the NFL’s new pregame process, which now features “Lift Every Voice And Sing” (known as the Black national anthem) being played along with the national anthem. That, along with the new “End Racism” text on the end line behind the end zone are part of the NFL’s push to appease players amid calls for the league to do more for social justice, but the league is learning some words painted on the field and playing an extra song isn’t going to do that.

The Miami Dolphins announced as a team that they will not be coming out of the locker room for either anthem prior to games, calling on the league to actually use its power and voice to impact change by calling local and national politicians and wielding their immense wealth and influence to create real change instead of “empty gestures.”

It’s a powerful statement from the team and illustrates the frustration players in many leagues have shown to the “efforts” of leagues in listening to their calls to do something and being given lip service and some words tucked behind the end zones on the field. The league did announce a new $1 billion endowment for Black businesses on Thursday in a partnership with Alicia Keys, but players want more than just words and money. They want leagues to use their influence and connections to those in power, both at state and national levels, to push for change.

The Dolphins video lays out many of the things they want to see done and does so powerfully, calling on owners and the league to do more and providing those things that need to be done to avoid the “well what’s the plan” response. If nothing else, they show they don’t want to be used as pawns to garner good PR while not doing enough of the work in the areas that they can to make a real difference, and so this season they’ll remain in the locker room before games.

Parents, teachers, and students have had to dig deep into their creativity and flexibility as back-to-school time hits, pandemic-style. From Zoom classes to hybrid models to plexiglass desk barriers, school simply does not—and cannot—look normal in 2020.

I’ve seen many parents fret over how and where their kids will do their online schooling. Do they need a desk? What about a quiet space? What if we don’t have separate rooms for each kid? And those are just the worries about space.

With everyone’s concern levels being sky high, it’s no wonder the reactions to one dad’s school-at-home setup were mixed. A Reddit user shared this video to the r/nextfuckinglevel subreddit, and while we don’t know who the dad is, his classroom building skills truly are next level.

Father converted his garage into a classroom for his daughter

www.youtube.com

But not everyone agreed over whether or not it’s a good thing.

Clearly there’s no question that this dad cares. Fathers who don’t take their parenting responsibility don’t do things like this.

But some people remarked that, while impressive, the classroom also felt “dystopian,” “apocalyptic,” and “creepy.” Some responded that, umm yeah, we’re kind of in a global pandemic here. Others pointed out that this setup may actually be better than what some government-funded schools have.

A couple of commenters explained in detail what was good about this dad’s efforts:

zeke-apex wrote:

“For the people that don’t understand why this is praiseworthy: The environment is supposed to emulate what she is used to. We don’t know this family’s situation, so for all we know there could be a bunch of people in and out of the house all day, causing a distraction to the child, thus being detrimental to her learning. Imo too much comfortability in a learning space can be bad because it encourages laziness. There could be a million reasons for why he did what he did. Going above and beyond for his child and her learning is deserving of all the praise. This man is a great father.”

Gangreless chimed in with:

“I can’t believe how shitty the comments are here. This is some terrific parenting and is such a great way to help his daughter adjust to remote learning. It’s also fantastic that she’s able to have a dedicated, quiet space without distractions to learn. People forget that kids go to school for 7 to 8 hours a day, it’s literally a job, and they deserve the same environment that you’d expect to have in a home office.”

Most agreed that the dad should be praised for his efforts, but some also pointed out that while this setup is great, it also highlights the privilege some families have. There are lots of kids for whom nothing like this is even remotely possible, either because of money or space limitations. That doesn’t mean this dad shouldn’t do it, but it’s a reminder that the pandemic is only serving to widen the gap between those with means and those with need.

At any rate, kudos to this dad for trying to make pandemic schooling a little better for his daughter. We all need all the help we can get to make it through this.

As society has become more accepting of LGBTQ people, the average age people come out of the closet has dropped significantly, from 37 among those in their 60s to 21 for those in their 30s.

However, many people, especially those who are older, are never able to come out because of societal or familial pressures.

An adorable new video that went viral on TikTok shows it’s never too late to be your true self. A woman named Aimee was having a conversation with her grandmother — who she assumed was straight — when she admitted to being attracted to women.

Aimee thought it was so important that she had to capture the conversation on video.

Aimee wanted to know if it was just a sisterly love or sexual attraction. “Do you like prefer women’s bodies?” Aimee asked.

“I think so, yeah” the grandmother answered. “I think boobs are nice. I think the penis, not that keen on it,” she said with a grimace.

Aimee asked her grandmother what age the perfect woman would be and she said, “late 60s,” and Aimee jokingly called her a “cougar.”

“I just like women anyhow,” the grandma said. “I’ve never liked men that much.”

However, Aimee’s grandma isn’t quite ready to hit the dating scene yet. “At the moment Aimee, all I want to do is survive,” she admitted.

A sense of humor is a characteristic that many of us assume is only found among humans. However, according to Live Science, our primate relatives — chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans — all produce laughter-like sounds when tickled.

Koko, the gorilla that knew sign language, would tie her trainer’s shoes together, sign, “chase,” and then laugh.

So, who knows? Ants and spiders may share their own jokes that we have no idea about. And it’d be hard for a giraffe or puffer fish not to laugh from time to time given their looks.

Don’t get me started on hyenas.

The photographers and wildlife conservationists from the Comedy and Wildlife Awards do a great job that humans aren’t the only animals that enjoy having a laugh.

Every year, they hand out an award to the funniest wildlife photo and they’ve just released their top 44 finalists for the 2020 awards. So, we’re sharing our top 21 favorites.

The winners will be announced on October 22 with the top photographer winning an incredible one-week safari with Alex Walker’s Serian in the Masai Mara, Kenya as well as a unique handmade trophy from the Art Garage in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

What’s your favorite photo? You can vote on the People’s Choice winner on their website.

Here are 21 of our favorite finalists.

Wait up mommy, look what I got for you© Kunal Gupta / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Just chillin’© Jill Neff / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Untitled© Mark Fitzpatrick / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

It’s the last day of school holidays© Max Teo / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Hide and seek© Tim Hearn / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Socially uninhibited© Martin Grace / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Boredom© Marcus Westberg / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Macaque striking a pose© Louis Marti / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

The inside joke© Femke van Willigen / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Hi y’all© Erik Fisher / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Crashing into the picture© Brigette Alclay Marcon / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Smiley© Arthur Telle Thiermann / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Social distance, please© Petr Sochmanmn / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

The race© Yevhen Samuchenko / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

So hot© Wei Ping Pen / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Monkey business© Megan Lawrenz / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

I think this tires gonna be flat© Kay Kotzian / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Peekaboo© Jagdeep Rajput / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Almost time to get up© Charlie Davidson / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

I could puke© Christina Holfelder / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Spreading the wildlife gosspi© Bernhard Esterer / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving shocked the basketball world last summer. While the pair joining forces to go to New York was reported for some time prior to the announcement at the start of free agency, the assumption was that they’d head to Manhattan and suit up for the Knicks. Instead, they opted to head to Brooklyn and become members of the Nets.

While the pair have yet to suit up with one another — Durant missed all year rehabbing the ACL tear he suffered in his final game as a member of the Golden State Warriors — there’s a whole lot of anticipation for when they eventually take the floor. Before we get to that point, there’s a question Durant wanted to answer during a cameo on J.J. Redick’s podcast: Why Brooklyn?

As Durant explained, the decision stemmed from the fact that while he wanted to go to New York City, he thought there was something special about Brooklyn that matched up with what he valued. And besides, the way he tells it, he never planned on going to the Knicks, anyway.

No, I never planned on it — going to the Knicks. That was just the media putting that out there, especially when I decided to take that — I didn’t sign that three-year deal that previous summer. So once I signed that 1+1, the noise got louder about me going to the Knicks for some reason. The Knicks needed a savior and you know how that goes, every time there’s a big free agent, ‘the Knicks are going to get him.’ So it just took off, and then once the media infiltrated our locker room with that Draymond situation, they ran with the rumors even more. It just got so loud every single day, and I mean, players hear it and they go on HoopsHype every day and see rumors, they start to believe it. I think the media just hyped it up and wanted to create drama around our team so much and around me that they made up this Knicks thing.

So around February, as I was thinking, I didn’t want to be the savior of the Knicks or New York. I didn’t care about being the King of New York, that never really moved me. I didn’t care about being on Broadway or that sh*t, I just wanted to go ball, go to the crib, and chill. So I felt like that’s what Brooklyn embodied, and I wanted to live in New York. So I felt like Brooklyn was what I’m all about: chill, on the low, all black everything. We quiet, just focused on basketball. There’s no show when you come to our games. No Madison Square Mecca, all of that sh*t. We just gonna hoop and build something new in Brooklyn. I felt that way in February, leading up to March and then once free agency hit it was time.

It is interesting to hear Durant say that he never wanted to go to the Knicks, because there was a ton of smoke connecting him to them for months. Still, it’s evident there was something about going to Brooklyn that really appeared to Durant, and as a result, he’ll ply his trade at Barclays Center for the next few years.