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Zendaya: a superstar, not a challenger

LOS ANGELES, United States — Tyrese Haliburton scored 35 points and Andrew Nembhard emerged as an unlikely hero Friday (Saturday, Manila time) as the Indiana Pacers grabbed a gritty 111-106 victory over the New York Knicks to claw back in their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The shot clock was running down when Nem bhard drained a three-pointer to put the Pacers ahead 109-106 with 17.8 seconds left to play.

It was just his second basket of the night, but it turned the tide for good in a physical, back-and-forth battle in which the Pace rs surrendered an early 12-point lead but finally held on to cut their deficit in the best-of-seven series to 2-1 after dropping the first two games in New York.

The move to Indianapolis — and the determination to avoid falling into an 0-3 hole — clearly energized the Pacers, who kept the banged-up Knicks in check early.

Haliburton had six of the Pacers’ 12 three-pointers. Pascal Siakam scored 26 points and Myles Turner added 21 and 10 rebounds for Indiana.

The Knicks, already missing Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic, were also without OG Anunoby after he suffered a hamstring strain in their game two v ictory.

Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who wasn’t confirmed to start until after pre-game warm-ups after hurting his right foot on Wednesday, got off to a slow start, but New York briefly pulled ahead in the second quarter — foreshadowing a third-quarter surge that saw them take a 90-85 lead into the final period.

Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks scoring with 35 points, connecting on seven of 11 from th ree-point range.

Brunson finished with 26 points and six assists, hitting a game-tying three-pointer with 42.4 seconds left, but the Knicks couldn’t hang on and the Pacers will try to level the series at home on Sunday.

Friday’s other game saw the Minnesota Timberwolves trying to push the defending champion Denver Nuggets to the brink as they hosted game three of their Western Conference semifinal.

Minnesota, who dominated the Nuggets in winning the first two games in Denver, were bolstered by the return of Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, who missed game two because of the birth of his first child.

WASHINGTON, United States — From film to fashion, former teen actor Zendaya has emerged as one of the few bona fide A-list superstars of her generation, thanks to a stunning recent run of hits on both the screen and the red carpet.

The 27-year-old American leads two of Hollywood’s highest profile movies of the year so far — “Dune: Part Two” and “Challengers” — while also finding time to co-host New York’s Met gala earlier this week.

Her appearance in two separate dazzling outfits at the annual showbiz summit in Manhattan set social media ablaze, and wowed critics who increasingly refer to Zendaya as a “fashion icon.”

That is just the latest accolade in a career that has seen Zendaya become the youngest lead actress in a drama winner at the Emmys, with “Euphoria,” release a musical album, star in multiple Marvel superhero movies, and move into producing.

“To me, Zendaya is a thousand years old. She has already lived many lives before this one. And yet, she is as young as springtime,” Zendaya’s “Dune” director Denis Villeneuve told Time Magazine in 2022.

“She is timeless, and she can do it all,” said Villeneuve, calling Zendaya “a cultural icon in the making.”

Born Zendaya Coleman in California in 1996, the future star initially struggled with extreme shyness, according to her parents, who are both teachers.

After trying her hand at sports including basketball, Zendaya discovered a passion for the stage. Her mother Claire worked a second job at a theater in Oakland.

“She would beg me to bring her to technical rehearsals,” recalled her mother, in a 2021 interview.

Noting her transformation on stage, Zendaya’s parents decided to take her to Los Angeles for auditions. Aged 14, she landed a role in Disney Channel series “Shake It Up.”

Related: Hummingbirds, hooves take over Met Gala 2024 red carpet

More success quickly followed, as she released a self-titled pop album in 2013, before making her big-screen debut in superhero smash hit “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

She played the role of MJ, the girlfriend of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, played by English actor Tom Holland. As the film spawned sequels, the pair became — and remain — a couple in real life.

‘Euphoria’

But it was Zendaya’s role in dark HBO teen drama “Euphoria” that established her as a formidable, grown-up star.

She played the show’s main character Rue, a troubled youth plagued by addiction and self-destructive behavior.

The role earned her the prestigious lead actress in a drama Emmy at 24, and she repeated the award two years later.

Between those wins, Zendaya appeared in Villeneuve’s first “Dune” movie, in a small part that was nonetheless highlighted in the movie’s marketing.

Villeneuve praised Zendaya’s “authenticity” as “a new superpower,” and she features heavily in the sequel, which came out in March and has earned $700 million (P40.3 billion) globally.

Her other major role this year, “Challengers,” casts Zendaya as a tennis prodigy at the center of a love triangle in which rivalry, friendship, and lust intertwine.

Zendaya also produced the movie, having been sent the script while shooting “Euphoria” and “falling in love” with the character of Tashi.

Related: Zendaya, Ariana Grande wore Barbiecore best — study

“It’s a female character that doesn’t have to be likable and doesn’t care about you liking her and doesn’t ask for forgiveness… that was refreshing to me,” she told a press conference.

Zendaya dazzled the red carpet at premieres for both films, in a cyborg outfit for sci-fi “Dune” and wearing courtside chic for “Challengers.”

Outspoken

For now, Zendaya has stepped away from her music career.

Asked last month, she expressed distaste for the business side of the music industry, before adding that she would “maybe put out a little song” in the future.

She remains focused and outspoken on issues of diversity and representation.

During her later teen years at Disney, Zendaya pushed for the inclusion of a Black family in the series “K.C. Undercover.”

She has been outspoken in her support of the LGBTQ+ community, and openly criticized beauty standards and race in the entertainment industry.

“I am Hollywood’s… acceptable version of a Black girl, and that has to change,” said Zendaya, whose mother is white and whose father is Black, in one interview.

“As a light-skinned Black woman, it’s important that I’m using my privilege, my platform, to show you how much beauty there is in the African-American community.”

RELATED: More screen time together for Zendaya, Timothee Chalamet in ‘Dune 2’

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