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America almost lost a legend Wednesday night ... but thankfully, Joel Embiid's hops saved the day.

Golden Globe-winning actress Regina King had courtside seats at MSG for the Sixers and Knicks game ... but it might've been TOO close to the action considering what went down in the 3rd quarter.

Embiid went chasing after a loose ball that was heading for the stands, forcing him to jump over RK in the process ... and you can tell by King's face -- she was SHOOK.

Embiid ended up kicking the dude behind King square in the chest ... but he appeared to be just fine.

King tweeted about the scare ... saying, "Yoooo. Thank you God and @JoelEmbiid for your athletic abilities. Crisis averted."

You can't ball like Steph Curry ... but you can at least be romantic like him -- 'cause Ayesha Curry is giving TMZ Sports the superstar's Valentine's Day secrets!!!

We asked the real chef Curry to spill the beans on her hubby's go-to V-Day plans while out in New York on Wednesday ... and she gave us a rough outline of how it goes down in the Curry household.

Ya gotta hear it straight from her -- there's some steak ... some wine ... and "lots" of secret ingredients!!!

Rapper YNW Melly has been arrested and charged in the double murder of two of his friends.

The Miramar Police Department announced Wednesday Melly -- real name Jamell Demons -- and Cortlen Henry have each been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. According to cops, Demons and Henry were involved in the killings of two men in October.

Cops say after their investigation, it was determined Demons shot the men and then he and Henry staged the crime scene to look like a drive-by shooting.

YNW took to his Instagram just before turning himself in to police, saying, "To all my fans and supporters ... I want you guys to know I love you and appreciate every single one of y'all, a couple months ago I lost my two brothers by violence and now the system want to find justice.. unfortunately a lot of rumors and lies are being said but no worries god is with me."

Cops say it was forensic evidence that linked the two men to the crime.

YNW Melly was an up-and-coming rapper who most recently was among several rappers working with Kanye West on his new album in Miami.

Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney's on board with Elsa from "Frozen" being a positive gay character for kids, but if that's not how it plays out ... he thinks Disney should -- and will -- make it happen soon.

We got the openly gay New York Representative on Capitol Hill Wednesday, who gave us his take on speculation that "Frozen 2" will reveal Elsa is gay and has a girlfriend. He's definitely down with it, but says it's not necessary ... for this film anyway.

Maloney believes the common Disney movie themes go hand in hand with the stories of so many folks in the LGBT community, so it's time to make a major gay character happen. He adds ... the kids will dig it.

The congressman also has a funny take on Hermey, the elf from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" ... even though he doesn't get his name quite right.

We can see it now -- "Hermey" ... coming to theaters in 2020.

All right, tingleheads ... the votes are in for TMZ's ASMR Challenge, and the top prize goes to Oakley the Dog!!

The adorable pup's "Pupsicle" video narrowly beat out "Wizard of ASMR" to get the win and score $3,000. The 4 runner-ups will take home 500 bucks, as well.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their creative and fun ASMR submissions and made us feel all the feels. Check in next week for another challenge and a chance to win cold hard cash.

Dina Lohan's alleged catfisher-turned-real-life-BF has some bitchin' plans for his long-distance boo ... and we know this because, unlike Dina, we actually got the dude on FaceTime!!!

Dina's love interest, 53-year-old Jesse Nadler, tells TMZ ... he already has a real estate agent to help him hunt down the perfect condo in Westhampton Beach, NY ... so he can live closer to Dina.

As for why it took Mr. Charming so long to finally enter the 21st century and learn how to have a video chat -- Jesse says he's just an old school kinda guy. Truth is, we had to teach him how to do it.

As we first reported ... Jesse -- who is taking care of his mother in Northern Cali while she fights cancer -- surprised Dina with a FaceTime call Wednesday night as soon as she was released from the "Celebrity Big Brother" house.

You'll recall, Dina got roasted by her housemates for having an exclusively online relationship for 5 years. They called it a clear case of catfishing.

But, check out the vid ... Jesse tells us how his relationship with Dina evolved from platonic to romantic, and where they plan to spend their time together soon.

Happy Valentine's Day, you crazy kids!!!

Thomas Markle agrees with George Clooney -- the press is treating Meghan Markle like crap ... but he's pissed off at George's comments on his relationship with his daughter.

Sources close to Meghan's father tell TMZ ... he's upset the actor chimed in over the letter the Duchess of Sussex sent him -- which has now been posted by multiple media outlets.

ICYMI -- George said in a recent interview he found the broadcasting of Meghan's letter to her dad "frustrating" and "irresponsible." We're told Thomas took this as a dig ... and thinks Clooney should "do a little research before he talks about Meghan and her father."

To be fair, Clooney seemed to be slamming the outlets more than Meghan's dad. He said, "I can't tell you how frustrating that is, just seeing them broadcast a letter from a daughter to a father. She's getting a raw deal there, and I think it's irresponsible and I'm surprised by that."

True enough, he doesn't mention Thomas, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to read between the lines ... Thomas set the ball in motion by releasing it. It sure seems that's the way Thomas is reading it, and that's why he's ticked off at George.

Our sources say, Thomas believes he's getting a raw deal in the press ... and Meghan's friends are to blame.

Imagine you're in line at In-N-Out ... about to order a delicious double-double with fries and a shake -- and all of a sudden, you get a call from Donald Trump!!!

DO YOU GET OUT OF LINE?!

That's exactly what happened to PGA Tour pro Pat Perez during Trump's presidential campaign -- and you bet your sweet ass he took that call!!! Here's how Pat's wife, Ashley, describes it:

"So [Trump's] assistant was like, 'Mr. Perez, Donald Trump would like to speak to you. Are you available?' And he's like, 'SH*T YES! I'm available!'"

Turns out, Perez -- who has 3 PGA Tour wins under his belt -- is a HUGE Trump supporter and while they've hung out in person before, they've never golfed together.

"I'd love to play with him," Perez told us while smokin' ciggies outside Craig's with Ashley ... "I'd love to get that chance."

So, why the passion for Trump?

Cardi B is proudly showing off a new piercing ... and the tattoo artist who gave it to her had no clue she was a huge celeb!!!

Luis Vega, the owner of City of Angels Tattoos, tells TMZ ... Cardi randomly walked into his shop Monday looking to get her lip pierced. Luis says he didn't know it was Cardi -- amazing, right -- until they started talking.

It's funny ... Luis thought he recognized CB's face, and initially figured she was just a former client. After Cardi told him she was from New York, Luis told her she looked and sounded like Cardi ... and that's when light bulbs started going off.

Luis slowly realized he was dealing with an A-lister, but his suspicions weren't confirmed until he poked his head outside and saw Cardi's entourage in a caravan of luxury cars.

As for the piercing ... we're told CB paid a whopping $25. What a steal!!!

6:40 PM PT -- A show source tells us Safaree just arrived to the reunion in the last hour ... making a dramatic entrance halfway through the reunion. We're told he failed to make his contractual obligation of the full day and it's still possible there will be consequences from the network.

Safaree just did a total 180 on his commitment to attend the 'Love & Hip Hop' reunion ... a move that could cost him some serious cash.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ, Safaree was supposed to appear in Atlanta Wednesday to shoot the 'LHH' show. We're told last Friday he was committed to do the special -- but he had a change of heart on Monday -- backing out due to what he called safety and mental health concerns.

Our sources say VH1's parent company, Viacom, promised Safaree they'd put necessary measures in place to make sure he felt safe -- including additional security if a fight broke out -- but he wouldn't budge.

Safaree's no-show certainly didn't sit well with network honchos ... who fired off a legal letter warning Safaree if he didn't attend, he could be on the hook for substantial damages.

Safaree's manager, David Weintraub, tells us he's encouraged the reality star to fulfill his obligations to the network. However, the decision on how he handles his contractual commitments is ultimately up to Safaree.

Kandi Burruss is a boss, and those bagging on her for taking a month off from her son's life to do "Celebrity Big Brother" are a bunch of lame-os ... so says her hubby, Todd Tucker.

We got Todd and his whole brood Wednesday at LAX and he staunchly defended his wife for choosing to take part in the reality show.

If you didn't know ... the 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star caught some flak over the weekend when some fans called her out for missing her son, Ace's school recital.

Todd is having none of it ... and wanted to make it perfectly clear that Kandi's decision to join the CBS hit show only came AFTER she sat down and talked to the whole fam. In fact, her daughter, Riley was at the airport, too, and co-signed on that sentiment.

Check it out ... Todd has got a message for the haters.

He's also got a prediction on who is gonna win when the 2-hour finale airs Wednesday night.

You wouldn't blame Usher for being rattled less than 24 hours after he narrowly avoided a run-in with armed robbers during a recording session ... however, he seems totally unfazed by it.

Usher was out Wednesday in L.A. when a photog asked him about the harrowing experience. TMZ broke the story ... the singer was at the same WeHo recording studio as Rich The Kid when a suspect pistol-whipped the rapper and his entourage.

Ush still won't say anything about the experience, but did have a message for any fans concerned about his well-being.

As we reported ... the suspect or suspects made a clean getaway after opening fire Tuesday outside Westlake Recording Studio. We're told they made off with stacks of cash and jewelry.

50 Cent is going scorched Earth on Floyd Mayweather -- repeatedly blasting the boxer for undermining the Gucci blackface boycott ... and it's getting personal.

Of course, Mayweather publicly flouted the boycott and dropped thousands of dollars at Gucci on Monday night ... despite calls from stars like T.I. and Spike Lee to stop supporting the brand.

They're upset over a Gucci sweater that depicts blackface -- with T.I. calling the clothing item straight "racist."

Mayweather told TMZ Sports he refuses to let other people tell him how to live -- and blew off the boycott as irrelevant to him.

The move pissed off 50 Cent ... who's been lambasting Mayweather on social media non-stop -- telling the boxer he's been "saying all the wrong sh*t" ... and urging him to get a publicist.

He also posted a meme of Floyd in the blackface sweater.

50 seems to be putting his money where his mouth is -- he posted a video burning a Gucci shirt and says he's donating all of his Gucci to the homeless because he won't wear the brand anymore.

Remember, 50 and Floyd used to be friends ... then enemies ... then friends again ... and now back to enemies.

1:25 PM PT -- We just got video of the incident ... and you see Miranda's millennial friend getting screamed at by the guy whose wife ended up with a salad on her lap. The video was shot after Miranda dumped the salad on her.

The last part of the video shows Miranda walking out of the steakhouse.

And, check out the photos ... in one you see Miranda being held back by her millennial friend ... that's how heated it got.

Postscript ... we found the salad in question was NOT Miranda's. Turns out the singer grabbed the salad the woman was eating and rearranged it on her lap!

Miranda Lambert had a heated exchange with a couple dining at a Nashville steakhouse, and things got so nasty she dumped a salad on a woman she says was provoking her ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Miranda say the food fight went down Sunday night at Stoney River Steakhouse, where the singer was dining with her mother and a family friend. We're told an older man started beefing with Miranda's buddy, and things started spiraling out of control.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops responded to a call about 2 men fighting, but by the time police arrived at the scene, Miranda and her party were gone. We're told cops didn't file a report.

As for why Miranda felt compelled to dump her dinner on the woman ... we're told the woman's husband picked a fight with Miranda's friend, which started in the men's restroom with a wisecrack about millennials and their phones.

Eyewitnesses say Miranda had to be held back after the man came up to her table and started screaming ... we're told Miranda started mouthing off and eventually walked over to the man's wife, got feisty with her and dumped a salad in her lap!!!

We reached out to Miranda's team, they had no comment. We also reached out to the restaurant's corporate office ... so far, no word back.