Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors shown in action on Monday night in Game 4 of his team's NBA play-offs second round series with the Memphis Grizzlies. Andy Lyons / Getty Images / AFP / May 11, 2015
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors shown in action on Monday night in Game 4 of his team's NBA play-offs second round series with the Memphis Grizzlies. Andy Lyons / Getty Images / AFP / May 1Show more

Crisis averted: Stephen Curry and Warriors keep ‘foot on the gas pedal’ and go level with Grizzlies



Steve Kerr challenged his Golden State Warriors to ratchet up the intensity to play-offs level. With MVP Stephen Curry leading the way, they responded and looked like the team that cruised through the regular season.

Curry scored 21 of his 33 points by half-time, and the Warriors snapped their two-game skid Monday night by routing the Memphis Grizzlies 101-84 to tie their NBA play-offs second round series at 2-2.

“Tonight we took a step towards understanding that sense of urgency and kind of competitiveness and physicality to the game,” Kerr said. “It was probably our most competitive effort, definitely of the series, but probably of the play-offs just in terms of understanding you got to play every second.”

The Warriors hadn’t lost three straight games all season, and they never came close as they took back home-court advantage. Curry hadn’t scored more than 23 points in a game in this series, and he nearly had that by half-time.

Draymond Green had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors while Klay Thompson had 15 points, Harrison Barnes 12 and Andre Iguodala 11.

“We set the tone the first quarter and kept the foot on the gas pedal the whole way, and that’s how we play,” Curry said.

Marc Gasol had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis while Zach Randolph had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Mike Conley finished with 10 points and seven assists but was 4-of-15 from the field. Memphis pulled its starters with 3:00 left.

Game 5 is Wednesday night at Golden State.

“This series could have been close to over if we hadn’t come out like we were supposed to tonight,” Warriors centre Andrew Bogut said. “You know it’s never over until the end, but being down 3-1 going home is a pretty tough task, so 2-2 right now in a three-game series and we like our chances.”

Memphis coach Dave Joerger had given his Grizzlies a history lesson reminding them of previous blown 2-1 leads in the post-season. It didn’t help as the Grizzlies lost their fourth straight Game 4, the third of those on their own court. They just didn’t play with the same defensive intensity as the last two games.

“We lost our composure early in the first half, especially in the first quarter,” Joerger said. “We needed to keep that closer in the first quarter. We had a chance there. Our offence really struggled tonight, and it put our defene in a bad way.”

Instead, it was the Warriors beating the Grizzlies to nearly every loose ball, scrapping to keep their dream season from falling to the brink of elimination. They got back their offensive rhythm as well, leading by as many as 26 points, and they had their best game shooting outside the arc knocking down 14 threes to overcome 21 turnovers.

“We got into scramble mode too early defensively,” Gasol said.

Green looked like the forward who got the most first-place votes for defensive player of the year. He teamed with Bogut and Barnes making the night miserable for Randolph and Gasol with Bogut roving over to the paint while nominally defending Tony Allen. Green scored eight of Golden State’s first 10 points.

Memphis led only briefly with their last at 9-8 and never got within double digits in the second half.

The Warriors took control with a 16-6 run that made it 34-24 early in the second quarter, their biggest lead since the opener of this series.

Curry didn’t take his first shot until 3:30 left in the first quarter, and he missed his first three along with a layup. He settled down and had seven points by the end of the period, including a 27-footer giving Golden State a 28-20 lead at the end of the frame. The Warriors outscored Memphis 33-24 in the second, taking a 61-44 half-time lead.

*Associated Press

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The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Company%C2%A0profile
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

The Bio

Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.

Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.

Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.

Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.

THE BIO:

Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.

Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.

Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.

Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.

THE BIO

Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren

Favourite travel destination: Switzerland

Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers

Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum

ENGLAND SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope 
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold 
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph 
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Results
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets