Associated Press
CLEVELAND, United States // The Portland Trail Blazers kept it real simple with the game on the line. Just get the ball to Damian Lillard, and get out of the way.
No need for any fancy calls when Lillard’s on the court.
The point guard made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining, lifting Portland to a 119-116 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
“There is no explaining it,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “Damian had it going, so we ran it through him.”
Lillard had a career-high eight 3-pointers while scoring 36 points. The 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year also had a fadeaway jumper as time expired to give Portland a 111-109 overtime victory over Detroit on Sunday.
“That was cold-blooded,” Cleveland guard Dion Waiters said. “We knew Lillard was getting the ball. That was a big-time shot.”
Anderson Varejao’s tying basket for Cleveland with 7.1 seconds left prompted a Portland timeout. Lillard took the pass at mid-court, dribbled to the top of the key and buried the winning shot over Alonzo Gee from about 26 feet out.
“He’s more capable of dribble-driving by you and finishing,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. “Their last game he drove by somebody and shot a pull-up. So you pick your poison.”
Lillard had enough time to drive to the basket, but he decided to shoot from beyond the arc.
“I didn’t want to get in too deep because they’ve got some giants in there,” Lillard said. “And Alonzo Gee is a great athlete, so I didn’t want to drive on him. I gave him a move to get him off balance, and I wanted to be ready when I froze him.”
Portland (22-4) have the best record in the NBA and are 11-0 against the Eastern Conference. The Blazers have won five straight and are 12-2 on the road.
Kyrie Irving’s bid for a tying 3-pointer from about 35 feet bounced off the back of the rim at the buzzer. Irving and Waiters scored 25 points apiece for Cleveland.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 15 rebounds for Portland.
Lillard’s 3-pointer with 5:47 remaining gave Portland a 104-101 lead. Lillard then found Wesley Matthews for another 3, and Aldridge’s jumper pushed the lead to 109-101 with 4:16 to play.
Matthews made a 3-pointer and Aldridge scored to make it 114-104 with 2:15 remaining.
Irving then scored nine straight points for the Cavaliers, including a three-point play with 33.8 seconds left that cut the lead to 116-114. After Aldridge missed in the lane, the Cavaliers called timeout with 16.5 seconds remaining. Irving drove into the lane and found Varejao, who tied the game.
“That was an offensive shootout by both teams,” Stotts said. “They made a great comeback to tie the game, but we keep finding a way to win. Obviously, Damian was fantastic.”
OTHER TUESDAY RESULTS
Thunder 105, Nuggets 93
Kevin Durant scored 30 points, guard Russell Westbrook added 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder pushed their winning streak to seven with a victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Forward Serge Ibaka had 17 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City, who have won 14 of 15.
The Thunder (20-4) are within a game of red-hot Portland (22-4) in the Northwest Division.
Center JJ Hickson had 20 points and 14 rebounds and guard Ty Lawson had 17 points and 13 assists for the Nuggets (14-10).
Lakers 96, Grizzlies 92
In game six of Kobe Bryant’s return from Achilles tendon surgery, Bryant matched his season high with 21 points as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Lakers (12-13) split their four-game road trip, and they are 2-4 since Bryant’s return. Pau Gasol also scored 21 points with nine rebounds for Los Angeles and guard Nick Young had 18 points off the bench.
Zach Randolph had a double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds, plus five assists, but Memphis (10-14) lost for the fourth time in a row.
Bobcats 95, Kings 87
Kemba Walker sank four 3-pointers and scored 24 points, and the Charlotte Bobcats snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Bobcats (11-14) led by 18 in the first half but needed an 11-1 run midway through the fourth quarter to pull away for good after Sacramento came as close as two.
Center DeMarcus Cousins had a monster game for the Kings (7-16) with 30 points, 17 rebounds and six assists.
Newly acquired Sacramento forward Rudy Gay left the game in the third quarter with stiffness in his left knee. He finished with four points in 24 minutes.
Warriors 104, Pelicans 93
Stephen Curry propelled Golden State (14-12) past New Orleans (11-12) with 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting and 12 assists. He also had three steals.
David Lee contributed 21 points, shooting 10-of-15 from the field, and 17 rebounds for the Warriors.
Ryan Anderson led the Pelicans with 21 points.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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.”
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Emiratisation at work
Emiratisation was introduced in the UAE more than 10 years ago
It aims to boost the number of citizens in the workforce particularly in the private sector.
Growing the number of Emiratis in the workplace will help the UAE reduce dependence on overseas workers
The Cabinet in December last year, approved a national fund for Emirati jobseekers and guaranteed citizens working in the private sector a comparable pension
President Sheikh Khalifa has described Emiratisation as “a true measure for success”.
During the UAE’s 48th National Day, Sheikh Khalifa named education, entrepreneurship, Emiratisation and space travel among cornerstones of national development
More than 80 per cent of Emiratis work in the federal or local government as per 2017 statistics
The Emiratisation programme includes the creation of 20,000 new jobs for UAE citizens
UAE citizens will be given priority in managerial positions in the government sphere
The purpose is to raise the contribution of UAE nationals in the job market and create a diverse workforce of citizens
'Dark Waters'
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, William Jackson Harper
Rating: ****
