Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green celebrates during his team's win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA on Friday night. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP / December 25, 2015
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green celebrates during his team's win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA on Friday night. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP / December 25, 2015
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green celebrates during his team's win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA on Friday night. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP / December 25, 2015
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green celebrates during his team's win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA on Friday night. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP / December 25, 2015

In Finals rematch, Warriors show they can still beat LeBron James at his own game


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Even when all those long-range shots aren’t falling like usual, the defending-champion Golden State Warriors showed they are quite comfortable grinding out wins.

Draymond Green had 22 points and 15 rebounds and the Warriors got defensive in their NBA Finals rematch against the Cleveland Cavaliers, edging the visitors 89-83 on Friday.

“It’s good to have one of those every so often,” guard Stephen Curry said. “If our defence shows up, we’re in pretty good shape to win games. We just show our versatility and try to win different ways.”

Curry added 19 points, Klay Thompson had 18, and the Warriors improved to 28-1 by winning their 32nd straight regular-season home game. Instead of doing it with three-pointers, Golden State maintained their edge over Cleveland by limiting the Cavaliers to 32 per cent shooting.

The Warriors were held under 100 points at home for the first time in more than a year in the regular season, however it happened five times in the play-offs.

“It’s good to practice and get experience in that type of game as well where it’s low scoring, getting stops, knocking down free throws and executing in the half court,” interim coach Luke Walton said. “It’s great experience for us.”

LeBron James scored 25 points to lead the Cavaliers. They had their six-game winning streak snapped.

“We gave ourselves a chance,” James said. “If we play like that defensively, we’re going to be a very tough team to beat. Offensively, we just didn’t have it. No one had it.”

The Cavaliers were short-handed when they lost the final to the Warriors in six games, missing power forward Kevin Love the entire series with a shoulder injury and losing point guard Kyrie Irving to a knee injury late in the first game.

Having both those players healthy for the rematch did little to help Cleveland. Love scored just 10 points on 5-for-16 shooting, and Irving missed 11-of-15 shots in a 13-point game.

With those two struggling, the Warriors built a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter following a jumper by Thompson and a layup from Green.

But James responded with a pair of dunks and a blocked shot on Thompson before Love’s tip-in made it 81-77 with just over 2 minutes to play.

James missed two free throws after Cleveland got another stop and Curry responded with a pair of layups around JR Smith’s three-pointer to make it 85-80 with 57.6 seconds to play.

James shot an air ball from three with 12.7 seconds to play to end Cleveland’s comeback attempt.

“Tonight our defence was absolutely unbelievable for all 48 minutes,” Warriors centre Andrew Bogut said. “To keep them to the 80s, they never really got in a flow where they could really attack us.”

There was an increased intensity at the start of the seventh Christmas Day rematch of the previous season’s finals with fans on edge far more than for most regular season games.

The officials let both teams play through contact early and the Warriors led 45-42 at the half.

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What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

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1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew

2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show

3) 1,000 social distancing stickers

4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue

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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

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Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

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Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

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%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EStorstockholms%20Lokaltrafik%20(SL)%20offers%20free%20guided%20tours%20of%20art%20in%20the%20metro%20and%20at%20the%20stations%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20tours%20are%20free%20of%20charge%3B%20all%20you%20need%20is%20a%20valid%20SL%20ticket%2C%20for%20which%20a%20single%20journey%20(valid%20for%2075%20minutes)%20costs%2039%20Swedish%20krone%20(%243.75)%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ETravel%20cards%20for%20unlimited%20journeys%20are%20priced%20at%20165%20Swedish%20krone%20for%2024%20hours%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAvoid%20rush%20hour%20%E2%80%93%20between%209.30%20am%20and%204.30%20pm%20%E2%80%93%20to%20explore%20the%20artwork%20at%20leisure%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
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Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

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