LeBron James flirted with a triple-double as the Cleveland Cavaliers roared out of the all-star break to thrash the Toronto Raptors, 93-76, on Wednesday.
The forward appeared to be suffering from an all-star party hangover, misfiring on his first four shots and finishing the opening half with just four points.
The league's leading scorer, however, averaging more than 28 points a game, finished strong with 20 points along with nine assists and nine rebounds to narrowly miss his 21st career triple-double.
"I just took what the defence gave me," James said. "They gave me an opportunity to dish out to my teammates in the first half, in the second half they closed down on my shooters and I was able to be aggressive.
"I don't think about the triple-double but my game does.
"That sounds a little crazy but that's just how my game is built. My game is built around playing an all-around game."
The victory allowed the Cavaliers to trim the Boston Celtics' lead in the East standings to 1.5 games. The Raptors remain anchored near the bottom of the conference in 14th place.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas contributed a game high 22 points for Cleveland while Joey Graham led the Raptors with a 15-point effort.
Shawn Marion, obtained in a trade with Miami during the all-star break, eased into the Toronto starting line-up and had a solid debut for his new team.
With the all-star Chris Bosh on the bench with a sprained knee, Marion logged a team high 40 minutes of work, hitting 10 points with six assists and six rebounds.
The Raptors had the early jump by racing to a 19-10 lead but Cavaliers quickly found their rhythm, finishing the opening quarter with a 14-4 run to nose in front 24-23.
Cleveland continued to pull away in the second quarter, taking a 47-41 edge into the intermission.
The Cavaliers took command in the third with James leading the charge with eight points, including two thundering dunks, to surge in front 71-56.
"LeBron is a special player," the Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "He can have two points in the first half and you just know he is going to end up with 20 plus.
"He almost had a triple-double tonight and you would never have thought that at half-time."
The Toronto coach, Jay Triano, was not around to watch the end of his team's second-half collapse after he was ejected from the game with five minutes to play for arguing an official's call.
In Oakland, Trevor Ariza scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter as the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a 129-121 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette scored 24 points, while Anthony Randolph contributed 14 and 12 rebounds for Golden State, who led for a majority of the game before being outscored, 39-29, in the fourth quarter.
In Philadelphia, Chauncey Billups scored 22 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 101-89 victory over the 76ers.
Billups scored 17 of his points in the third quarter when Denver seized control of the game.
Elsewhere, Chris Paul recorded 36 points and 10 assists as the New Orleans Hornets cruised to a 117-85 triumph over the Orlando Magic, while Mike Bibby scored 29 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 105-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Joe Johnson added 20 points and Al Horford scored 18 and grabbed 18 rebounds for Atlanta.
The two-time All-Star Brandon Roy scored seven points in the final four-and-a-half minutes, including a pair of game-clinching free throws with three seconds on the clock, to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 94-90 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
In Los Angeles, Amare Stoudemire contributed 42 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 142-119 rout of the Clippers.
Steve Nash had 21 points and 12 assists while All-Star Shaquille O'Neal contributed 16 and six boards for Phoenix.
Finally, Kirk Hinrich scored 31 points off the bench to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 113-104 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, while Gerald Wallace carried Charlotte Bobcats to a 103-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
The Minnesota Timberwolves ended a five-game skid with a 111-104 triumph over the Miami Heat, while Josh Howard led the way for the Dallas Mavericks with 24 points and 10 boards in a 113-98 win over the New Jersey Nets.
* With agencies
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
SCORES
Multiply Titans 81-2 in 12.1 overs
(Tony de Zorzi, 34)
bt Auckland Aces 80 all out in 16 overs
(Shawn von Borg 4-15, Alfred Mothoa 2-11, Tshepo Moreki 2-16).
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30-December 2, at The Sevens, Dubai
Gulf Under 19
Pool A – Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jumeirah College Tigers, Dubai English Speaking School 1, Gems World Academy
Pool B – British School Al Khubairat, Bahrain Colts, Jumeirah College Lions, Dubai English Speaking School 2
Pool C - Dubai College A, Dubai Sharks, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Al Yasmina
Pool D – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Deira International School
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
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
3%20Body%20Problem
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20Benioff%2C%20D%20B%20Weiss%2C%20Alexander%20Woo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBenedict%20Wong%2C%20Jess%20Hong%2C%20Jovan%20Adepo%2C%20Eiza%20Gonzalez%2C%20John%20Bradley%2C%20Alex%20Sharp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
