Anthony Davis and LeBron James delivered down the stretch on Tuesday as the NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers bounced back to beat the Phoenix Suns 109-102 and knot their playoff series at one game each.
Davis had said he blamed himself after scoring just 13 points in the Lakers' 99-90 defeat in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series. He redeemed himself in Phoenix.
Davis scored 34 points with 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots. "I wanted to make sure I made a statement in this game, come out with more energy, more effort on both ends of the floor," he said.
LeBron James added 23 points, pulling down four rebounds and handing out nine assists as the Lakers got the equaliser after their two matches as visitors.
The star duo scored 16 of the Lakers' final 18 points as Los Angeles turned back a late charge from a Suns team again largely deprived of veteran point guard Chris Paul, who was still clearly feeling the effects of a right shoulder injury suffered in Game 1 and exited early.
James's basket with 2:55 to play put the Lakers up 95-92 and Davis followed with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 100-92 as the Suns' challenge dimmed.
The Lakers got off to a determined start and led 30-24 after the first quarter and 53-47 at half time.
With a 10-1 run to open the third period – launched by James's three-pointer – the Lakers threatened to run away with it.
But Phoenix fought back. Deandre Ayton's dunk put the Suns up 88-86, though James and Davis made sure the Suns could not hang on to their first lead since the first quarter.
Devin Booker led Phoenix with 31 points and made all 17 of his free throws. Ayton connected on 11 of 13 shots from the field to score 22 points with 10 rebounds.
"That's playoff basketball," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of the Suns' late push. "That's the team with the second-best record in the NBA, so it's not going to be a situation where it's easy to knock them out in any game.
"But our guys came out strong and were able to hold on."
Doncic powers Mavs
Elsewhere, the Dallas Mavericks and Brooklyn Nets seized 2-0 series leads.
Star Mavs guard Luka Doncic scored 39 points as Dallas put themselves in a commanding position with their second straight victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles, 127-121.
The Mavericks made 18 three-pointers and connected on 58.5 per cent of their shots from the field as they withstood a 41-point performance from Clippers star Kawhi Leonard and supplemented by 28 from Paul George.
Tim Hardaway Jr added 28 points and Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 20 for the Mavs, who host Game 3 on Friday.
Nets go 2-0 up
In Brooklyn, the Nets ran roughshod over the Boston Celtics, leading by as many as 33 points in a 130-108 victory that put them 2-0 up.
Kevin Durant headed another strong showing for the Nets' "big three" and Joe Harris excelled from three-point range to power the Nets to an early lead they had no trouble maintaining.
Brooklyn seized control in a first quarter in which they outscored the Celtics 40-26.
They led 71-47 at half time with Harris providing plenty of fireworks.
The forward connected on six of eight shots from three-point range in the first half, when his 22 points were already a career playoff-high. He added one more three-pointer in the second half to tie the franchise playoff record.
Durant led the Nets with 26 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots.
Harris finished with 25 points, James Harden added 20 and Kyrie Irving 15.
The listless Celtics, meanwhile, never threatened. Marcus Smart recovered from a slow start to lead the Celtics in scoring with 19 points.
Kemba Walker had 17 but star forward Jayson Tatum had just nine before departing early after taking a poke in the right eye.
The Celtics will try to get into the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series when they host Game 3 on Friday.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
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The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Biography
Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine
Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Favourite drink: Water
Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work
Favourite music: Classical music
Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Listen to Extra Time
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
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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.
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