Dirk Nowitzki recorded the second triple-double of his career to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 109-93 victory over the troubled Denver Nuggets on Monday night.
Nowitzki, who had failed to reach 20 points in his last four games, had 34 with 10 rebounds and 10 assists as Dallas maintained their grip on second spot in the NBA's Western Conference.
The Nuggets (48-27), who have lost five of their last six games, dropped to fifth in the West behind the Phoenix Suns.
They also surrendered their lead in the Northwest division to Utah. Shawn Marion chipped in with 21 points and Jason Terry added 15 off the bench for the Mavericks, who are 4-4 from their last eight games.
JR Smith had a team-high 27 for Denver but Carmelo Anthony had an off night, finishing with just 10 points.
"To me the game ball really belongs to Marion," Nowitzki said. "He was fantastic tonight.
"Carmelo is one of the best scorers in the league and he did a phenomenal job on him. This was definitely a fun win."
Dallas (49-25) took an eight-point lead in the first quarter and cemented the win with a 10-2 run in the fourth quarter during which they built a 100-81 lead.
Nowitzki made three three-pointers and had 13 points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Rodrigue Beaubois, the rookie, had just five points, a game after scoring 40 against Golden State. "That Denver team has always been a thorn in our side," Terry said.
"So it means something to beat them, especially given the situation [with the standings]. And if you don't fight back, if you get lax at all, they will sense it and they will kill you."
Six players managed to score in double figures for Denver, who have struggled with injuries and with the absence of George Karl, their head coach, who has been receiving treatment for cancer.
Still missing from the Nuggets' line-up was their big man, Kenyon Martin, who was absent for his 14th consecutive game because of a knee injury.
Elsewhere, the New Jersey Nets avoided any chance of equalling the record for the worst NBA season by beating the San Antonio Spurs 90-84.
The victory was their 10th of the season, meaning they cannot match the record of futility held by the Philadelphia 76ers, who finished the 1972-s73 season with a record of 9-73.
"It's a big relief," said Courtney Lee, the New Jersey guard. "Now we can go out and have fun and play."
"We don't want to be a part of the worst team in history, so it's exciting to get 10 wins, but it is 10 wins, you know what I mean?" said Devin Harris, the Nets point guard, said.
"It's fun. We haven't won that many games, so we are excited to win. We are continuing to move forward."
New Jersey (10-64) trailed 77-72 midway through the fourth quarter but a 13-2 run helped them secure the win.
* With agencies
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.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
