LeBron James led a second half assault as the Cleveland Cavaliers set a play-off record by storming back from a 25-point half-time deficit to defeat the Indiana Pacers 119-114 on Thursday.
James tallied 41 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for the Cavaliers, who seized a 3-0 lead in the best of seven Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Cavaliers were down by 25 points at half-time and as much as 26 at one point in the contest. They are the first play-off team in history to erase a 25-point halftime deficit and win.
James passed Kobe Bryant for No 3 on the league’s career play-off scoring list and tied another NBA record by winning his 20th consecutive first-round game.
James delivered 28 second-half points as he took over the contest in the fourth quarter in front of a crowd of 18,100 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse arena.
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“They came out and jumped on us in the first half, but when we came into the locker room at half-time, I told the guys, ‘Let’s just get a couple of stops and see what happens,’” James said.
“Then we took the ball right at them and got back in the game. We got some great play from our guys off the bench.”
The 26-point comeback ties for the third largest in league play-off history and is the largest since 2012, when the Los Angeles Clippers came back from a 27-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Cavaliers scored 70 points to just 40 for the Pacers in the second half. Kevin Love, JR Smith, Kyrie Irving and Channing Frye each scored 13 points for Cleveland while Kyle Korver added 12.
Pacers forward Paul George scored 36 points, including 21 alone in the second quarter. But George couldn’t keep pace with James and Cavaliers over the last two quarters.
Jeff Teague added 15 for Indiana, and Lance Stephenson scored 13 for the Pacers. George also finished with 15 rebounds and nine assists.
Indiana led by 10 after one quarter. They built a 50-36 lead with just under six minutes left in the second quarter and went on to lead 74-49 at the half.
The 74 first-half points are the Pacers’s most this season, surpassing the 68 they scored in the first half on April 8 at Orlando.
Indiana shot 56.8 per cent in the first half and the Pacers’s non-starters outscored the Cavaliers’s reserves 28-8.
This is only the second time in Pacers’ franchise history that Indiana has trailed a play-off series 3-0 and George said it is in part because of poor communication.
“We came out in the second half with a 25-point lead and had a chance to put our foot on their throat,” George said. “Instead, we came out relaxed and just allowed them to step into wide-open three-pointers.
“We played a great first half, but then they really got aggressive in the second half. We have to do a better job communicating.”
Memphis get on the board
In Memphis, guard Mike Conley scored 24 points and added eight assists as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-94 to get back into their series.
The Spurs lead 2-1. Their loss snapped a streak of 10 consecutive playoff wins over the Grizzlies.
Conley got most of his help from forward Zach Randolph (21 points, eight rebounds) and centre Marc Gasol (21 points, six rebounds and three assists).
Leading by four at half-time, the Grizzlies outscored the Spurs 31-17 in the third quarter and were up 81-63 entering the fourth.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich pulled his starters early in the fourth quarter, and most did not return as Memphis stretched its lead to as much as 22 points.
Bucks beat Raptors
Elsewhere, Khris Middleton scored 20 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo added 19, and Milwaukee’s defence did the rest as the Bucks eased past the Toronto Raptors 104-77.
The Bucks grabbed a 2-1 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference series.
DeRozan missed all eight of his shots from the floor and finished with eight points, while the Raptors shot just 33 per cent from the floor and went six-for-22 from three-point range.
Kyle Lowry and Delon Wright led Toronto with 13 points apiece.
* Agence France-Presse
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
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The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Indika
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2011%20Bit%20Studios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Odd%20Meter%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%205%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Islamic%20Architecture%3A%20A%20World%20History
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The figures behind the event
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
The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
