Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews, right, shoot a three-pointer against the New York Knicks during his team's NBA victory on Sunday. Don Ryan / AP / December 28, 2014
Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews, right, shoot a three-pointer against the New York Knicks during his team's NBA victory on Sunday. Don Ryan / AP / December 28, 2014
Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews, right, shoot a three-pointer against the New York Knicks during his team's NBA victory on Sunday. Don Ryan / AP / December 28, 2014
Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews, right, shoot a three-pointer against the New York Knicks during his team's NBA victory on Sunday. Don Ryan / AP / December 28, 2014

‘Good vibe from the jump’: Matthews and soaring Portland Trail Blazers sink hapless Knicks


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Wesley Matthews got a chance to practice his bow-and-arrow three-point celebration in the NBA on Sunday night.

Matthews made six three-pointers and finished with 28 points, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to a 101-79 victory over the short-handed New York Knicks.

Matthews, around when the Blazers perfected the so-called “3 Goggles” some four years ago, and then toyed with the “3 Holster” gesture, now punctuates his three-pointers by shooing an imaginary arrow.

Matthews, who leads the NBA with 106 three-pointers this season, made five threes in the first half against the Knicks. Teammate Nicolas Batum had five three-pointers and finished with 17 points.

The Blazers went 16-for-36 from long range on the night. They have made at least 10 threes in five of their last six games.

“It’s contagious. It was just a good vibe from the jump,” Matthews said. “I think I missed the first one, but then Nic hit one, Damian (Lillard) hit one and I think the floodgates really opened.”

It was the eighth straight loss for the Knicks, who had just nine available players to start the game, and then lost Carmelo Anthony for the second half because of a sore left knee.

Cole Aldrich had 12 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for New York, and Tim Hardaway Jr scored 17 points.

Portland, who led by as many as 27 points, have won eight of their last nine games. The Blazers are 25-7 and have the most wins in the NBA.

But Portland were again without all-star LaMarcus Aldridge, who has missed three of the last four games with an upper respiratory illness, including the Blazers’ 114-93 victory over Philadelphia on Friday.

The Knicks were without JR Smith, who is having ongoing issues with his left heel. Samuel Dalembert was sidelined by a sprained right ankle, and Amare Stoudemire missed the game with a sore right knee.

To make matters worse, Anthony, who missed two games earlier this season because of his knee, did not return for the second half. Anthony had 36 points in a 135-129 overtime loss at Sacramento on Saturday night.

The high-scoring forward had 13 points in the first half, but grimaced at times in pain.

“Tonight it feels like fatigue, and not getting a chance to recover from last night,” Anthony said. “I felt this before the game, but I looked around the locker room and we have seven or eight guys ready to go – I really didn’t have a choice but to go out there and attempt to play and see how much I could take.”

Batum hit a three to extend Portland’s lead to 50-32 in the second. At that moment of the game, 30 of Portland’s points were from three-pointers by either Matthews or Batum.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Spurs 110 (19-13), Rockets 106 (21-8)

Danny Green had 24 points and the injury-depleted San Antonio Spurs beat the Houston Rockets 110-106 on Sunday night, snapping a six-game skid against their intrastate rivals.

Tim Duncan scored 16 points and Manu Ginobili had 15 for San Antonio, who won for first time in three games.

James Harden had 28 points for Houston, and Dwight Howard added 24 points and 17 rebounds. The Rockets’ newest additions had differing levels of success: Corey Brewer scored 25 points, but Josh Smith finished with five points on 2-of-7 shooting.

Green made four straight free throws in the final minute, helping San Antonio avoid going into overtime for the fourth time in their last six home games.

The Spurs played without Kawhi Leonard (bruised right hand) and Tony Parker (mild strain left hamstring).]

Suns 116 (18-14), Lakers 107 (9-22)

Goran Dragic scored 24 points, Eric Bledsoe had 20 of his 22 after half-time, and Phoenix earned their sixth consecutive victory.

Isaiah Thomas added 15 points for the balanced Suns, who haven’t lost with their new starting line-up. Phoenix weathered an impressive Los Angeles surge in the final minutes for their seventh win in eight meetings with the Lakers, who lost their third straight despite Kobe Bryant’s return.

Bryant had 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 32 minutes during his first game back from a three-game absence to rest his aching 36-year-old body.

Nick Young hit four three-pointers and scored 21 points while taking up Kobe’s scoring slack again for the Lakers, who got within one point late.

Mavericks 112 (22-10), Thunder 107 (15-17)

Dirk Nowitzki matched his season high with 30 points for Dallas, and Chandler Parsons added 26.

The Mavericks rallied from seven points down to start the fourth quarter. They were without centre Tyson Chandler, a late scratch with back spasms.

The Thunder played their sixth straight game without Kevin Durant because of a sprained right ankle. They fell short in their third chance to reach .500 for the first time after Durant and Russell Westbrook were sidelined by injuries for 14 of the first 16 games.

Serge Ibaka led Oklahoma City with a season-high 26 points.

Pistons 103 (7-23), Cavaliers (18-12)

Brandon Jennings scored 25 points, and the Pistons used an 18-0 run in the second quarter to roll past the Cavaliers.

It was Cleveland’s second blowout loss at home in less than two weeks. The Cavaliers lost 127-98 to Atlanta on December 17, and the convincing victory for Detroit drew boos from the home crowd.

Andre Drummond had 16 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons, who were coming off a 119-109 victory over Indiana on Friday.

Detroit also set a franchise record for made three-pointers by going 17-for-31 from long range.

Kevin Love had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, and LeBron James finished with 17 points, 10 boards and seven assists.

Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving missed his second straight game because of a bruised left knee.

Raptors 116 (24-7), Nuggets 102 (13-18)

Kyle Lowry had 30 points and 11 assists, leading Toronto to the win.

Lou Williams scored 31 points as the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors completed a sweep of the season series against Denver. They also beat the Nuggets 112-107 in overtime on December 8.

The Raptors have won seven of eight.

Ty Lawson led Denver with 28 points, and Wilson Chandler had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Kenneth Faried, who had 26 points and a career-best 25 rebounds in Friday’s win over Minnesota, had 17 points and 19 boards for the Nuggets, who have lost three of four.

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Dates for the diary

To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:

  • September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
  • October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
  • October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
  • November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
  • December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
  • February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETelr%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202014%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E65%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20and%20payments%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enearly%20%2430%20million%20so%20far%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

'Morbius'

Director: Daniel Espinosa 

Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona

Rating: 2/5

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

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

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

War

Director: Siddharth Anand

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor

Rating: Two out of five stars 

Januzaj's club record

Manchester United 50 appearances, 5 goals

Borussia Dortmund (loan) 6 appearances, 0 goals

Sunderland (loan) 25 appearances, 0 goals

Overall head-to-head

Federer 6-1 Cilic

Head-to-head at Wimbledon

Federer 1-0 Cilic

Grand Slams titles

Federer 18-1 Cilic

Best Wimbledon performance

Federer: Winner (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012)
Cilic: Final (2017*)

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

THE SPECS

Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now