LeBron James watched his coach draw up the final play – and then drew one up of his own.
“Give me the ball and get out of the way,” he said.
James overruled Cleveland coach David Blatt's idea for a last-second inbounds play and drained a jumper from the corner at the buzzer to give the Cavaliers an 86-84 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, levelling the NBA play-offs second round series at 2-2.
During a stoppage the Cavs only got because the officials were reviewing a play, Blatt designed a play that had James taking the ball out. The four-time NBA MVP has been in enough pressure situations that he vetoed his coach.
“I was supposed to take the ball out,” James said. “I told coach there was no way I’m taking the ball out unless I could shoot it over the backboard and go in. So I told him, ‘Have somebody else take the ball out.’ The play that was drawn up, I scratched it. I just told coach, ‘Just give me the ball. We’re either going to go into overtime or I’m going to win it for us’.”
James, playing the final quarter on a sprained left ankle, finished with 25 points to help the Cavaliers win in another wild finish, returning the favour after Chicago took Game 3 on Derrick Rose’s banked three-pointer at the horn.
This time, James got whistled for an offensive foul when he elbowed Mike Dunleavy Jr, and Rose scored on a driving layup with 9.4 seconds left. Blatt tried to call a timeout but didn’t have one and assistant Tyronn Lue alertly pulled him off the court.
Then, following an animated break, James ended it with the 21-foot jumper over Jimmy Butler, setting off a wild celebration by Cleveland’s players who pinned James to the scorer’s table.
Game 5 of the best-of-7 series that’s had about everything is Tuesday night in Cleveland.
James rolled his left ankle in the third quarter, but fought off the injury. He committed eight turnovers and struggled again from the field, hitting 10-of-30 shots after going 8-of-25 in Game 3. But he also had 14 rebounds, eight assists and a shot that gave Cleveland fans some comfort after Rose broke their hearts on Friday night.
“There’s nothing you can do about it,” Rose said of James’s contested jumper. “He hit a great shot ... We just have to make sure that if we’re in that position again, just make sure that we force him out a little bit more or make someone else get the ball.”
Kyrie Irving, playing with a sprained right foot, was 2-of-10 and had 12 points and two assists.
Timofey Mozgov had 15 points and nine rebounds, and JR Smith, who was suspended for Games 1 and 2, came on strong for Cleveland down the stretch, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Rose scored 31 points and Butler added 19. They were the only players in double figures for Chicago, who were playing without Pau Gasol, out with a strained left hamstring. His status for Game 5 is in question.
“I thought the last two could have gone either way,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “They’re hard fought. They’re a great team.”
The Cavaliers went more than 7 minutes without scoring in the third and got a major scare late in the quarter when James rolled his left ankle when he stepped on Rose’s foot and was called for a charge.
Blatt had a rough final few minutes, nearly costing the Cavs by trying to call a timeout and then having James change his play call.
“Players make mistakes, coaches make mistakes and we have to be able to cover for one-another,” James said.
Rose hit two free throws with 1:32 remaining to make it 82-79, but he missed a three with about a minute remaining after Joakim Noah took a charge against James.
Cleveland’s superstar then hit two free throws to make it a five-point game.
Butler buried a three with 27 seconds left to cut it to 84-82.
The Cavaliers called a timeout with 21.2 seconds left and burned two more timeouts trying to inbound it. They finally got the ball to a double-teamed James, who got called for a foul after he turned and swung his elbow into Dunleavy.
Rose drove for a tying layup with 9.4 seconds left. Blatt tried to call a timeout that he didn’t have, but Lue restrained him, preventing a technical.
“Yeah, I almost blew it, to be honest with you,” Blatt said.
James made sure he didn’t.
*Associated Press
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The biog
Age: 23
Occupation: Founder of the Studio, formerly an analyst at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Education: Bachelor of science in industrial engineering
Favourite hobby: playing the piano
Favourite quote: "There is a key to every door and a dawn to every dark night"
Family: Married and with a daughter
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Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
The specs
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Other promotions
- Deliveroo will team up with Pineapple Express to offer customers near JLT a special treat: free banana caramel dessert with all orders on January 26
- Jones the Grocer will have their limited edition Australia Day menu available until the end of the month (January 31)
- Australian Vet in Abu Dhabi (with locations in Khalifa City A and Reem Island) will have a 15 per cent off all store items (excluding medications)
