The Boston Celtics withstood a furious comeback from the Los Angeles Clippers for a 106-104 win to record their fourth consecutive victory since losing Rajon Rondo to injury.
Paul Pierce landed a crucial three-pointer with two seconds remaining to increase Boston's lead to 106-101, and the home team survived despite Jamal Crawford's game-ending three-pointer.
Boston have won four straight since Rondo, the team's third-leading scorer and leader in steals and assists, was ruled out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
"Balance is the formula for our success, you know we got to do it by committee," said Jason Terry, who scored 13 points for the Celtics.
"Obviously we got two of our key parts down (with Jared Sullinger also out for season), but again, spreading the wealth. We got to make sure everyone gets involved, everybody's into the game."
Behind Pierce's team-high 22 points the Celtics controlled the way early and led by 15 in the fourth quarter before the visitors fought back to make things tense.
Eric Bledsoe, starting in place of Paul, had 23 points and 10 assists while Blake Griffin finished with 20 and 11 rebounds.
Los Angeles also got 23 from Crawford, who scored 12 in the final quarter to spark the comeback.
On Boston's final possession, the Clippers chose not to foul and the Celtics ran the clock all the way down to two seconds before Pierce nailed the back-breaking shot.
"I wouldn't have wanted to foul them there," said Vinny Del Negro, the Clippers coach. "If we get a stop there, three or four seconds to go we've got plenty of time."
LeBron James poured in 30 points as the Miami Heat bounced back with a 100-85 win over the Toronto Raptors.
James also had eight rebounds and seven assists while Chris Bosh added 28 points and Dwayne Wade 23 for the Heat, who showed no hangover from their loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The win ensures that, as the coach whose side have the best record in the east on February 3, Erik Spolestra will be in charge of the Eastern Conference All-Stars side.
Meanwhile Pau Gasol contributed 23 points and 10 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers' 98-97 win over the Detroit Pistons.
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
