Denver snapped the Memphis Grizzlies' eight-game winning streak with a 97-92 victory over the NBA's hottest team.
In a battle that raged from start to finish, home team Memphis led 92-88 with about two minutes remaining but failed to close the game out, going scoreless and making critical mistakes in the final moments.
"We got what we deserved," Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies player, said afterwards. "The last game we didn't play that well, but the other team wasn't as talented as (Denver). When you play with fire, sometimes you get burnt."
Momentum switched back and forth the whole game as the Grizzlies went up by five in the third quarter on the back of a 14-4 run, before Denver returned the favour with an 8-0 stretch that put them ahead 77-70 early in the fourth.
The Nuggets outrebounded Memphis 47-33, with Kenneth Faried grabbing 13 to go with his 13 points.
Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari made three free throws and, after JaVale McGee put visiting Denver on top 93-92, he drained a three-pointer in the last seconds to seal the win.
Gallinari finished with a game-high 26 points, McGee added 15 and eight rebounds off the bench as the Nuggets (5-6) brought a run of three straight defeats to an end.
"This is the first game on the road where I think we executed at a high level," said George Karl, the Denver coach.
"We've got to get better at making shots and I think we will once we win games, and I think confidence comes by winning."
After losing their season opener, Memphis (8-2) had run through their competition until facing Denver.
Rudy Gay led the way for the Grizzles with 22 points, while Zach Randolph put up 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Memphis coughed up two straight turnovers in the final minute, and kept putting Denver on the foul line as the game slipped away.
Despite the loss, the Grizzlies stayed a half-game ahead of San Antonio for the Southwest Division lead after the Spurs lost to the Los Angeles Clippers.
David West scored a season-high 30 points as the Indiana Pacers beat winless Washington 96-89, condemning the Wizards to their ninth straight defeat.
The 0-9 start for the only winless team in the NBA sets a franchise record for their worst ever, beating last season's 0-8 effort, and was met with boos from the home fans.
Roy Hibbert also starred for the Pacers with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Stephen Curry poured in 31 points as the Golden State Warriors edged out the Dallas Mavericks 105-101 in overtime.
Curry had just 11 points heading into the final 12 minutes of regulation but turned on the style in the fourth quarter and overtime. David Lee added 17 points and 19 rebounds.
Ramon Sessions' 23 points helped the Charlotte Bobcats see off Milwaukee 102-98 despite a big night for Monta Ellis, who scored 31 points for the Bucks but missed a crucial late three-point attempt.
Chris Paul scored 19 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 92-87 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Utah Jazz eased past the Houston Rockets 102-91 and the Atlanta Hawks were 81-72 winners over the Orlando Magic.
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
When is VAR used?
• Goals
• Penalty decisions
• Direct red-card incidents
• Mistaken identity
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.”
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E51%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20in%20the%20UAE%20feel%20like%20they%20are%20failing%20within%20the%20first%20year%20of%20parenthood%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E57%25%20vs%2043%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20is%20the%20number%20of%20mothers%20versus%20the%20number%20of%20fathers%20who%20feel%20they%E2%80%99re%20failing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E28%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20believe%20social%20media%20adds%20to%20the%20pressure%20they%20feel%20to%20be%20perfect%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E55%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20cannot%20relate%20to%20parenting%20images%20on%20social%20media%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E67%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20wish%20there%20were%20more%20honest%20representations%20of%20parenting%20on%20social%20media%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E53%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20admit%20they%20put%20on%20a%20brave%20face%20rather%20than%20being%20honest%20due%20to%20fear%20of%20judgment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cspan%20style%3D%22font-size%3A%2014px%3B%22%3ESource%3A%20YouGov%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
