Boston made an opening night statement against their NBA Eastern Conference rivals Cleveland with a 95-89 victory on Tuesday.
Paul Pierce recorded 23 points and 11 rebounds to help the Celtics to their first win in Cleveland since 2004. Pierce made two jump shots and two free throws in the final 63 seconds to seal the win.
Last season's MVP, LeBron James, made an outstanding start to the season in a losing cause, scoring 38 points for the Cavs.
Boston's Kevin Garnett, playing his first game since a knee injury in March, scored 13 points and made 10 rebounds while the Celtics' new boy Rasheed Wallace chipped in with 12 points off the bench. "I felt good. I felt eager and excited [and] I had to calm myself down," Garnett said
Cleveland's major off-season acquisition, Shaquille O'Neal, had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his losing debut. "We're still a fairly new team. We're still learning [about] each other," O'Neal said.
The defending NBA champions also made a winning start as Kobe Bryant scored 33 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 99-92 win over city rivals the Clippers.
Andrew Bynum, the Lakers' centre, celebrated his 22nd birthday with 26 points and 13 rebounds while Lamar Odom, starting in place of the injured Pau Gasol, chipped in with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
For the Clippers, who were without their rookie forward and top overall NBA draft pick Blake Griffin, guard Eric Gordon top-scored with 21 points and the centre Chris Kaman contributed 18 points and 16 rebounds.
"That third quarter was a real letdown for us which is not an issue we've had before," said the Lakers' coach, Phil Jackson, after his team had beaten the Clippers for the ninth time in a row.
"We missed a lot of easy shots and gave up a lot of opportunities to them. They came storming back into the game."
"Taking them on any night is a tough challenge," said the Clippers' coach, Mike Dunleavy.
"They put a lot of pressure on you and Kobe Bryant, [Ron] Artest and Bynum are tough match-ups. We are not looking for any moral victories but I'm glad that our guys played hard all the way through. There were times when they could have folded."
Elsewhere, Gilbert Arenas led the Washington Wizards with 29 points on his comeback from knee surgery as they beat the Dallas Mavericks 102-91.
The Portland Trail Blazers got some revenge on the Houston Rockets for their play-off elimination last season with a 96-87 home win. The Rockets were without long-term injury worry Yao Ming as they began the new season with a defeat.
@Email:sports@thenational.ae
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring statistics in the Premier League
Season/club/appearances (substitute)/goals
2011/12 Chelsea: 8(7) - 0
2012/13 West Brom (loan): 35(15) - 17
2013/14 Chelsea: 2(2) - 0
2013/14 Everton (loan): 31(2) - 15
2014/15 Everton: 36(4) - 10
2015/16 Everton: 37(1) - 18
2016/17 Everton: 37(1) - 25
More on Quran memorisation:
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
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
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
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