The Orlando Magic crushed the Atlanta Hawks 113-81 in a one-sided showdown of the Southeast Division's top two teams on Saturday.
The Magic blew out the Hawks with a 37-point second quarter performance to end a four-game losing streak and stretch their division lead to one-and-a-half games.
JJ Redick scored 17 points while starting for injured guard Vince Carter, sparking an 11-0 run in the second quarter that led to a 66-37 half-time lead.
"That's about as happy as I've been with a regular-season win in a long time," the Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We just needed to get a win so we can all get a good night sleep and get the monkey off our back."
Meanwhile Detroit's Ben Gordon scored the 10 millionth point in NBA history during his side's 104-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Gordon made a jumper with 3:51 left in the second quarter, but his milestone was the only bright spot for the Pistons, who have now lost 12 games in a row.
"It's very discouraging that we had no sense of urgency - none - in the first half," the Detroit forward Charlie Villanueva said.
In Dallas, Deron Williams had 20 points as the Utah Jazz beat the Mavericks 111-93.
Carlos Boozer added 15 points for the Jazz, who never allowed their lead to fall below 13 points in the final 21 minutes.
It was all a far cry from the teams' last meetings, when the Mavericks came back from 16 points down in the last eight minutes to win.
"As soon as the third quarter was over, we said, 'Remember what happened last time,' and we moved forward," Boozer said.
"We brought it up so it didn't happen again. We played great the whole game, got out to a big lead, and we kept it this time."
* With agencies
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5