The Los Angeles Lakers produced a second-half comeback to beat the Denver Nuggets 95-89 on Sunday and record their first victory over their Western Conference rivals this season.
Lamar Odom recorded 20 points and 12 rebounds off the bench and Kobe Bryant made up for a poor shooting day with 12 assists as the Lakers came from 11 points down in the third quarter to triumph in a clash of the top teams in their conference.
"Mentally we had to let them know that if we play the right way we can beat them," Odom said.
"Teams you feel like you're going to see down the road, you want to let them know you can beat them."
Los Angeles trailed for most of the game before Bryant, who made just three baskets from 17 attempts from the floor, made two free throws to give his team a 91-89 edge with 3:02 remaining.
"It was nice to be in somewhat of a pressure-cooker," Bryant said.
"It's been two years now where we've beaten them in the post-season, so I'm sure they're fed up.
"They played with a lot of energy and intensity, and we had to step up against them. It was a play-off type of intensity."
Carmelo Anthony scored a team-high 21 points for Denver before fouling out with 2:19 remaining.
The Nuggets (39-20) had beaten the Lakers (45-15) in their two previous meetings this season.
"They slowed our offence down," said George Karl, the Nuggets coach.
"They picked up the pressure on us in the second half and we didn't have the perseverance to pass the ball or penetrate before the pressure came.
"Our whole thing with Kobe was to try to plug him and keep him away from the rim and off the free throw line. We got that done pretty much the whole game."
Phoenix's Jason Richardson, the two-time NBA slam dunk champ-ion, missed a dunk with just more than 40 seconds left as the Suns lost 113-110 to the San Antonio Spurs.
"I don't like to miss dunks, especially in crunch time like that, but it's one of those things that happens," Richardson said. "You can't do anything about it."
"That's a tough play to swallow, but it's not the play that determines the game," Alvin Gentry, the Phoenix coach, said.
"There were other plays over the course of 48 minutes that if we would have made, maybe that play doesn't count so much."
Amare Stoudemire had a season-high 41 points and 12 rebounds for Phoenix, but thanks to Richardson's gaffe and the Suns letting the final buzzer sound before getting a final shot off, the Spurs ended their Western Conference rival's five-game winning streak.
"We had a chance to win down the stretch. It's tough," Stoudemire said.
* With agencies
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THREE
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MATCH INFO
Brescia 1 (Skrinia og, 76)
Inter Milan 2 (Martinez 33, Lukaku 63)
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
RESULTS
6.30pm: Emirates Holidays Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Lady Snazz, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
7.05pm: Arabian Adventures Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zhou Storm, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm: Emirates Skywards Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Rich And Famous, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: Emirates Airline Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Rio Angie, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Emirates Sky Cargo (TB) Dh 92,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Kinver Edge, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
9.15pm: Emirates.com (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Firnas, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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if you go
The flights
Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav.
The tour
While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
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The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes