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Sixers adjustments stifle Nets in 96-84 Game 2 loss

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:27:22 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Royce O’Neale slapped the stanchion when reality set in. Jacque Vaughn replayed wide-open missed shots in his head at the podium while attempting to answer questions postgame. Dorian Finney-Smith sat at his locker, solemn.“F—k, man,” he said.The Nets had an opportunity to even their first-round playoff series at one apiece after building momentum in an impressive first half in front of a raucous, sold-out Wells Fargo Center crowd on Monday.The wheels fell off in the second, where the offense sputtered — once again. The Sixers went on to win, 96-84. NBA teams that take a 2-0 lead in the playoffs go on to win 93% of the time.And it was a zone defense the Nets were ill-equipped to handle that unraveled Brooklyn’s early offense. While star wing Mikal Bridges successfully handled the Sixers’ attempts to blitz him on the catch, it was Cam Johnson who took advantage of the opportunity — in the first half — scoring 2...

Nets Notebook: Cam Johnson’s poster dunk over Joel Embiid in vain, Spencer Dinwiddie must step up

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:27:22 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Cam Johnson’s poster dunk over Joel Embiid went viral within seconds, but the Nets’ Game 2 loss Monday erased any joy the forward had from the moment.Johnson scored 23 first-half points, none more punctuating than a one-handed, cock-back tomahawks over the league’s presumptive MVP before staring him down on his way back up the court on defense in the final minute of the first half.“I just thought Embiid was kind of a step behind, and I had a lane,” said a disgruntled Johnson postgame. “I thought there were times last game where I should’ve dunked, and I said that. So I just thought I’d take advantage of an opportunity at that point.”Johnson said the moment wasn’t the best dunk of his career.“It don’t really mean that much. It’s just two points,” he said. “Like I said, I just thought I saw an opportunity and took it. There’s not really much more to it. I’m more c...

For Heat’s Kevin Love this Milwaukee moment has been years in the making

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:27:22 GMT

After four years in the playoff wilderness and faced with the reality of a postseason return purely as a spectator, Kevin Love, at 34, decided he wanted another moment when the NBA’s lights shine brightest.Now he has that moment, as he looks for even more.Following his fourth successive trip to the NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, this time of year no longer stood as Love’s time of the year, his Cavaliers out of the postseason in 2019, ‘20, ‘21 and then last year also out, after failing to advance past the play-in round.And then came Sunday’s playoff opener for the former All-Star forward acquired on Feb. 20 after his buyout from the Cavaliers.And then came 18 points and eight rebounds from Love in that Sunday night 130-117 victory over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.Left with the possibility of not getting off the bench in the postseason had he remained in Cleveland, the playoffs again had meaning for the 34-year-old, as the Heat turn t...

NY woman, 20, fatally shot after turning down wrong driveway +video

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:27:22 GMT

A young woman looking for a friend’s house was shot and killed in upstate New York after she and her friends turned down the wrong driveway, police said Monday.Kaylin Gillis, 20, was riding in a car in Washington County on Saturday night with three other people, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said.The group turned down a driveway on Patterson Hill Road in Hebron, but quickly realized their error and attempted to leave, according to Murphy.“It’s a very rural area, it’s dirt roads, there’s not a lot of cellular service or any type of internet,” the sheriff said.But as they were leaving, the homeowner stepped outside onto his porch and fired two bullets at the vehicle, police said. One of those bullets struck Gillis.The group attempted to call 911 but had to drive 5 miles to Cemetery Road in Salem before the call would go through, Murphy said. Responding medical personnel could not save Gillis.Officers went to the Hebron home and encountered its owner, Kevin Monahan.Monahan, ...

GTA gas prices will jump to highest price in 5 months at midnight

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:27:22 GMT

Drivers in the GTA should fill up if they can on Tuesday ahead of a big jump in the price at the pumps.Gas prices are heading for an eight cent increasing at midnight which will bring the average price at most GTA stations on Wednesday to 164.9 cents/litre. It marks the highest price in the region since last November.The latest gas prices for Toronto and the GTA can be found here.More to come.

Saudi foreign minister visits Syria as relations thaw

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:27:22 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat arrived in the Syrian capital on Tuesday, the first official visit by an official from the kingdom in more than a decade, the Syrian government said. The visit by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to Damascus follows that of his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mikdad, to Riyadh last week. Syrian state news agency SANA reported that after his arrival, the Saudi top diplomat was received by Syrian President Bashar Assad.A statement published by Saudi state media said that bin Farhan’s visit came “within the framework of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s keenness and interest to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis that would end all its repercussions and preserve Syria’s unity, security, stability, and Arab identity and restore it to its Arab surroundings.”The kingdom cut off diplomatic relations with Damascus in 2012, after the outbreak of Syria’s civil war. Syria and Saudi Arabia said last week they were moving to...

Stock market today: S&P 500 gains; earnings reports mixed

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:27:22 GMT

TOKYO — Stocks are mostly higher on Wall Street Tuesday following a mixed set of earnings results from big companies and a stronger-than-expected report from the world’s second-largest economy. The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in early trading. The Nasdaq also rose while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was slightly lower. Goldman Sachs dropped 3% after its revenue fell short of analysts’ forecasts, though earnings topped expectations. Lockheed Martin rose following a profit report that topped analysts’ expectations, up nearly 3%. China’s economy grew 4.5% from January to March compared to the same period in 2022, its fastest growth in the past year. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.U.S. markets are poised to open higher Tuesday as more corporate earnings pour in and China reported better-than-expected growth to start the year.Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.4% before the bell, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.1%.Johnson & John...

Uber Eats launches cannabis delivery service in Vancouver, Victoria

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:27:22 GMT

VANCOUVER — A partnership between Uber Eats and cannabis resource company Leafly means British Columbia residents are now able to order legal pot and have it delivered to their door.Uber Canada says, starting immediately, B.C. residents over the age of 19 can use the Uber Eats app to order marijuana from local, licensed retailers.The statement from Uber Eats says its delivery workers won’t be involved because certified staff from the cannabis retailer will instead deliver the order to the customer and verify the recipient’s age and sobriety.Thirteen retailers in Vancouver and Victoria are working with Uber Eats on the B.C. program.The Uber Canada statement doesn’t say when cannabis delivery could be expanded to other B.C. cities.Uber says the B.C. launch comes six months after it worked with Leafly to offer pot delivery in Ontario, the first time that delivery of the drug was available on a major third-party delivery platform, anywhere in the world. Aaron Sinnatham...

Review: ‘Pathogenesis’ offers different lens on history

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:27:22 GMT

“Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues,” by Jonathan Kennedy (Crown)Great historical changes are often conceived of as being brought about by the genius and tenacity of great men, or occasionally women, but Jonathan Kennedy argues in his book “Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues,” that germs are largely responsible for everything, from the decline of the Neanderthals to the current poverty of sub-Saharan Africa. His quick history of the world from the Paleolithic to the present day offers a different lens to view many of the big events of the past. Some of Kennedy’s conclusions are mere speculation, like his idea that deadly plagues in the Roman empire led to the swift rise of Christianity. In the midst of so much death, he argues, the new religion offered a more enticing view of the afterlife than paganism. Most of his observations are bolstered by more historical research and are more convincing. In showing how pathogens helped the Spanish c...

Spain frees up ‘bad bank’ houses to ease housing crisis

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:27:22 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s leftist coalition government on Tuesday approved a plan to make available around 50,000 houses for rent at affordable prices as part of measures aimed at curbing soaring rents and house prices. The apartments will come from the state-controlled SAREB “bad bank” that was set up in 2012 to manage and sell off troubled banks most toxic assets during the international financial crisis.The SAREB plan follows a much-hailed agreement last week between the coalition parties and their parliamentary supporters for what would be democratic Spain’s first-ever housing law.The bill, expected to get full parliamentary approval in the coming weeks, envisages putting a 3% cap on apartment rent increases in 2024 in so-called high-tension areas where rents increase most and restricting increases in future years.As of 2024, rent increases will no longer be linked to the country’s high inflation rate but rather to a new, lower index.Rents and house prices, alongside unemploym...