Kendrick Nunn scored a team-high 24 points as the Miami Heat extended their winning streak to six games with a 109-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
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Miami received 16 points and 13 rebounds from Bam Adebayo, while Precious Achiuwa and Tyler Herro each had 14 points. Goran Dragic, starting his first game for Miami since Feb. 5, had 13 points.
South Florida native John Collins returned home and had 34 points with 10 rebounds to lead Atlanta. Collins had 19 points in the third, his career high for a quarter. His 34 points were one short of his season high.
Atlanta also got 20 points and 14 rebounds from Clint Capela. The NBA’s leader in offensive rebounds, Capela had nine of his boards off missed shots from his own team.
Hawks star Trae Young, who entered the game averaging 27.8 points, was held to just 15. He missed his first five shots and had just six points until 6:04 left in the fourth.
Yet Young nearly had a triple-double, finishing with nine assists and eight rebounds on a night when he went 3 of 14 from the field.
Jimmy Butler, who leads Miami in scoring, assists and steals, missed the game due to inflammation in his right knee. The Heat is now 4-9 without Butler this season and 13-8 when he plays.
The Heat did get Herro back from a hip injury. The team’s third-leading scorer, who had missed three consecutive games, had 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Miami led 26-21 after the first quarter and 54-44 at halftime. Miami’s first-half advantage was built on defense by holding Atlanta to 35.6-percent shooting and with offensive aggression, holding a 32-20 edge on points in the paint.
But Collins made eight of his 10 shots in the third quarter as Atlanta closed its deficit to 78-77. The Hawks were the aggressors in the third, outscoring the Heat in the paint 22-12.
Young, who was scoreless in the third, went on a personal 6-0 run, all on free throws, as the Hawks tied the score 92-92 with 4:31 remaining in the game.
But Miami closed with a 14-4 run to even its record at 17-17. The last time Miami was at .500 was at 4-4.
(HOI) - People from around Central Illinois gathered at the Starved Rock Visitor Center Sunday to witness a sight not seen everyday, sled dogs in action.
“These dogs run by choice," said Musher and Team Leader for Free Spirit Sled Demo Team, Jason Hussong. "We train them, but these are dogs that just absolutely love to do it. I mean you can see when we start hitching up some of them will start barking and howling and it's like, hey look at that we get to go.”
Some of the events attendees traveled more than an hour to witness the sled dogs show off their mushing skills.
“It’s just so interesting to get exposure because near the city we don’t have anything like this," said attendee, Michelle Murphy.
“I did not even know that this existed," said attendee, Sean Murphy. "It’s cool that they can do it with snow and without snow with the trikes that they have set up. I'm really impressed with the way the dogs were performing and that this is a thing.”
Hussong said he was hooked as soon as he started mushing, going from owning one husky to six. He said he loves to share his passion and knowledge on the dogs and the sport, while also raising money to help Free Spirit Siberian Rescue.
“I've had huskies for over 20 years," said Hussong. "I've been mushing for almost 15 years and with following races like the Iditarod and then getting involved with free spirit, it’s just a lot of fun. It’s different from snow mobiling, it’s quieter and it’s peaceful. You get kisses at the end of it rather than exhaust.”
When it comes to sled dogs, Hussong said what separates a lead dog from other members of the pack is the pup's passion.
“A dog that wants to get out there and has as great a passion as you do to want to run," said Hussong. "One willing to take commands and is not afraid to override you if you give a bad command."
People Can Fly’sOutridersdemo has already broken the top ten selling games chart on Steam after only a few days. The demo’s release has driven pre-orders on the cooperative action RPG numbers through the roof.
Outriders is the latest installment in the looter-shooter genre to be added to Steam. Created by Bulletstorm developers People Can Fly and published by Square Enix, Outriders is a sci-fi action-adventure RPG where players can team up in squads to take down enemies in the pursuit of more loot across multiple platforms. Hype began when the first trailer was revealed in February 2020 and Xbox also released a new trailer ahead of the demo's launch on February 25.
Following the release of the free demo on Steam, Outriders pre-orders rose to the top ten best-sellers games chart. According to the Steam database, Outriders quickly began climbing the charts after the demo became available to download on Steam and consoles. Outsiders is the 7th best-selling game on Steam at the posting of this article. Along with Outsiders, Stardew Valley was also featured in the top ten best-sellers after a 50% off sale in celebration of the game’s fifth anniversary, placing just ahead of Outsiders in the chart. The worldwide release of Persona 5 Strikers was also in the charts, taking up two of the ten chart spots. The hit early access survival game Valheim managed to remain at the top of the chart for another week after a boom in popularity.
The rise of Outsiders may be perfectly timed, with EA officially shutting down Anthem for good and Destiny being between major updates. The loot-based shooter genre is ripe for the picking right now. Similar loot-based games, such as Diablo 4 and Diablo 2: Resurrection, are expected to launch in either late 2021 or early 2022 after the recent Blizzcon announcements. People Can Fly timed their demo perfectly, giving people a chance to try out their game during a dry period in the market.
Whether or not these pre-release numbers will reflect the overall success of Outriders is yet to be seen. Pre-release hype has burned many franchises before, with the memory of Cyberpunk 2077 release still raw for many gamers. Triple-A titles tend to get a lot of hype and pre-orders, only to not live up to expectations on release. Hopefully, this won’t be the case with Outriders, with players able to test out the waters early on with the demo and see if they really are willing to invest.
Liv Harris is an Australian Freelance Journalist based in Sydney. She is an avid gamer and loves TV/Movies. Liv writes mostly writes about video games, the latest movies and TV shows. She wrote for Kotaku and Gamespot before joining Screen Rant.
EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon women's tennis team wrapped its home stand Sunday afternoon with a 6-1 win over Seattle at the UO Student Tennis Center. The victory pushed the Ducks' winning streak to six in a row.
How it Happened: The Ducks sprinted their way through doubles with a pair of 6-1 victories at the No. 1 and 2 spots in the lineup. Oregon has won the doubles point in each of its seven matches this season. At the time of the clinch, the home team also led 4-2 at No. 3 doubles.
Seattle (0-5) secured a point to start singles play with a UO default at the No. 6 spot in the lineup. Lillian Mould pushed the lead to 2-1 with a straight-set win at No. 2 singles, recording a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Alisa Sabotic.
In a flurry of finishes, the Ducks picked up three points with victories at No. 1, 3 and 4. Janice Tjen tallied Oregon's second singles win at the top spot, followed by Uxia Martinez Moral at No. 4 singles. With their victories, both Ducks remain undefeated at 7-0 this season. The 6-2, 6-1 win by Martinez Moral clinched the team victory.
Rifanty Kahfiani was the next Duck off the court with a 6-1, 6-3 win. Madisen Olsen closed out the match with her first win of the year, a 6-4, 7-5 triumph at No. 5 singles.
Up Next: Oregon begins Pac-12 play Friday, March 5 at Arizona State. The Ducks' next home match is set for Friday, March 12 when they host Colorado.
Oregon 6, Seattle U 1 Doubles
1. Kahfiani/Martinez Moral (ORE) d. Gianan/Bader (SU) – 6-1
2. Mould/Tjen (ORE) d. Lancaster/Grossman (SU) – 6-1
3. Mulville/Olsen (ORE) vs Asciuto/Rasmussen (SU) – 4-2 [unfinished] Order of Finish: 2, 1
Singles
1. Janice Tjen (ORE) d. Hannah Gianan (SU) – 6-2, 6-2
2. Lillian Mould (ORE) d. Alisa Sabotic (SU) – 6-3, 6-3
3. Rifanty Kahfiani (ORE) d. Jade Lancaster (SU) – 6-1, 6-3
4. Uxia Martinez Moral (ORE) d. Jillian Rasmussen (SU) – 6-2, 6-1
5. Madisen Olsen (ORE) d. Hannah Grossman (SU) – 6-4, 7-5
6. Aranza Sanabria (SU) d. No player (ORE) [default] Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1, 4*, 3, 5
* - clincher
(WEEK) - People from around Central Illinois gathered at the Starved Rock Visitor Center Sunday to witness a sight not seen everyday, sled dogs in action.
“These dogs run by choice," said Musher and Team Leader for Free Spirit Sled Demo Team, Jason Hussong. "We train them, but these are dogs that just absolutely love to do it. I mean you can see when we start hitching up some of them will start barking and howling and it's like, hey look at that we get to go.”
Some of the events attendees traveled more than an hour to witness the sled dogs show off their mushing skills.
“It’s just so interesting to get exposure because near the city we don’t have anything like this," said attendee, Michelle Murphy.
“I did not even know that this existed," said attendee, Sean Murphy. "It’s cool that they can do it with snow and without snow with the trikes that they have set up. I'm really impressed with the way the dogs were performing and that this is a thing.”
Hussong said he was hooked as soon as he started mushing, going from owning one husky to six. He said he loves to share his passion and knowledge on the dogs and the sport, while also raising money to help Free Spirit Siberian Rescue.
“I've had huskies for over 20 years," said Hussong. "I've been mushing for almost 15 years and with following races like the Iditarod and then getting involved with free spirit, it’s just a lot of fun. It’s different from snow mobiling, it’s quieter and it’s peaceful. You get kisses at the end of it rather than exhaust.”
When it comes to sled dogs, Hussong said what separates a lead dog from other members of the pack is the pup's passion.
“A dog that wants to get out there and has as great a passion as you do to want to run," said Hussong. "One willing to take commands and is not afraid to override you if you give a bad command."
LONDON (Reuters) - Up to six cases of a highly transmissible variant of coronavirus first identified in the Brazilian city of Manaus have been detected in Britain for the first time, English health officials said on Sunday.
FILE PHOTO: Medical workers move a patient between ambulances outside of the Royal London Hospital amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, London, Britain, January 27, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Three cases were found in England and another three in Scotland.
Two of three cases found in England were from a household in the South Gloucestershire area that had a history of travel to Brazil. A third, currently unlinked, case has yet to be identified, Public Health England said.
The risk to the wider community from the Gloucestershire cases was considered low but as a precaution officials were moving quickly to deploy testing and increasing the sequencing of positive coronavirus samples from the area, PHE said.
The Scottish cases were not linked to the ones in England.
The P.1 variant detected in Manaus shares some mutations with a variant first identified in South Africa and it is possible that it might respond less well to current vaccines, PHE said.
Susan Hopkins, PHE’s strategic response director for COVID-19, said Britain’s advanced gene sequencing capabilities meant it was finding more variants and mutations than many other countries.
Late last year Britain detected a more transmissible variant of coronavirus that is believed to have originated near London and that led to a sharp rise in cases in the country and beyond.
“The important thing to remember is that COVID-19, no matter what variant it is, spreads in the same way. That means the measures to stop it spreading do not change,” Hopkins said.
PHE and test and trace officials system were following up with all passengers on Swiss Air flight LX318 from Sao Paulo to London via Zurich, which landed at London Heathrow on Feb. 10, to test them and their households.
All three of the Scottish cases were identified in people who returned to the country via Paris and London who self-isolated for the required period of 10 days.
“Due to the potential concerns around this variant other passengers on the flight used by the three individuals from London to Aberdeen are being contacted,” the Scottish government said.
Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Jane Merriman and Frances Kerry
CARBON HILL - Christian Fluker, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Carbon Hill on Second Ave NE, said at a baby shower Saturday, Feb. 20, that he and his wife, Sherae, were having triplets.
"All girls - so I have six girls," he said in a pink shirt, laughing. "Pray for me. Pray for me."
The following Monday, the family of three became a family of six - at a time when Fluker's church is putting in a daycare next month. But he has already overcome a more serious challenge in life, involving a year in prison that led to his salvation experience and an active church ministry.
Christian Fluker, 31, and Sherae Fluker, 32, who live in Jasper, already were busy with not just a growing ministry but three children: Elaysha Fluker, 14; Christiana Fluker, 4; and Alayah Fluker, 1.
The names for the new triplets came easy enough: Faith, Hope and Charity.
Fluker noted he was fine when told of what was coming, saying he has always looked at life that if God gives you something, He will make a way. But asked if his wife was shocked when they told her about having three babies, he noted he was at work and she had to give him the news.
"She was in tears, and I was like, 'What's going on?'" he recalled. "She was like, 'Ah, we're having triplets. I don't know what we're going to do.' I said, 'God is going to make a way.'"
He said while the couple was not planning on three, that is what God gave them. "So I knew it was God, and I'm thankful for it. I know He is going to make a way," Fluker said.
Fluker, the son of Carrie Nalls and the late Thomas Wilson, was born and raised in Fayette County. The Fayette County High School graduate acknowledged the real father figure in his life was Malachi Nalls, who is now married to his mother.
He played basketball at Lawson State Community College for a year and then joined the Alabama National Guard, serving as a heavy equipment operator. He had wanted to go into active duty but never got the chance - although now he understands it was all at God's direction for his life.
Fluker came back home to Fayette County from advanced individual training and got into trouble selling drugs on the streets, he said.
"I ended up having to go to prison" for a year, Fluker said. "That's where I found God."
He gives credit to an area minister, whom he only recalls as Mr. Terrell, coming through the prison, telling about the Lord.
"One day I was praying and God ended up changing my life," he said, adding that Fluker helped him as a new Christian. "One day I just asked him, 'Man, how have you done right? How do you get right?' He said, 'Do you believe in God?' I told him, 'Yeah.'
"He said, 'Do you love Him? Do you believe He is the son of God? Do you believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that you've done that?'" When Fluker said he had, Terrell said, "You're saved then. Ask God to teach you and to give you the Holy Spirit to teach you and guide you.'
"And I've done just that. Every since then, God has been blessing me in every area of my life."
Terrell encouraged him to pray freely to God as his release date approach. Fluker told God he didn't want to live the life he had been leading, and wanted to serve God in whatever way God wanted. "I never thought preaching was going to be it," he said.
When Fluker was being released in Nov. 29, 2014, he had a job at Pizza Hut waiting on him. He recalled vividly telling the jailer about the job.
"He looked me in the face and told me, 'You'll be back in here.' Those are words I'll never forget," he said.
Fluker resolved never to go back to streets, even if he had to flip burgers, and asked God to make a way for that. By January 2015, he had a better job at Ox Bodies in Fayette.
At the same time, he met his wife through a mutual friend.
"That was an amazing thing, because she wasn't going to talk to me," he said, nor was the friend going to mediate for him. "You're not going to do right. I'm not going to do it," the friend said.
Fluker noted he kept trying for a month and finally got the phone number. The couple was married in May 2016.
During the dating process, he started going to a church. A member there started noticing Fluker, saying, "There is something special about you." He started mentoring Fluker spiritually, encouraging him to get up in church and read scriptures.
"But the person who really poured into my life and helped me along with my ministry is Brian Savage," he said. He noted that Savage, who is also from Fayette, has been a pastor, a father figure and spiritual advisor, helping Fluker to mature in his faith and learn how to live the gospel in his life. He helped ordain Fluker in 2017.
Savage said at the baby shower the couple's love and compassion, and how they make people smile, has been a hallmark of their work.
The Flukers are "an awesome and beautiful man and woman of God," he said. "They have been a blessing to our ministry. To see them grow and to see them develop the way God would have them develop has been an awesome experience. We are definitely proud of them."
November marked Fluker's second year at the church, which has about 60 members.
"It has truly been a blessing pastoring there," he said. "I love the people there. It's a family. That is something that I say is unique about our ministry because it is actually a family. When we say we love each other, it is real." He noted Chapter 2 in Acts teaches when any number of people is of one accord, the Holy Spirit comes in.
"When we get on one accord, we can invoke His presence, man, and he can come in and really move and change lives, change attitudes, change motives, change every aspect of people's lives," he said. "That's what is so special about our ministry. I really believe the presence of God is there."
He notes that he knows he can depend on the church for his needs now that the triplets are here. He is not just a full-time pastor with a growing family, but he also works at Jasper Forest Products as a debarker/crook saw operator.
"I have an awesome congregation that takes a lot off of me. Like I told you, we are truly a family," he said. "My wife and I have an awesome support system between my mom and her mom, and the First Baptist church family and friends. We can't be who we are without them."
Fluker said the church does much outreach that it doesn't publicize, following biblical principles. However, it is also about to open a daycare in the church basement, which is being renovated. "Hopefully it will be ready by March 15," he said, handling 21 children. (With the babies, he is already getting kidded around the church that it won't be hard to find children for the daycare.)
The daycare will be affordable and have a set price, "but we're going to deal with people on where the income is," he said. "So the price is $95, but if you can't handle that, we can sit down and come up with something. That is what it is for. It is not about the money, but about helping people."
He said the church is "hoping and praying" to get a drug rehab center underway. "We have everything in line. We have the paperwork. All we are doing now is looking for a place, and then we can get rolling," he said.
Asked about how Sherae Fluker helps with the ministry, he laughed and said, "Oh, she is a very good help. Actually, man, she probably does more than me. I work a lot and she pretty much handles everything anyway. But she has been a real major help."
She already works as the executive director of the Jalayah Hackman Foundation, which he said successfully mentors students. University of North Alabama student Jalayah Hackman, 20, of Jasper, who was Sherae Fluker's niece, died in Yerkwood as a result from a 2017 shooting where two men were reportedly firing at each other, striking her in the neck. The foundation helps the students with their homework and tutoring, and also tries to teach that violence is not an answer to problems.
“We want to mentor youth about gun violence, since that’s how [Hackman] was killed,” Sherae Fluker said in 2018 to the Eagle. “Put down the guns. We don’t want another family to go through what we’ve been through.” (The foundation, which has received support from the Walker Area Community Foundation, has a Facebook page.)
Sherae Fluker indicated at the baby shower her husband is about reaching out to others.
"He's passionate about people. He has a heart for people. Words can't describe him, really. He loves people - (he will do) whatever he can do for anybody," she said.
Outriders developer People Can Fly has released a demo, allowing players to explore the upcoming looter-shooter and get a taste for the game. The demo offers players plenty of content, giving them missions to complete, NPCs to meet, and plenty of looting and shooting to do in a post-apocalyptic world. It's more than enough to get a good grasp on how the game will play, making it a great way to spend some time for anybody who is curious about the upcoming title.
As a roleplaying game, Outriders features everything players would expect, from increasingly valuable loot to skill trees and character levels. The demo's maximum character level is 7, allowing players to unlock four different abilities and two skill points. This can be done for all four classes in the game, and players can explore the Devastator, Pyromancer, Technomancer, and Trickster, bringing them all up to the level cap if they wish.
Any player who falls in love with a class and feels that they will be playing it when the game releases on April 1 can then spend some time farming legendary items. Any loot earned in the demo will move forward with players into the main game upon release, so there is no reason not to put some effort into giving characters the best possible start when Outriders releases.
While the maximum character level is 7 and the maximum World Tier is 5, it is a combination of both these that will dictate how tough enemies are. When it comes to dictating the potential value of drops, World Tier is the only consideration, and the higher the player goes, the better the drops will be. The difficulty will scale again depending on player count, but this will not impact the value or level of loot drops.
Players that are struggling with the greater difficulty of World Tier 5 can activate Outriders' crossplay feature, recruiting some friends from any platform to help them take on the demo's tougher challenges. It should be noted, while crossplay can be activated, the feature itself is still in beta, so players may need to exercise some patience when crossing brand lines for their cooperative sessions.
With some exciting powers on display, lots of Legendary armor to track down, and a full and expansive world to explore, Outriders is certainly aiming to carve out its own space in the packed looter-shooter market. Whether gamers embrace People Can Fly's gritty take on the genre remains to be seen, but the demo certainly hints at good things to come.
Outriders releases April 1, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
WAUKEE, Iowa — The film “New Providence” made its Iowa premiere at the Palms Theatres & IMAX in Waukee Friday night. The film is also playing at other select Fridley Theatres around the state starting this weekend. The premiere was held in the spacious IMAX theater in the Palms.
“Everybody I work with here in Iowa, people in New Providence, people at the girls basketball high school athletic association, the gyms we worked at, coaches that helped us, referees, scorekeepers, we just felt a lot of love while we’re making this film here,” said Jack Smith, the creator and producer of New Providence. “To drive up to the theater today and see it on the marquee, to see the posters inside, and then just actually see it on the big screen, it’s a dream come true.”
Ava Hawthorne, a Gilbert High School junior, starred in the film as Lainey Mitchell, a star basketball player for the New Providence girls six-on-six team. In the movie, Hawthorne’s character gets injured on the court and has to miss playing time. In real life, Hawthorne had a broken arm that sidelined her for the last part of this past basketball season.
“It was fun to just act. I didn’t know really what I was doing, but I was just enjoying the opportunity while it lasted,” said Hawthorne.
Hawthorne was asked if acting is something she would continue.
“Right now I want to focus on basketball, but if something comes up, I might,” Hawthorne said. “In the fall I committed to Drake University to play basketball, so I’m super excited about that.”
The premiere event was attended by legendary basketball star Denise Long Rife of the Union-Whitten state champions of 1968.
“It was a very adorable, sweet movie. I like the fact that kind of the theme of the movie was to try to portray that every girl that played six-on-six basketball loved it and was intense about it,” said Rife.
The movie is now showing at the Palms and a few other Fridley theaters around Iowa. It will premiere in New Providence at the Roundhouse the last weekend in June.
More than six million people have become "accidental savers" during the pandemic by keeping jobs while facing fewer outgoings, a report has said.
While many people have faced greater debts, redundancy, or reduced income during furlough, others have seen their financial position improve.
Lower travel costs and fewer holidays or meals out have contributed, financial consultancy LCP found.
Longer-term home working could extend the benefits, it suggested.
Financial impact
Millions of people have seen their finances hit hard by Covid, particularly those already on lower incomes.
Pressures of bigger energy and food bills, as well as other costs owing to children remaining at home, and a 20% cut in income while on furlough, have contributed to the squeeze.
More than nine million people had to borrow more than they usually would by December, owing to the coronavirus crisis, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
However, the LCP report suggests that another six million people have seen their bank balances benefit from fewer outgoings during the restrictions on movement. Many of them could have saved thousands of pounds.
Employees who have been able to work from home - often not those in the youngest age groups - have seen commuting and travel costs fall.
Those aged over 55 had been most likely to save as a result of holidays being cancelled or not booked, and older people were also most likely to have cut back on eating out, the report said.
Getty Images
While some of these issues might only be temporary, the likelihood of a long-term change in the mix of office and home working could see people continue to save on travel costs.
The report suggested the money saved could be put to good use by cutting existing debts, putting money aside in a rainy day fund for unforeseen emergency bills, or put into longer-term savings pots such as pensions.
However, interest rates for savers are low in the current economic climate.
Heidi Allan, co-author of the LCP report, said: "Employers will have a key part to play in ensuring that workers take advantage of this opportunity and do not simply allow these increased balances to sit in current accounts and gradually drift away."
Former pensions minister Steve Webb, a partner at LCP and another author of the report, said: "There are few silver linings from the current crisis, but the emergence of a large group of accidental savers could be one of them.
"A concerted effort is needed to use this unexpected opportunity to create more of a savings culture, especially among those who may permanently benefit from reduced outgoings as a result of a switch to greater home working."
