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‘Clutch’ Daniels overshadowed by Brunson | 00:57
Dyson Daniels came up big on both ends for the Hawks in an overtime thriller while the Los Angeles Lakers copped a reality check before the All-Star break.
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Read on for all the biggest highlights and moments from the NBA on Thursday!
‘OTHERWORLDLY’ DYSON COMES UP CLUTCH IN OVERTIME LOSS
An “otherworldly” performance from Australian Dyson Daniels was not enough as the New York Knicks outlasted the Atlanta Hawks 149-148 in an overtime thriller on Thursday.
The Hawks were able to keep it close deep in the fourth quarter but it seemed like it just wasn’t their night, with Jalen Brunson making a clutch 3-pointer over Daniels to put Atlanta up 131-127.
There were still 90 seconds on the clock at that point and Trae Young had well and truly found his offensive rhythm after a slow start to the game, trading big buckets to at least make things interesting down the stretch.
But a pair of Josh Hart free throws appeared to have iced the game for New York, who led 137-131 with 18 seconds left.
A quick Georges Niang triple reduced the deficit to three but there was still only 9.1 seconds for the Hawks to work with, needing to force a turnover or otherwise play the foul game.
In the end it was Daniels who turned hero for the Hawks, anticipating the Karl-Anthony Towns inbounds pass to steal the ball and then draw a foul with a chance to close the gap to one point.
Daniels made the first free throw and missed the second, but the Hawks hustled for the offensive rebound as Hart inexplicably fouled Young to gift Atlanta two free throws.
A clutch Young made both to tie the game, sending it to overtime and a floater from the Hawks guard then put Atlanta up 139-137 early in OT — its first lead of the game.
A Caris LeVert triple extended the Hawks’ lead before the Knicks worked their way back into the game and eventually a 143-142 lead after a poor decision from Young to go for a deep 3-point attempt led to an easy layup on the other end for Brunson.
Momentum seemed to have swung back in New York’s favour as LeVert missed two free throws soon after, but a Daniels steal while matched up on Brunson helped put the Hawks back ahead.
The Knicks went back up 147-144 entering the final 90 seconds of overtime and had their lead trimmed to one point as Daniels continued to play elite on-ball defence on Brunson.
“Dyson Daniels has been otherworldly in this game tonight,” Hawks play-by-play commentator Bob Rathbun said.
“I know Hawks fans will look at the box score and see Brunson with 34 points, but the harassment that Dyson Daniels has placed on the Knicks tonight with the deflections and the steals has been tremendous.”
A pair of Onyeka Okongwu free throws late in overtime then put the Hawks ahead 148-147. But while Daniels got the better of Brunson throughout overtime, the Knicks guard came up big in the moment that mattered most as he got enough separation to hit the go-ahead jumper with 11 seconds left.
Niang had an open look at the corner 3-pointer that would have won Atlanta the game on the buzzer but it clanked off the rim, seeing the Hawks fall short of a memorable win.
Young, who went 2-for-11 from the field in the first half, finished with 38 points and 19 assists to go with eight turnovers while Okongwu, Niang and LeVert all had at least 20 points.
Daniels, meanwhile, was a menace on defence with four steals and also had 23 points.
On the other side of the floor, Towns led the Knicks with 44 points and 10 rebounds while Brunson had 36 points and eight assists, although Daniels made him work for every bucket.
Daniels made a solid start to Thursday’s game, draining an early 3-pointer off an Okongwu screen while later driving into the paint and forcing help to open up Okongwu for the dunk.
Daniels himself had a pair of dunks in the first half, including one that came after Okongwu blocked a Towns layup while the other came after he picked Towns’ pocket.
Daniels had another steal on Towns later in the second quarter, although even with the Australian getting the best of the five-time All-Star on two occasions, it was the Towns and Brunson show for the majority of the first half.
Towns led the Knicks with 24 points while Brunson had 20 with Daniels guarding him as expected.
The biggest issue for Daniels was not fouling out, as was the case in his last game at Madison Square Garden, and he picked up a foul early in Thursday’s game while matched up on Brunson.
The Hawks trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half but were able to stay in touch with the Knicks by halftime, only trailing 68-60 despite an inefficient start from Young.
Daniels, on the other hand, made eight of his 11 field goal attempts to score 18 points. He also made three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
Recent trade deadline addition LeVert also brought the energy in the first half, backing up an impressive 18-point, eight-rebound performance in his second game with the Hawks.
LeVert had a handy 10 points, four rebounds and three assists from 15 minutes in the first half.
Despite the late flurry to close out the second quarter, the Hawks fell behind again early in the third and found themselves behind 15 at one point but once again rallied back this time on the back of Young.
The Hawks guard scored 11 points to go with four assists in the frame, while Niang and Zacharie Risascher added nine points.
Young put an exclamation mark on the third quarter with a deep triple to cut New York’s lead to 104-101 entering the final period and stuck with the Knicks right until the final seconds of overtime.
BRONNY’S HIGHLIGHT TRIPLE AS LAKERS FALL FLAT AGAINST JAZZ
The Lakers were one of the hottest teams in the NBA entering the All-Star break, but a surprise 131-119 loss to the Utah Jazz may well be the reality check they need.
Amid all the fanfare of Luka Doncic’s arrival in Los Angeles, the Lakers dished up a lethargic performance that saw their six-game winning streak snapped.
New signing Alex Len struggled in his first game and while it is obviously too early to judge his fit in L.A., Thursday’s effort did little to boost confidence in his ability to be a solution to the Lakers’ frontcourt woes, especially on defence.
LeBron James had 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the defeat while Doncic put up 16 points to go with four rebounds and four assists in his second game as a Laker.
Dalton Knecht, suiting up for the first time since the rescinded trade with Charlotte, added 10 points off the bench while Bronny James had a career-high nine points, including a silky 3-pointer.
Lauri Markkannen led the way for Utah with 32 points while Keyonte George added 20 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds off the bench.
PG FLOPS AS TANKING NETS FIND ANOTHER WAY TO WIN
It’s not even the All-Star break yet, and the Nets have already won more games than they were predicted to win all season.
Get used to it, they say. This supposedly tanking team is enjoying winning — eyeing the play-in, not the lottery.
Brooklyn beat Philadelphia, 100-96, before 16,133 at Barclays Center, its sixth victory in the past seven games. And the Nets don’t give a damn how much it vexes the pro-tanking crowd.
“We don’t care. We do not care what they say about that,” Cam Johnson said.
“Listen, at the end of the day, the 15, 18 guys on his team have a job to do, and our job is to not try to get a draft pick. Our job is simply to win basketball games, the basketball games that are in front of us, and that’s what we’re going to put our full effort towards.
“We don’t care about all that other noise. If that’s what they think, then they’re not really a fan. They don’t want us to succeed. You’re going to ask our own players to lose? We’re not going to do that.”
The victory pulled the Nets (20-34) just 1.5 games behind 10th-place Chicago in the East for the final play-in spot.
More relevant to their tank-happy fans, it saw them fall three games behind No. 5 Toronto in the lottery odds.
They’re six behind No. 4 Charlotte and a daunting seven out of a top-three spot, where the chances for the top overall pick become flattened. In short, Cooper Flagg is looking more like a mirage than a target.
But these players won’t care. Not after D’Angelo Russell (22 points, five rebounds, four assists), Nic Claxton (13 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks) and a dominant defense led them to another victory.
It was a 20th win, one more than Vegas tabbed them to accrue this season.
The Nets have had the best defence in the league since snapping a seven-game skid on Jan. 27. They smothered the Sixers to 43.2 percent shooting and 8-for-33 from deep and won 50-38 on the glass. Granted, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey didn’t play, but Brooklyn harassed Paul George into just two points on 1-for-7 shooting in 36 minutes.
CAREER-NIGHT FOR MURRAY SEES NUGGETS HOME
The Denver Nuggets are the hottest team in basketball.
Without a host of key starters including Michael Porter Jr., Russell Westbrook and Aaron Gordon, the Nuggets continue to find ways to win and made it back-to-back victories against Portland on Thursday.
Denver won 132-121 on the back of a 55-point explosion from Jamal Murray, who hit seven 3-pointers to become just the third Nuggets players ever with a 55-point game.
Nikola Jokic was also heavily involved as he secured his 25th triple-double of the season with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
But for Nuggets fans, seeing Murray finding his feet in a big way after a slow start to the season would be reassuring given Denver’s championship credentials hinge largely on whether their star guard can reach the same heights of previous playoff runs.
The Nuggets were also without defensive dynamo Peyton Watson on Thursday and while the All-Star break halts their team, with Denver on a eight-game winning run, it also comes at a great time given their long injury list.
EASTERN CONFERENCE HEAVYWEIGHTS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS
Jayson Tatum scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to propel the NBA champion Boston Celtics to a 116-103 victory over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
With Jaylen Brown sitting out their last game before the All-Star break with a sore right knee, the Celtics didn’t miss a beat, scoring 37 points in the first quarter to seize control and pushing their lead to as many as 24 on the way to a 66-47 halftime advantage.
The Spurs made inroads after the break and had the deficit down to eight points early in the fourth quarter before the Celtics pulled away again.
Tatum produced his third straight 30-point performance and added seven assists. Kristaps Porzingis delivered 29 points and Derrick White added 19 for the Celtics, whose 18 three-pointers helped make up for 17 turnovers leading to 22 Spurs points.
Boston notched a third straight win and their seventh in their last eight games. “We know these kind of games heading into the All-Star break are tough,” Porzingis said. “But we’ve got to protect home court.
“We’ve had enough slips already in he first part of the season,” Porzingis added of the Celtics, who had lost three of their last four home games.
The Spurs came up just short. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesDe’Aaron Fox, acquired by the Spurs at the trade deadline, led San Antonio with 23 points. Wembanyma added 17 points and 13 rebounds with two blocked shots.
With his 85th straight game with at least one block, Wembanyama passed Hakeem Olajuwon for the fifth-longest such streak in NBA history.
“He’s one of the generational talents,” Porzingis said of the French phenomenon.
“He’s still in his second year and he’s already a big force in this league.”
With the win the Celtics remained 5.5 games behind Eastern Conference leaders Cleveland, who cruised past the Raptors 131-108 in Toronto.
Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points to lead seven Cavs players to score in double figures.
THUNDER STORM HOME TO BEAT HEAT
Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City rallied from a 21-point deficit for a 115-101 home win over the Miami Heat.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, when the Thunder scored 24 straight points to open the period as a Heat team with three players sidelined by a stomach illness faded.
Bam Adebayo scored a team-high 27 points for the Heat and Tyler Herro — who was questionable to start after battling the stomach bug — added 14.
PACERS NEED OVERTIME TO SCRAPE PAST STRUGGLERS
The Indiana Pacers needed overtime to get past the league-worst Washington Wizards 134-130.
Obi Toppin came off the bench to score 31 points and pull down 10 rebounds and Bennedict Mathurin added 28 points off the bench for the Pacers, who trailed by as many as 19 in the third quarter.
Jordan Poole scored 42 points for the Wizards but missed a three-pointer as time expired in regulation.
UNDERSTRENGTH CONTENDERS GET THE JOB DONE
The Milwaukee Bucks, missing both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, edged the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-101.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 21 points off the bench to lead the Bucks and Brook Lopez added 14 — including two free-throws to cap the scoring after Kevin Porter Jr.’s basket pulled the Bucks level at 101-101 with 38.4 seconds left.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 28 points but missed a potential game-winner with 3.5 seconds remaining.
Elsewhere, Dallas had a long list of unavailable players on Thursday. Daniel Gafford joined Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II on the sidelines, only adding to the Mavs’ problems in the frontcourt, while P.J. Washington (ankle), Dante Exum (Achilles tightness), Dwight Powell (hip) and Caleb Martin (hip) were also out.
But on the back of a 42-point effort from Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks pulled off one of their gutsiest wins of the year and a much-needed one too given the fan discontent after the Doncic trade.
Dallas won the game against Golden State 111-107, holding off a fast-finishing Warriors team that were led by Steph Curry (25 points, eight assists, five rebounds) and Jimmy Butler (21 points, seven assists, nine rebounds).
