Australians Dyson Daniels and Tyrese Proctor shared a particular second post-game after the Atlanta Hawks claimed a 130-123 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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That was regardless of a monster night time from Donovan Mitchell, who had 42 factors within the loss, whereas Evan Mobley chipped in with 20 factors and 14 rebounds.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the scoring for the Hawks with 30 nevertheless it was Jalen Johnson who impressed probably the most as he continues to construct a formidable comeback season after damage derailed his 2024-25 marketing campaign.
Johnson scored 29 factors, including 12 rebounds and 12 assists and has been a giant think about Atlanta’s success with out celebrity guard Trae Younger.
Daniels has additionally stepped up as a facilitator in Younger’s absence. Whereas his scoring has not at all times been there, the Australian had an environment friendly 10 factors on Saturday to go together with 9 assists and eight rebounds whereas he additionally had three steals.
“I believed he did an excellent job of getting within the recreation and making the appropriate choices,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder stated post-game of Daniels.
“Tonight his stats mirrored that.”
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Rookie Proctor didn’t see any taking part in time regardless of establishing himself as a productive rotation participant early in his first yr within the league.
However he was nonetheless in a position to share a second with Daniels post-game, with the pair swapping jerseys.
“That’s my man,” Daniels instructed Leigh Ellis post-game.
“We grew up collectively, performed collectively for 2 years on the NBA Academy. I’ve recognized him ceaselessly. I’m simply glad we’re each within the NBA now and taking part in for our groups. That’s my man proper there.”
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers, already assured of a quarter-final berth within the NBA Cup, accomplished an ideal group stage with a 129-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 38 factors and Luka Doncic added 35 factors and 11 assists for Los Angeles.
Based on Tim Reynolds of AP, it was the primary time that two gamers on LeBron James’ group, in a recreation the place he performed, scored 35 and he wasn’t one of many two.
P.J. Washington led the Mavs with 22 factors and Anthony Davis scored 12 factors with 5 rebounds and 5 assists in his first recreation towards his former group for the reason that Lakers despatched him to Dallas within the shock commerce that introduced Doncic to Los Angeles final February.
Davis was again after lacking 14 video games with a calf pressure.
The New York Knicks, fueled by 37 factors from Jalen Brunson, punched their ticket to the NBA Cup quarter-finals with a 118-109 victory over Milwaukee that knocked the defending in-season match champion Bucks out of the competitors.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a four-game damage absence to attain 30 factors with 15 rebounds and eight assists in 28 minutes, however the Bucks dropped their seventh straight.
“We had the chance to go to Vegas twice in a row. Not going and having the ability to gamble on 34 pink another time goes to be very robust for me,” Antetokounmpo stated post-game.
“On the finish of the day, I need to win. We’ve misplaced 7 in a row. I don’t bear in mind the final time I misplaced 7 in a row.”
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Trailing by 4 to begin the fourth quarter, the Bucks pulled inside two factors on an Antetokounmpo dunk with 5:19 remaining.
However the Knicks pulled away thanks largely to Brunson, who made 9 out of 10 free-throws, together with 4 of 4 within the ultimate interval.
The Knicks completed atop their group and their victory at Madison Sq. Backyard additionally noticed the Miami Warmth advance because the Jap Convention wild card to the quarter-finals to be performed December 9 and 10.
Six knockout spherical berths had been on the road in Saturday’s ultimate 11 video games of group play within the in-season match, wherein all video games besides the ultimate additionally rely within the regular-season standings.
The short-handed San Antonio Spurs superior with a 139-136 come-from-behind victory over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
With Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Citadel sidelined by damage, Devin Vassell scored a season-high 35 factors and Julian Champagnie added 25 factors and 10 rebounds for San Antonio, who trailed by as many as 18 within the third quarter.
After a flurry of lead adjustments early within the fourth, Denver’s Jamal Murray tied it at 126-126 with 1:41 left. Vassell made back-to-back three-pointers and the Spurs held on.
Murray completed with 37 factors and Nuggets star Nikola Jokic added 21 factors, 9 rebounds and 10 assists, however Denver had been eradicated from the Cup.
The Orlando Magic additionally superior with a gritty 112-109 victory over the Pistons in Detroit.
Two days after their 13-game profitable streak was led to Boston, the Pistons rallied from 10 factors down within the fourth quarter to twice take a one-point lead, however the Magic got here by means of within the ultimate minutes.
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Desmond Bane scored 37 factors and grabbed eight rebounds, Franz Wagner added 21 factors and Anthony Black scored 16 off the bench for the Magic, who withstood a 39-point triple-double from Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, who added 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Magic pulled down a trio of offensive rebounds within the ultimate minute and Jalen Suggs drilled a pair of free throws with 6.3 seconds left that sealed the win and noticed Orlando advance with an ideal 4-0 document in group play.
The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, the reigning NBA champions and runner-up to the Bucks in final season’s NBA Cup, fended off a late Phoenix cost to beat the Suns 123-119 and end prime of their group.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 of his 37 factors within the fourth quarter and handed out eight assists for the Thunder, who led by 15 early within the ultimate interval just for the Suns to twice minimize the deficit to at least one.
The Thunder had been clinging to a two-shot lead with 4.7 seconds left when Gilgeous-Alexader transformed a pair of free throws and Oklahoma Metropolis closed it out.
Jalen Williams, making his season debut after recovering from low season wrist surgical procedure, scored 11 factors and handed out eight assists for the Thunder, who advance as winners of their group.
The Suns secured the Western Convention wild card forward of Memphis regardless of the Grizzlies’ 112-107 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.