Australians Joe Ingles and Dyson Daniels have experienced mixed results in the NBA for their respective Conference title-chasing sides.
Ingles had seven points, one rebound and five assists in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 114-105 win over the undermanned Hawks in Atlanta.
Daniels had relatively similar numbers (seven points, five rebounds and three assists) on Wednesday night as the New Orleans Pelicans went down 125-114 to the East-leading Boston Celtics.
Jrue Holiday scored 27 points, Brook Lopez had 20 points and 12 rebounds and third-ranked Milwaukee (27-14) sealed a fourth win in five to sit one game behind the Brooklyn Nets.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added a season-low seven points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists, and Bobby Portis II had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Atlanta, playing without Trae Young (illness) and Clint Capela (calf), erased a 24-point deficit early in the third quarter to make it 101-all and took their first lead on Bogdan Bogdanovic’s baseline jumper coming out of a timeout. Lopez responded with a corner three, and the Bucks went on a 10-0 run and led the rest of the way.
Bogdanovic scored 22 points and De’Andre Hunter had 16 for the Hawks.
In Boston, Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 41 points and had 12 rebounds and the Celtics (30-12) won their fourth straight game and fifth in a row at home.
Jayson Tatum added 31 points and 10 rebounds, Malcolm Brogdon scored 20 points, and Al Horford had 14, making four triples.
New Orleans played without Zion Williamson (hamstring) for the fifth straight game.
CJ McCollum stepped up with 38 points, his fifth consecutive game with at least 25 points.
Naji Marshall added 18 points and Trey Murphy III had 15 for the Pelicans (25-17), who have lost three of four and remain third in the West.
In Denver, Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists before sitting out the fourth quarter and the Denver Nuggets won their 12th straight home game, routing the tired and short-handed Phoenix Suns 126-97.
Bones Hyland added 21 points and Jamal Murray had 16 to help the Nuggets win for the 14th time in 17 games. They reached the season’s halfway point tied with Memphis for the Western Conference lead.
A night after winning at Golden State despite missing four starters and six rotation players, the Suns ran out of gas playing a back-to-back at altitude while dressing 10 players.
Elsewhere, the Washington Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 100-97 thanks to a Kyle Kuzma three-pointer with 5.7 seconds left.
The New York Knicks enjoyed a 119-113 home win over the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons surprised the Minnesota Timberwolves 135-118.
With AP.
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