Dyson Daniels has been no stranger to big defensive assignments in his rookie season – assigned to the likes of LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
And on Saturday (all times AEDT), the Aussie was tasked with manning another superstar in a matchup with Devin Booker in the New Orleans Pelicans’ 128-117 win over the Phoenix Suns in a battle between the two top seeds in the Western Conference.
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It’s yet another matchup he was up for.
Sat, 10 Dec
Saturday December 10th
Daniels got another start in the match and earned praise for thwarting Booker, who finished with 14 points on a 5-of-17 shooting effort in 36 minutes.
The Aussie had four points himself with four rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes.
But his work on the defensive end in particular helped the Pelicans get out to an early lead before he was used sparingly in the second half.
Zion Williamson went into beast mode with a game-high 35 points and CJ McCollum (18 points) and Jose Alvarado (20 points off the bench) also played well.
Williamson caused a stir on the final play of the game though when he did a windmill dunk despite the Pelicans being up nine, resulting in both sides getting involved in a heated scuffle at mid-court.
It’s fair to say it’ll add some serious spice to the teams’ rematch on Monday.
DeAndre Ayton meanwhile had a team-high 25 points for Phoenix to go with 13 rebounds and Chris Paul added 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
With it, the Pelicans improved to 17-8 and extended their lead at the top of the West standings, while the second-placed Suns fell to 16-10.
SIXERS SURVIVE LATE SCARE IN OT MADNESS
That was some sort of near epic collapse.
The Philadelphia 76ers survived a late scare from the Lakers to win in overtime 133-122 after LA rallied down the stretch of regulation to force the extra period.
The Lakers were down nine with 30 seconds left before pushing late including Patrick Beverley getting a crucial steal that led to an Austin Reaves three to get the visitors within 117-119 with 12 seconds remaining.
Reaves was fouled on a three-point shot on the Lakers’ next offensive trip with his team down three, but he missed his last attempt.
The Lakers then got another steal and Anthony Davis went to the line with a chance to win the game for LA with two makes, but he also missed his second shot to force OT.
“What a disaster for Philadelphia … what on earth has happened to the Sixers?” The ESPN commentator said.
The Lakers went ice cold in OT though – failing to score over the first four and a half minutes – as the Sixers had the answers including Harden scoring nine of his 28 points in a brilliant finish from the star guard, adding 12 assists.
Joel Embiid was the main hero for Philly – posting 38 points and 12 rebounds, while Melton posted a career-high 33 points, eight triples and seven steals as the Sixers snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 13-12.
Meanwhile for the Lakers, Davis recorded 31 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, Reaves scored 25 points off the bench, LeBron James had 23 points and six assists and Russell Westbrook notched a 12-point, 11-rebound, 11- assist triple-double with four steals.
It marked the Lakers’ third-straight defeat to fall to 10-15.
ALL RESULTS
KNICKS 121 HORNETS 102
WIZARDS 111 PACERS 121
RAPTOR’S 109 MAGIC 113
HAWKS 116 NETS 120
KINGS 106 CAVALIERS 95
LAKERS 122 76ERS 133
PISTONS 103 GRIZZLIES 114
SUNS 117 PELICANS 128
TIMBERWOLVES – JAZZ
BUCKS – MAVERICKS
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