Aussie Daniels stars again, equals Jordan’s NBA streak
Dyson Daniels has continued his scoring surge with 25 points, equalling an impressive Michael Jordan streak as he helped Atlanta beat Washington 129-117 in the NBA Cup.
Coming off a career-high 28 points in Tuesday night’s 117-116 win at defending NBA champions Boston, Daniels made 10 of 14 shots from the field and paced the Wizards’ defence with six steals.
The Australian, recruited by New Orleans with pick No.8 in the 2022 draft, has gone from strength to strength in his first season with the Hawks.
Daniels is averaging a league-best 3.8 steals per game, with Washington’s Jordan Poole next on that table.
The Bendigo product has now tallied 15-plus points and five-plus steals in four consecutive NBA games.
No other NBA player has achieved that feat since Jordan in the 1989-90 season.
Kyle Kuzma led Washington with 24 points, Poole had 22 and rookie Alex Sarr added a career-high 20 points.
Despite the trio’s scoring leadership, the Wizards’ NBA Cup opener was their seventh consecutive loss.
Meanwhile, Australians Josh Giddey and Ben Simmons both had quiet games while their sides suffered contrasting defeats on Saturday (AEDT).
Brooklyn lost 124-122 to the New York Knicks despite scoring 40 points in a dramatic final-quarter comeback.
Simmons had seven rebounds, five assists and four points for the Nets.
Jalen Brunson made a go-ahead three-pointer for the Knicks with 6.2 seconds left after his team had blown a 21-point lead.
Chicago were outclassed 144-126 by Cleveland, who are now 14-0 for the season.
The Cavs are the sixth team to go 14-0 and first since the Golden State Warriors opened 24-0 in 2015-16.
Cleveland’s 14-game winning streak is the longest in the club’s 55-year existence.
Giddey scored five points and spent 15 minutes on court during the lopsided match.
In San Antonio, Anthony Davis had 40 points and 12 rebounds and LeBron James had 15 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists as the LA Lakers opened the defence of their Emirates NBA Cup title with a 120-115 victory over the Spurs.
James had his career-high fourth straight triple-double for Los Angeles.
Davis shot 14 for 26, making two of four three-pointers, in his highest-scoring game of the season. Austin Reaves added 19 points, Dalton Knecht had 14 and D’Angelo Russell 13.
Victor Wembanyama had 28 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and two blocks for San Antonio. On Wednesday night, he had a career-high 50 points in a 139-130 home victory over Washington.
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