Dyson Daniels is closing in on Michael Jordan in the NBA’s history books after playing a crucial role in Atlanta’s 113-110 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
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Daniels had two steals in the victory to extend his steals streak to 70 games and the Australian now sits just seven behind Jordan in third on the NBA’s all-time list.
There is still a way to go for Daniels to claim the record of 108 consecutive games, which is held by Chris Paul.
Daniels made a number of big plays on defence, including forcing a tough contested 3-pointer from Miles Bridges on the final shot of the game.
“I knew they had to make a three there and I didn’t want to foul so it was about making him take the toughest shot he can take without fouling,” Daniels said post-game.
While Daniels is always going to have an impact on defence, the same hasn’t been true for much of the season on the offensive end — especially as a scorer.
Daniels is averaging just 15.8 per cent from 3-point land, way down from the career-high 34.0 per cent he was shooting at last year, while his attempts have also gone down from 3.1 to 1.1.
The Hornets sagged off Daniels in a similar way to how teams defended Josh Giddey before his breakout at Chicago, but the Australian made them pay on Monday with 22 points.
“It’s about mixing it up… if they’re going to be that far off me it’s about using that to our advantage,” said Daniels, who also had nine rebounds and six assists in the win.
“We can be setting screens and getting guys like JJ (Jalen Johnson) downhill. I’m able to play in the pocket and use my floater and stuff like that.
“There’s a lot of ways to work around that when they’re dropped off like that. It’s just about exploiting the match-up and for me it’s about getting in the gym to become more comfortable shooting those threes so they have to respect me more out there.”
Jalen Johnson had a double-double in the win for Atlanta, shooting an efficient 11-from-22 from the field while adding 11 assists.
For Charlotte, rookie Kon Knueppel continues to be a standout after scoring 28 points in the loss.
Giddey surpasses Kobe Bryant record | 00:50
THUNDER STAR LOSES MILLIONS BUT DEFENDING CHAMPS KEEP WINNING
Elsewhere, can anyone stop the Oklahoma City Thunder?
Well, the Portland Trail Blazers did earlier in the season, handing the reigning champions their only loss of the season so far.
But they couldn’t back it up on Monday as Oklahoma City blew Portland out 122-95 on the back of a 37-point masterclass from reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
That was despite not playing in the fourth quarter and SGA has now played in just three of 12 fourth quarters this year, such is Oklahoma City’s dominance.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the betting favourite to go back-to-back and claim the top gong again at the end of the season and he may not be the only Thunder player to win an award, with Ajay Mitchell enjoying a breakout campaign that has him firmly in the mix for Sixth Man of the Year.
Mitchell had 20 points on Monday and what makes the Thunder’s 17-1 start to the season even more impressive is the fact they have done it without Jalen Williams, who has now missed the first 18 games of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn right scapholunate ligament in his wrist.
It is bad news for Williams because he is now ineligible for postseason honours. Williams signed a five-year $241 million rookie extension with Oklahoma City in the offseason, which could have been worth between $250-$289 million if he was named All-NBA this season.
Flagg’s best too good for Pelicans | 00:52
AUSSIE ROOKIE SHINES IN WIN
Tyrese Proctor continues to emerge as a handy bench rotation piece for the Cleveland Cavaliers in his rookie year after a 11-point effort in a 120-105 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Proctor and fellow Australian Luke Travers both got solid playing time in Monday’s game but it was the rookie guard who made the bigger impact, adding three rebounds and just as many assists to go with his 11 points.
Proctor made two quick 3-pointers before he was open for another, only for Nicolas Batum to quickly close the distance and force the Australian to instead drive towards the rim as he got the floater to drop in.
“I just try to impact winning as much as I can,” Proctor said at halftime.
“Something I said the moment I got drafted here. Defensively, offensively and doing my job to bring energy.”
ELSEWHERE AROUND THE NBA
In other games around the league, the Toronto Raptors continue to emerge as a surprise packet in the Eastern Conference after squeaking out a 119-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
The game was in the balance at 104-104 with under four minutes left, but Brooklyn then conceded a 10-0 run to fall to 3-13 on the season.
Toronto, meanwhile, won its seventh-straight game for the first time since February 2022.
Elsewhere, the Orlando Magic continue to struggle for consistency after falling 138-129 to the Boston Celtics, who were led by 35 points from star forward Jaylen Brown, while Anfernee Simons chipped in with 23 points off the bench.
Jett Howard, meanwhile, had a career night for the Magic with 30 points, seven rebounds and three assists as Orlando’s young brigade led a near-comeback.
Howard had 22 points in the fourth quarter alone as the Celtics nearly gave up a 26-point lead, only for Brown to steady the ship with 12-straight points to close it out.
OTHER SCORES
Philadelphia 76ers 117 Miami Heat 127
Utah Jazz 106 Los Angeles Lakers 108
Phoenix Suns 111 San Antonio Spurs 102
