Dante Exum impressed yet again and the undermanned Dallas Mavericks claimed their third-straight victory in a 130-113 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Exum tallied 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, four rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block in a season-high 35 minutes in a starting role to back up his impressive 23-point showing against Portland over the weekend.
It included the Aussie scoring 11 points with two rebounds and three assists in the first half alone to make full use of his opportunity with the likes of Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., Grant Williams and Josh Green sidelined.
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Elsewhere for the Mavs, Luka Doncic poured in 35 points with five triples, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks, while Derek Lively added 16 points and 16 boards.
With it, Jason Kidd’s side improved to 14-8 overall.
Kidd saluted Doncic’s leadership in galvanising an understrength Dallas line-up
.“I think you’ve seen enough of him that he believes anytime he takes the floor he has a chance to win,” Kidd said.
“His leadership of always getting that group together, to make sure everybody was on the same page, he’s done that all year for us.
“That just shows his leadership, his maturity. He’s growing. On the road, against a talented team, we found a way to win, but it starts with Luka and he set the tone.”
-It was another in a sequence of MVP-calibre performances from Doncic, who has now scored 30 or more points in his last seven games
.“I think leadership is important,” Doncic said. “I think this year has been way better for me. Obviously we had like five guys out, so it’s a pretty amazing win.
Jaren Jackson Jr. topscored for Memphis with 41 points including six triples, two steals and two blocks and Desmond Bane had 28 points and eight assists.
It marked a second-straight loss for the 6-16 Grizzlies, who will welcome back Ja Morant from a 25-game suspension next week.
GIDDEY NEARLY TRIPLE-DOUBLES
Josh Giddey has had his best game in some time.
The Aussie guard racked up a near triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, a steal and a block in just 24 minutes and the OKC Thunder crushed the Utah Jazz 134-120.
It came in a game so one-sided contest where the final scores ultimately flattered the Jazz. The Thunder led by as much 36 at one stage during the third term amid a 54-23 run, as both coaches emptied their benches for the final term.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder with 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting and seven assists.
It marked OKC’s fourth win from its last five games to remain second in the West at 15-7.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver over the weekend said the league has taken a “back seat” in the Giddey accusations while a criminal investigation plays out, with the 21-year old alleged to have had an alleged improper relationship with an underage girl.
Utah rookie Keyonte George had his best fame yet, recording 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting with five triples and seven assists as the Jazz dropped their fifth game from their last six to sit 7-16.
ZION RESPONDS TO CRITICS
Zion Williamson gave the you know what to his critics.
After the Pelicans were bundled out of the In-Season Tournament last week in a 44-point loss to the Lakers — a game Williamson scored just 13 points — Williamson responded with a season-best 36 points to lead New Orleans past the West’s No. 1 seed Minnesota 121-107.
Williamson shot 13-of-17 from the field and 10-of-12 from the line in a dominant performance, while it also followed criticism of the former Pick 1 appearing to be in less than peak physical condition.
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CJ McCollum (23 points) and Brandon Ingram (20 points) also played well for the Pelicans, who surged home in this one with a 31-21 final quarter, and Dyson Daniels added six points, two assists and two steals in 28 minutes off the bench.
“We trusted each other and we executed,” Williamson said.“We’ve been through tough moments but we’re resilient. I think that showed tonight, glad we got the win.”
New Orleans improved to 13-11 and are ninth in the Western standings.
Karl Anthony-Towns, Mike Conley and Naz Reid each scored an equal-team-high 17 points for the Anthony Edwards-less Timberwolves as their six-game winning streak was snapped to fall to 17-5.
ELSEWHERE …
Detroit’s season from hell continued, suffering a 20th consecutive loss at the hands of the Indiana Pacers 131-123.
It marked the ninth-worst losing streak in NBA history, with the Pistons’ last win their third game of the season in October.
Bennedict Mathurin paced Indiana with a season-best 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting with three triples, seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals and Tyrese Haliburton racked up 14 points and 16 assists.
Cade Cunningham had 23 points with six rebounds and seven assists and Ausar Thompson had 20 points, six rebounds, a steal and a block in a return to the starting line-up.
The Pistons are now 2-21 on the season
The San Antonio Spurs’ woes also carried on, dropping a franchise-record 17th-straight game in a 93-82 loss to the Houston Rockets.
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It came despite Victor Wembanyama dropping 15 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks, however the Spurs fell to 3-19 overall.
“They played their ass off. They played a great game,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “But you’ve got to make a shot in the NBA — you can’t shoot five for 41 from three… it just makes it very, very difficult.”
In other games, the Bucks outlasted the Chicago Bulls in overtime 133-129 in Milwaukee behind 32 points, 12 rebounds and six assists from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
DeMar DeRozan, who finished with 41 points and 11 assists, hit the game-tying shot to send the game into OT, but Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard guided the Bucks home in crunch time.
It ended a four-game losing streak for the 9-15 Bulls in a resurgence of their season since Zach LaVine has been injured, while the Bucks improved to 16-7 to close in on the East’s second seed.
In Philadelphia, Joel Embiid exploded with 34 points on 14-of-20 shooting, 11 rebounds and six assists, Tyrese Maxey scored 24 and the 76ers crushed the Washington Wizards 146-101 to climb to 15-7.
Kyle Kuzma had 21 points and nine rebounds for Washington, who dropped its fifth in a row to sit 3-19 overall.
In Atlanta, a 29-point performance from Jamal Murray and 25 points from Nikola Jokic helped the NBA champion Denver Nuggets to a 129-122 win over the Hawks.
Bogdan Bogdanovic made 40 off the bench — including a remarkable 10-of-17 from three-point range — but it was not enough to get Atlanta over the line.
ALL RESULTS
HEAT 116 HORNETS 114
PACERS 131 PISTONS 123
CAVALIERS 94 MAGIC 104
WIZARDS 101 76ERS 146
NUGGETS 129 HAWKS 122
RAPTORS 130 KNICKS 136
SPURS 82 ROCKETS 93
MAVERICKS 120 GRIZZLIES 113
BULLS 129 BUCKS 133 (OT)
TIMBERWOLVES 107 PELICANS 131
JAZZ 120 THUNDER 134
NETS 118 KINGS 131
TRAIL BLAZERS 127 CLIPPERS 132