Australian rookie Dyson Daniels has come up simply wanting the primary triple-double of his burgeoning NBA profession because the undermanned New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Toronto Raptors 126-108.
CJ McCollum (conditioning), Brandon Ingram (toe damage) and Naji Marshall (sickness) sat out Thursday’s sport (AEDT), opening the door for 19-year-old Daniels to take cost within the back-court after coming off the bench.
The Australian (14 factors, eight rebounds and a team-high 9 assists) solely grew to become extra integral as soon as the Pels misplaced Herb Jones to an ankle damage within the third quarter, when Daniels pressured a Toronto timeout with two huge performs in fast succession.
Daniels sunk a driving lay-up after teammate Trey Murphy III missed a dunk, after which set Jonas Valanciunas up for a 3 because the Pels stretched their result in 30 factors.
Raptors star Fred VanVleet was ejected after choosing up a second technical foul early within the second half however that didn’t cease his facet from happening a 11-0 run late within the third quarter.
They lower what was as soon as a 31-point margin to 11 within the closing interval however Zion Williamson (33 factors, 10 rebounds) helped the Pels shake the Canadians off and document a fourth win from 5 video games.
Had he provide you with two extra rebounds and another help, Daniels would have turn out to be the sixth-youngest participant in NBA historical past to document a triple-double and solely the fifth teenager ever to tug off the uncommon stat line.
“To see Dyson out there and stepping up and to be 19, as you watch, it’s unfolding in front of our eyes, he’s just getting better game by game,” Williamson mentioned.
Pelicans coach Willie Green mentioned he was happy by his facet’s potential to win with out key gamers.
“When guys go down, we don’t look at it as an obstacle for us,” Green mentioned.
“It’s an opportunity to go out and continue to grow as a team, continue to build. We’re not there yet, but we’ll continue to build toward what we can do.”
A double-double from Josh Giddey helped the Oklahoma City Thunder defy the absence of marquee man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (hip damage) and combat again to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 119-111.
The Spurs led by as many as 20 factors early within the third quarter earlier than Giddey mixed with Jalen Williams (27 factors, six rebounds) and Lu Dort (23 factors) to orchestrate a comeback.
The Australian pulled down twice as many rebounds as his next-most prolific teammate, ending with 14 to go along with his 14 factors.
After trailing for all the second and third quarters, the Thunder snatched the lead again early within the fourth however the Spurs gave chase.
Giddey tied the scores at 102-102 with a floater solely 20 seconds after coming again on within the closing interval and the Spurs by no means once more led.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was happy along with his facet’s effort within the second half.
“We just had way more of a care factor, and we were way tougher,” he mentioned.
“We shut the paint off, shut the glass off, contested everything. We were not as tough as we aspire to be at all in the first half.”
Elsewhere, the Brooklyn Nets overcame the absence of Ben Simmons (calf damage) to defeat the Washington Wizards 113-107.
The resurgent Simmons will miss a minimum of the following two video games with the damage, sustained within the second quarter of the Nets’ win in opposition to Orlando on Tuesday (AEDT).
In his absence, Kevin Durant led the way in which with 39 factors in opposition to the Wizards, whereas Royce O’Neale approached triple-double territory (8 factors, 7 assists, 8 rebounds).
All going to plan, Simmons will return to the fray in opposition to the Charlotte Hornets subsequent Thursday.
