NBA wrap: Dante Exum and Joe Ingles feast on Oklahoma City Thunder with point spree late in game

AUSTRALIAN stars Dante Exum and Joe Ingles combined for 14 points to deliver the Utah Jazz a much-needed win over Oklahoma City.

NBA Wrap: Exum, Ingles feast on Thunder

AUSTRALIAN stars Dante Exum and Joe Ingles combined for 14 points in just over four minutes to deliver the Utah Jazz a much-needed 98-81 win over Oklahoma City Thunder.

Exum had nine points and Ingles five as the Aussies provided a much-needed spark after the Jazz bench failed to score a point in the first half.

The duo saw little court time early in the game as the Thunder took the lead and pushed their advantage to double digits, but they stepped into the game late in the third quarter and unleashed a barrage of baskets to give their team the edge.

I hope Jazz fans were watching Dante Exum these last five minutes. Young fella has an unlimited ceiling

— Tony Jones (@Tjonessltrib) November 19, 2014

Dante Exum, consistent 3-point shooter, is a scary proposition. Maybe not this year or next, but I think he'll get there.

— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) November 19, 2014

Just keep shooting them rook! Danté Exum with another 3! #OKCatUTA

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 19, 2014

Ingles scored his first points of the game when he drove for a layup with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter, and less than a minute later he had five when Exum picked him out with an assist to set up a three-pointer.

Not to be outdone, Exum drained a three-pointer of his own on the three-quarter time buzzer to extend the Jazz’s lead to 13 points.

Exum’s hot hand continued inflicting damage in the final quarter when he netted another three with 10:52 left, then buried a third just 90 seconds later as the Jazz blew the margin out to 19.

Utah’s Alec Burks led all scorers with 20 points, while Jeremy Lamb had 19 for Oklahoma City.

Kobe Bryant reacts after scoring against the Atlanta Hawks.

LAKERS 114, HAWKS 109

Kobe Bryant scored 28 points and passed the 32,000-point mark for his NBA career to spark the Los Angeles Lakers over the Atlanta Hawks 114-109.

The Lakers, who snapped a four-game losing streak, recorded their first road triumph of the season and only their second win in 11 starts while the Hawks fell to 5-5 with their first loss in five home games.

NBA scoring leader Bryant made 10-of-18 shots and added four rebounds, three assists and a steal for the Lakers, finishing on 32,001 points with a three-point play off his final jump shot.

The total puts Bryant 291 points behind Michael Jordan for third on the all-time NBA scoring list.

The Lakers welcomed back Nick Young, who had been sidelined so far this season with a torn right thumb ligament. Young scored 17 points off the bench while Carlos Boozer added 20 points and 10 rebounds and Jeremy Lin contributed 15 points and a game-high 10 assists for the Lakers.

Paul Millsap scored 29 points to lead the Hawks, who also had 23 points from Jeff Teague and 15 points from Al Horford.

The Lakers led 67-52 at half-time but Atlanta scored the first 13 points of the second half only to falter and never move ahead of Los Angeles the rest of the way.

Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo drives against New York’s Iman Shumpert in the Bucks’ win.

BUCKS 117, KNICKS 113

The Milwaukee Bucks took care of the first half of their back-to-back series with a heart-pounding 117-113 victory over the New York Knicks.

Now it’s on to Brooklyn as Bucks coach Jason Kidd faces his former team on Thursday AEDT.

But a seemingly easy victory almost slipped away when the Bucks went more than five minutes without scoring in the fourth quarter.

After Jerryd Bayless sank a jumper with 6:32 remaining to give the Bucks a 108-94 lead, they did not score again until Khris Middleton sank two free throws with 1:04 remaining.

Ersan Ilyasova pump-faked to get open for a crucial jumper with 33.1 seconds left, giving the Bucks a 112-106 lead. But J.R. Smith drilled a straight-on three-pointer to cut the Bucks’ lead to three points. After Bayless hit one of two free throws - missing his first of the season - Carmelo Anthony dunked to bring the Knicks within two points.

Bayless was fouled again and sank both free throws for a four-point Bucks lead with 11.7 seconds left.

Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, right, grabs a rebound against New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans.

PELICANS 106, KINGS 100

Anthony Davis had 28 points and nine rebound to help the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Sacramento Kings 106-100 on Tuesday night.

Ryan Anderson hit four 3-pointers and scored 22 points for the Pelicans, who outscored the Kings 31-15 in the third. Tyreke Evans had 18 points, and Eric Gordon scored 17.

DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 17 rebounds for Sacramento, which dropped to 3-2 at home. Darren Collison added 13 points and 11 assists.

Originally published as NBA wrap: Dante Exum and Joe Ingles feast on Oklahoma City Thunder with point spree late in game