NBA 2014-15: Dante Exum’s season continues to heat up with second double-digit game in a row

DANTE Exum backed up his season-best performance with another big outing, while Aron Baynes was mysteriously benched. FULL NBA WRAP HERE.

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 17: Dante Exum #11 of the Utah Jazz drives to the lane during a game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on December 17, 2014 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

DANTE Exum backed up his season-best performance with another big outing, while Aron Baynes was mysteriously benched.

Catch up on all today’s NBA news in our daily wrap below.

HOW THE AUSSIES FARED

Dante Exum is hitting his straps midway through the NBA season, with the young Australian reaching double digits in points for the second game in a row.

Exum backed up the career-high 12 points he scores last night with another 10 against Miami, with the 19-year-old shooting an outstanding four-of-five field goal attempts, including two out of three from behind the three-point line. He also added three assists and a couple of turnovers, and the Jazz were an impressive 15 points better off when he was on the court.

Last 2 nights (so far) for @daanteee: 52 minutes 9/12 FGs 3/5 3FGs 22 points 4 boards 5 assists 1 block 1 steal #UTAatMIA

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 18, 2014

In 19 minutes, Dante Exum has 10 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds on 4-5 shooting....

— Tony Jones (@Tjonessltrib) December 18, 2014

Impressed with Dante Exum's progress. He is positioning himself to eventually steal Trey Burke's starting job ... this season. #UTAatMIA

— John Coon (@johncoonsports) December 18, 2014

Joe Ingles feeds Danté Exum for the bucket *copy/paste #UTAatMIA

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 18, 2014

Exum’s teammate Joe Ingles’ lean week continued as he again went scoreless, though he also had three assists and two turnovers from his 14 minutes on court.

US news outlets are reporting that injured Golden State centre Andrew Bogut underwent a medical procedure on his knee today. And the forecast isn’t good for the fragile big man.

Andrew Bogut had PRP (platelet-rich plasma) procedure on knee today. Likely to have another in a week. Same procedure as @DwightHoward had.

— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) December 18, 2014

San Antonio centre Aron Baynes was inexplicably left on the bench for entire game against Memphis, with the Aussie suited up and apparently ready to go but failing to get the nod from coach Gregg Poppvich.

Instead Popovich went to Matt Bonner, who failed to score a point or register a rebound, assist or block in his 15 minutes on court.

Why keep going to Bonner? Unleash Aron Baynes.

— Aus†inMD (@_austinwright) December 18, 2014

Patty Mills was involved in the Spurs’ pre-game shoot around today. He remains on track for a mid-January return from shoulder surgery.

Matt Dellavedova had six points for Cleveland from his 21 minutes, as all of the Cavaliers’ bench got plenty of opportunities with the game all but done at three-quarter time. But he connected on just two of his seven shot attempts, which included six three-pointers.

JAZZ 105 — HEAT 87

FORTY-TWO points from Dwyane Wade wasn’t enough to get the Miami Heat past Utah, who played one of their best games of the season.

Gordon Hayward scored 29 points, Enes Kanter added 18 to ease the Jazz past Miami 105-87.

Alec Burks scored 12, Derrick Favors added 11 and Dante Exum had 10 for Utah, which won for just the second time in its last 14 games. Those two wins have come against last year’s NBA finalists — San Antonio and now the Heat.

Dwyane Wade is pursued by Joe Ingles in Miami’s loss to Utah.

Wade shot 12 of 19 for Miami, which has lost seven of its last eight home games and has dropped four straight on its floor for the first time since 2011. The Heat trailed by 17 in the first quarter and never recovered, with Chris Bosh watching the game from the sidelines.

Utah shot 53 per cent from the field and made 14 three-pointers against the Heat, who were starting a seven-game home stretch.

It was Wade’s biggest scoring game since he scored 45 on December 29, 2010, but it still wasn’t enough to keep Miami from matching a dubious franchise record — four straight double-digit losses at home, the first time that’s happened since 1990.

GRIZZLIES 117 - SPURS 116

Memphis hung on by a point in a triple overtime thriller against San Antonio that featured two buzzer beaters to force extra time.

Grizzlies centre Marc Gasol, who had attempted just three three-pointers all season (netting none of them), hit a long-range Hail Mary as regular time expired to tie the scores and force extra minutes.

Incredible game between the #Spurs and the @memgrizz!! Really fun watch. @MarcGasol another dominant performance. We'll see them on Friday.

— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) December 18, 2014

Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili missed a driving floater in the first overtime, leaving the scores tied, then Tim Duncan, who was nine-of-22 from the field and five-of-15 from the free throw line, sank a fadeaway two-point jump shot at the end of the second overtime to take the game to yet another extra period.

Zach Randolph came through for the Grizzlies in the final two minutes, hitting three shots in a row to open up a 117-113 lead that the Spurs couldn’t bridge, with Ginobili missing a long attempt in the final seconds.

Gasol led all scorers with 26 points, while Randolph had 21 points to match his 21 rebounds.

Danny Green had 25 points for the Spurs and was seven-of-13 from three-point land, while Duncan finished with 23 and Ginobili 21.

Shelvin Mack attempts a dunk in the fourth quarter against Cleveland.

HAWKS 127 — CAVALIERS 98

The Atlanta Hawks gave Cleveland its biggest hiding of the season while marching to their 11th win in 12 games.

Shelvin Mack scored a career-high 24 points for the Hawks, who completed the 127-98 rout without leading scorer Jeff Teague.

Mack, a reserve guard who came in averaging 3.8 points, made all six of his three-pointers as the Hawks went 16 from 28 from behind the arc.

Trailing 50-38 midway through the second quarter, Atlanta outscored Cleveland 89-48 the rest of the way and sent the Cavaliers to their largest loss of the season.

LeBron James scored 21 points but didn’t play in the fourth quarter. Dion Waiters also had 21 for the Cavaliers, who have lost three of four since winning eight straight.

Al Horford scored 20 points and Mike Scott added 15 for Atlanta, which had seven players in double figures and shot 64.5 per cent from the field.

Phoenix Suns' Isaiah Thomas falls after being fouled by Charlotte’s Al Jefferson.

SUNS 111 — HORNETS 106

The Phoenix Suns snapped a six-game losing streak with a 111-106 victory over the struggling Charlotte Hornets.

Suns bench player Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points and had two key free throws in the final minute as Phoenix erased an early 17-point deficit, while Goran Dragic had 20.

Dragic, who missed the last two games with a back injury, played 38 minutes and shot eight of 17. Gerald Green had 16 points off the bench and Eric Bledsoe chipped in with 15 for the Suns.

Al Jefferson had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte, while Kemba Walker scored 27 points before going cold in the final three minutes. The Hornets have now lost four straight games, and are 1-11 against Western Conference teams.

Charlotte led most of the game but the Suns battled back to take the lead at 105-104 with 1:31 left when Dragic stole the ball from Gary Neal, resulting in an uncontested layup by Bledsoe at the other end.

Thomas hit a 17-footer, adding to the cushion.

Jefferson answered with a jumper, but Thomas made two free throws to push the lead back to three.

Rajon Rondo fight for a loose ball with Detroit’s Josh Smith.

CELTICS 109 — MAGIC 92

Rajon Rondo had 13 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 109-92 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Brandon Bass scored 18 points and Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger each finished with 16, while Kelly Olynyk added 15 points for Boston, which won its second game in a row after a three-game losing streak.

Nikola Vucevic had 18 points with 13 rebounds and Tobias Harris scored 17 for the Magic, who have now lost four of their last five.

The game was tied at 63-63 early in the third quarter but the Celtics went on a 14-6 spree over the ensuing six minutes en route to a 78-73 lead heading into the fourth.

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki shoots in paddocks of space against Detroit.

MAVERICKS 117 — PISTONS 106

Chandler Parsons fell two points short of a career-high points tally as the Dallas Mavericks beat Detroit by 11 points.

Parsons scored 32 and Monta Ellis added 25 for the Mavericks, who won a second road game in two nights. Dirk Nowitzki contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds, including seven points to help stem a late Detroit rally.

Andre Drummond had 19 points and 24 rebounds but couldn’t help the Pistons end an 11-game losing streak at home. Detroit’s last win at the Palace came on November 7 against Milwaukee.

Drummond dominated the first half with 11 points and 13 rebounds, although he missed five of his six free-throw attempts. His teammates only shot 40.5 per cent from the floor, but that was enough to keep Detroit just two points down at 53-51.

The Mavericks scored 32 points in the first quarter, but couldn’t keep it going in the second quarter, hitting only five shots. Ellis had 14 in the half, but Dallas only led because it was able to keep everyone other than Drummond off the boards.

Dallas was finally able to create some room late in the third quarter, as Parsons keyed a 12-2 run that made it 83-70. With Josh Smith and Kyle Singler both on the bench with foul trouble, Parsons was able to take advantage with 15 points in the quarter.

The Mavericks were still up by 10 at period’s end, and boosted the lead to 17 early in the fourth. The Pistons got as close as 105-100 with 2:35 to play, but Parsons and Nowitzki answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to put away the game.

Kyle Lowry was pumped up as Toronto beat Brooklyn by 16 points.

RAPTORS 105 - NETS 89

Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 12 assists, Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 10 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors used a big fourth quarter to beat the Brooklyn Nets 105-89

Amir Johnson and Patrick Patterson each scored 13 and Lou Williams had 10 in the first meeting between the teams since Brooklyn’s one-point win in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs last May.

Patterson and Williams each scored eight points in the final quarter and Lowry had six as Toronto outscored the Nets 29-16, taking advantage of six Brooklyn turnovers.

Mason Plumlee scored a career-high 23 points, Joe Johnson had 17 and Mirza Teletovic 14 for the Nets, who made only five of 13 field goal attempts and five of 13 free throw attempts in the last term.

At one point in the fourth, with the sellout crowd jeering loudly, Joe Johnson missed all three free throws after being fouled on a three-pointer.

Rockets star James Harden celebrates after scoring against the Nuggets.

ROCKETS 115, NUGGETS 111, OT

James Harden scored 41 points, including eight in overtime, and Houston beat Denver after Arron Afflalo tied the game on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation.

Patrick Beverley sealed Houston’s seventh win in eight games by hitting four straight free throws in the final 17.8 seconds. Harden had a big game at the line, too, hitting 18 of 21.

Dwight Howard scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds despite a strained right knee that had him questionable for the game.

Wilson Chandler had 23 points and Ty Lawson dished out 16 assists for the struggling Nuggets, who have dropped seven of eight.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, middle, drives to the basket between Milwaukee Bucks' Zaza Pachulia, left, and Khris Middleton.

TRAIL BLAZERS 104, BUCKS 97

LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Portland pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Milwaukee with both teams reeling from injuries to key players.

Damian Lillard added 29 points and seven assists for the Blazers, who lost starting center Robin Lopez to a broken hand on Monday. Thomas Robinson, who started in Lopez’s absence, sparked Portland with 15 points and 16 rebounds, both season highs.

Portland has won three straight and eight of 10.

Brandon Knight had 24 points for the Bucks, who were without Jabari Parker. The heralded rookie will miss the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the third quarter of Milwaukee’s victory Monday over Phoenix.

The Clippers’ Blake Griffin looks to pass against the Indiana Pacers.

CLIPPERS 102, PACERS 100

Blake Griffin had 31 points and 16 rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan added 23 rebounds and 15 points in Los Angeles’ victory over Indiana.

Chris Paul had 20 points and nine assists, helping the two-time defending Pacific Division champions win for the 11th time in 13 games.

The Pacers, who snapped an eight-game losing streak with their rout of the Lakers at home Monday night, dropped their seventh straight road game. David West and reserve C.J. Miles each had 17 points as seven players scored in double figures.

Miles missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the final horn.

Originally published as NBA 2014-15: Dante Exum’s season continues to heat up with second double-digit game in a row