NBA 2014-15: Dante Exum’s topscoring game of his career not enough for Utah Jazz against Atlanta Hawks
DANTE Exum had the best game of his short NBA career but the Utah Jazz still came up short against the Atlanta Hawks.
DANTE Exum had the best game of his short NBA career, Joe Ingles was a dynamo, Matt Dellavedova was a beast of consistency and Rajon Rondo stuck it to his old team.
Catch up on all today’s NBA action in our Saturday wrap.
HOW THE AUSSIES FARED
Dante Exum had the best game of his short NBA career but the Utah Jazz still came up short against the Atlanta Hawks.
Exum was by far the Jazz’s most influential player in the five-point loss, scoring a season-best 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals.
The Jazz were a whopping 17 points better than the Hawks while Exum was on the court after he came off the bench, but he was left with far too much to do after their starters gave up a 19-point deficit in the first quarter.
It was a career night for @daanteee, who finished w/ 13 points, 2 assists, 3 steals in 22 mins. @Joeingles7 had 8 points, 2 blocks #NBAinAus
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) January 3, 2015Exum is looking as comfortable as I've seen him all season. Finally starting to trust his talent a little bit.
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) January 3, 2015@Tjonessltrib Jazz starters = 45 points Jazz bench = 47 points Great job by Exum, Booker, Clark, etc.
— Randy Guiler (@RandyGuiler) January 3, 2015Swap Exum and Burke's minutes and the Jazz win tonight. #ATLatUTA
— Kaleb Searle (@k_searle87) January 3, 2015Exum also won huge plaudits from ESPN expert Kevin Arnovitz before the game, singling out the Australian teenager as the Western Conference player who will make the biggest leap in 2015.
“About twice a night, Exum will commit a sin of commission - maybe trying to thread the needle against a defence longer and faster than anything he’s ever seen,” Arnovitz said.
“Accept these as indications that he sees and feels the game with the instincts of a player who exceeds his experience at this moment in time. That experience will come, and with Alec Burks down for the season, it might come ahead of schedule.”
Exum’s teammate Joe Ingles was similarly impressive, scoring eight points, registering three rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal, hitting both his three-point attempts and helping to drag the Jazz back into the game.
Ingles was second only to Exum for impact, with Utah scoring 15 more points than the Hawks while he was in the game.
He even got uncharacteristically fired up, earning his first NBA technical foul for getting into the referee’s face.
Joe Ingles of all people is T'D up
— #HAWKSNATION (24-8) (@ATLHAWKNATION) January 3, 2015Time for Joe ingles to take over! wait… what? #ATLatUTA
— Purple & Blues (@PurpleandBlues1) January 3, 2015Matthew Dellavedova didn’t do a lot of scoring in Cleveland’s four-point win over Charlotte, but he was a model of consistency and didn’t make a single error in his 34 minutes on court.
The Boomers point guard registered no turnovers to go with his three points, four assists and seven rebounds, though his one-of-four shooting, including a wide open missed layup, was a lowlight.
Dellavedova got his own offensive board? Can't allow that to happen.
— At The Hive (@At_The_Hive) January 3, 2015Injured big man Andrew Bogut was again absent for the Golden State Warriors as they took on the Toronto Raptors, and vented his frustration at his untimely knee complaint in a column on the NBA website.
The Warriors’ centre said he was itching to get back on court but was also looking at the bigger picture.
“It has been a frustrating few weeks because I would love to be out there helping the team. Watching from the sidelines, I can definitely see how I could help if I was out there,” Bogut wrote.
“It’s disappointing, but I also know that it’s part of the NBA grind. Last season I got hurt at the wrong time and I missed our playoff series so it’s about being smart and being out there at the right time.”
The @warriors are a healthy Andrew Bogut away in the playoffs from being the scariest team in the west outside the @spurs. depth is plenty.
— Shalaby (@shalaby_mike) January 3, 2015Golden State is scary seeing as they are playing David Lee under minute restrictions and Andrew Bogut is injured
— Wedge (@jKEleccion) January 3, 2015Bogut also admitted Golden State losing a few games after an incredible start to the season may have been the result of complacency.
“There’s been a lot of distractions the last couple of games. I think we were a little too relaxed at Christmas, bringing family and friends to LA for it may have made things a little too homely,” he said.
“Draymond made some valid points after the Clippers loss, maybe we were a little too lackadaisical.
“Having said all that, we’re obviously going to have our ups and downs during the 82-game grind.”
CAVALIERS 91 - HORNETS 87
The loss of LeBron James proved to be the kick in the pants the Cleveland Cavaliers needed.
Kevin Love scored 27 points, Kyrie Irving had 23 as the Cavs snapped a three-game losing streak with a 91-87 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Tristan Thompson added 14 points and 14 rebounds as the Cavaliers won their first game since announcing James would miss two weeks with knee and back strains. Dion Waiters finished with 17 points.
Love returned to the line-up after missing one game with back spasms and played 38 minutes. He was nine of 15 from the field and helped the Cavaliers (19-14) take control of the game with three straight three-pointers in the third quarter after an injury scare.
First-year Cleveland coach David Blatt leaned heavily on his starters, using a seven-man rotation. Thompson played 43 minutes and Irving played 42.
Gerald Henderson led Charlotte (10-24) with 14 points. The Hornets have now lost five in a row.
HAWKS 98 - JAZZ 92
Jeff Teague scored 25 points to carry the surging Atlanta Hawks past the Utah Jazz 98-92.
The Hawks (24-8) have won three straight and 19 of their last 22 games.
Paul Millsap had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Al Horford scored 13 points in Atlanta’s sixth consecutive win over a Western Conference opponent.
Gordon Hayward scored 18 points and reserve Dante Exum added 13 points for the Jazz, who have been swept in the season series against Atlanta for a second consecutive year.
The Jazz put together a 12-1 run to make the game close late in the fourth quarter, with Hayward drilling a three-pointer and driving for a layup on back-to-back possessions to help Utah close to 91-87 with 3:38 remaining.
But Carroll and Teague then had back-to-back jumpers to put the Hawks ahead 95-87 less than a minute later.
Atlanta used its stout defence to get off to a fast start. Utah did not make a basket for nearly six-and-a-half minutes in the first quarter, and the Hawks opened a 28-9 lead on Millsap’s three-pointer with 3:41 remaining in the quarter.
But the Jazz battled back. Exum’s three-pointer with 2:04 left sparked a 19-3 run that carried over to the second quarter. Seldom-used guard Ian Clark capped the lengthy spurt with a three-pointer that trimmed Atlanta’s lead to 31-28.
MAVERICKS 119 - CELTICS 101
Rajon Rondo stuck it to Boston big time in his first game on the Celtics’ home court since he was traded to Dallas.
Rondo scored the Mavericks’ first 10 points and finished with a season-high 29 to lead his new team to a 119-101 victory.
Rondo had a career-high five three-pointers and also finished with six rebounds and five assists in his first game at TD Garden in an opponent’s uniform.
The rebuilding Celtics traded the four-time All-Star to Dallas last month.
Monta Ellis scored 22 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 17 and Tyson Chandler collected 16 rebounds to help the Mavericks to their fourth consecutive victory.
Avery Bradley scored 22 points for the Celtics, and Tyler Zeller had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Rondo scored a career-high 15 points in the first quarter to carry Dallas to a 14-point lead. The Mavericks put together a 13-0 run at the end of the third to make it 92-64, but the Celtics cut the deficit to 10 points with about six minutes left.
But Rondo hit a jumper and soon added a steal and an assist to help make it 105-90 with 4:45 to play.
WARRIORS 126 - RAPTORS 105
Stephen Curry had 32 points and 12 assists and Draymond Green got his first career triple-double as the Golden State Warriors rolled past the Toronto Raptors 126-105 in a matchup of conference leaders.
Green finished with 16 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds and three other Warriors scored in double digits to help the team with the NBA’s best record wear down the Raptors (24-9) in the second half.
Golden State set up the victory when it started the third quarter on a 23-5 run.
Toronto’s loss allowed Atlanta to move into first place in the East.
Greivis Vasquez scored 25 points, and Kyle Lowry had 22 points and eight assists for the Raptors, who lost consecutive road games for the first time this season. Toronto fell to 2/3 on its six-game trip, which ends at Phoenix on Sunday.
PELICANS 111 - ROCKETS 83
The Houston Rockets’ starting line-up was so bad in a 28-point rout at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans that Rockets coach Kevin McHale elected to play his bench during most of the second half.
Dwight Howard scored 12 points and James Harden only 11 for Houston, all in the first half, and the pair played just 25 and 22 minutes, respectively, as McHale sent them a message ahead of tomorrow’s game against Miami.
Ryan Anderson scored 22 points and Tyreke Evans added 21 for New Orleans, which opened a double-digit lead in the second quarter and led by as much as 32 in the second half.
Omer Asik grabbed 11 rebounds, and Anthony Davis accounted for three of the Pelicans’ eight blocked shots.
New Orleans shot at 53 per cent (44 of 83), including 46.7 per cent (seven of 15) from three-point range. Houston missed its first five shots and wound up shooting 39.8 per cent (35 of 88), including 20.7 per cent (sux of 29) from long range.
It was Houston’s first game this season in which it never led.
NETS 100 - MAGIC 98
Mason Plumlee had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a two-point win against the Orlando Magic - their third straight victory.
Brook Lopez and Deron Williams added 16 points apiece to help get the Nets back to a 50/50 win-loss record for the first time since November.
The Nets (16-16) shot well most of the night and led by as many as 26 points in the second half. The Magic (13-23) rallied in fourth quarter, and got within two points with 3.8 seconds to play after a three-pointer by Elfrid Payton.
But they weren’t able to foul again and Brooklyn successfully ran out the clock.
Brooklyn had 22 turnovers but outscored the Magic 50-42 in the paint.
Victor Oladipo led seven Orlando players in double figures with 17 points. Payton had 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
The Magic lost their second straight game and have now dropped nine of their past 11 at home.
PISTONS 97 - KNICKS 81
The Detroit Pistons extended the New York Knicks’ losing streak to 10 games with a 97-81 victory.
Brandon Jennings scored 29 points, Jodie Meeks added 15 and Greg Monroe and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each had 12. Andre Drummond finished with seven points and a staggering 20 rebounds.
J.R. Smith led the Knicks with 22 points, with the team’s leading scorer Carmelo Anthony sitting out with a sore knee.
It was a season-high fourth straight win for the Pistons.
The Pistons only fell behind twice in the game, both times by two points in the first quarter.
Trailing 24-20 after the first quarter, the Knicks pulled within two at 29-27 on Quincy Acy’s jump shot with 9:28 left in the second quarter.
The Pistons then scored the next 11 points and increased their lead to 57-38 at half-time.
Things got worse for the Knicks after the break, as they didn’t score until Pablo Prigioni hit two free throws with 8:01 left in the third quarter. They didn’t connect on their first field goal until Jose Calderon hit a foul-line jumper with 4:54 remaining.
Detroit kept adding to its lead, taking an 82-52 advantage after three quarters and increasing it to a game-high 33 points 87-54 on Jonas Jerebko’s three-pointer with 10:49 remaining.
The Knicks never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.
THUNDER 109 - WIZARDS 102
Oklahoma City Thunder are starting to look like a team that could make a serious dent in the NBA Playoffs.
Kevin Durant scored 34 points to help the Thunder beat the Washington Wizards 109-102 to even up their win-loss record and continue their climb back up the NBA standings.
Durant was 12 for 18 from the field in just 32 minutes, including a four from seven performance from three-point range.
Russell Westbrook had 22 points and six assists for the Thunder (17-17), who reached .500 for the first time this season. Oklahoma City shot 53 per cent from the field to win for the fourth time in five games.
Bradley Beal had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Washington, which has lost two in a row. Andre Miller added a season-high 15 points.
PACERS 94 - BUCKS 91
C.J. Miles scored 22 points and Roy Hibbert added 18 to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 94-91 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Pacers had five players score in double figures as they chalked up their fifth win in seven games. Luis Scola had 14 points and Rodney Stuckey finished with 11.
Indiana trailed by seven at the break but held Milwaukee to 15 points in the third quarter and went ahead for good in the final period.
The Bucks pulled within three with 5.2 seconds remaining, but Solomon Hill made two foul shots to help the Pacers hold on.
Brandon Knight had 20 points for Milwaukee and John Henson finished with 14. Zaza Pachulia had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
The Bucks hit 65 per cent of their shots while outscoring the Pacers 32-23 in the second quarter for a 53-46 lead at the break. Knight had 12 points and Pachulia added 10 points and nine rebounds in the first half for Milwaukee.
Milwaukee led by two after three quarters but Donald Sloan’s three-pointer put Indiana in front 73-72 early in the fourth. Lavoy Allen made a jumper and Hibbert connected on two foul shots to make it 85-78 with 2:32 remaining.
SUNS 112 - 76ERS 96
Gerald Green and Markieff Morris each scored 21 points to push the Phoenix Suns clear in the fourth quarter and set up a 112-96 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.
After the Suns struggled early against the NBA-worst Sixers, Green hit a three-pointer in an 11-2 run to start the fourth and Phoenix took control to snap a two-game losing streak.
Tony Wroten scored 28 points for the Sixers, who trailed 80-79 with a minute left in the third quarter. But a poor final period sent them to their 27th loss in 31 games.
There was an NBA first late in the game when Markieff and Marcus Morris played with teammates Goran and Zoran Dragic for the Suns. It was the first time two sets of brothers played for a team at the same time. Zoran Dragic scored his first NBA points late in the game, completing a three-point play off an assist from his brother.
Outside of Alex Len’s career-high six blocks, the Suns played lacklustre defence for much of the night to allow the NBA’s worst offensive team to stay close.
Originally published as NBA 2014-15: Dante Exum’s topscoring game of his career not enough for Utah Jazz against Atlanta Hawks
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