NBA Wrap: Joe Ingles and Dante Exum star for Jazz, Bucks smash Pistons, Knicks fall short against Charlotte
AUSTRALIA Day came early at EnergySolutions Arena in Utah as Joe Ingles and Dante Exum shot a combined 29 points. It’s all in our NBA Wrap.
AUSTRALIA Day came early at EnergySolutions Arena in Utah as Joe Ingles and Dante Exum shot a combined 29 points. It’s all in our NBA Wrap.
AUSSIES IN ACTION
Joe Ingles scored a career-high 16-points as an all-Australian starting back court helped steer the Jazz to a 108-73 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Ingles shot four-from-eight from the field and also contributed a steal, a rebound and a team-high five assists in 30:09 minutes.
Dante Exum and Joe Ingles are landing more body blows on the Nets' perimeter defense than a boxing kangaroo. #BKNatUTA
— John Coon (@johncoonsports) January 25, 2015The PA system played a rendition of “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi” whenever a Ingles or Dante Exum landed a shot.
“Obviously I’ve always known I could shoot it, but it was more trying to get the guys involved, being that kind of middle-man,” Ingles said.
I love the way Exum and Ingles both PASS the ball up the floor instead of dribbling it. Must be taught down under.
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) January 25, 2015“But when they’re in your ear every day telling you to shoot it, and you make it in practice every day ... you just shoot the open ones.”
Jazz coach Quin Snyder welcomed Ingles’ more assertive approach to scoring.
“He needs to not consider whether he should shoot,” Snyder said. “He’s kind of, you know, pensively waiting. Just catch it and shoot it. Dante [Exum], too. It must be like something from Down Under.”
Apparenlty they play an "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi" chant whenever Ingles or Exum scores now.
— Aaron Falk (@tribjazz) January 25, 2015Exum impressed in his second consecutive — and third overall — start ahead of All-Rookie guard Trey Burke.
Exum nailed 13 points on five-from-seven shooting and added four assists and four rebounds in 29:16 minutes.
He has averaged 13.7 points per game in his three starts against Indiana, Milwaukee and Brooklyn — more than double the 5.1 PPG he has averaged in all games this season.
Dante Exum & Joe Ingles have combined for 7 3's in this game. Gives new meaning to Australian Open. #BKNatUTA
— Rick Aaron (@RickAaron) January 25, 2015JAZZ 108 — NETS 73
Aussies Joe Ingles and Dante Exum have starred as the Utah Jazz rolled to a 108-73 win over the reeling Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.
Ingles had a season-high 16 points and Exum had 13 in his second straight start in front of Trey Burke, who came off the bench.
Gordon Hayward scored 24 points and Burke had 19.
Jarrett Jack had 16 points and Mason Plumlee added 11 for the Nets, who have dropped three of four.
One game after Brooklyn’s worst defeat of the season — 123-84 to the Clippers — the Nets were again listless.
They are 3-10 in January and a half-game back of Charlotte for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
There has been a little drama over 19-year-old Exum, the fifth overall pick in last year’s draft, supplanting Burke so early. But if they both play the way they did against the Nets, it may not matter who starts.
With Alec Burks out for the season and his replacement, Rodney Hood, out for a few more weeks, Exum and Burke played together for stretches.
The combination worked well as the Jazz looked to run at every opportunity on the sluggish Nets. The Jazz had 27 fast-break points to Brooklyn’s nine.
Instead of sulking, Burke played with an aggressive attitude from the moment he entered the game.
BUCKS 101 — PISTONS 86
O.J. Mayo scored 20 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks relied on perimeter shooting and defence in a 101-86 win Saturday night over the Detroit Pistons.
The Bucks went 11 for 17 from 3-point range, including a 4-for-5 performance from Mayo. The reserve guard made three 3s in a 47-second span of the second quarter to spark an 18-2 run that gave Milwaukee a 54-40 lead with 4:27 left in the second quarter.
Milwaukee also opened the second half with a 17-2 run. The Bucks led by as much as 30 in the third quarter of a rare easy victory.
Detroit’s Brandon Jennings scored 16 points before leaving late in the third with a lower left leg injury.
HORNETS 76 — KNICKS 71
Brian Roberts scored 17 points, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the New York Knicks 76-71 Saturday night for their ninth victory in the last 11 games.
Roberts, who started in place of the injured Kemba Walker, was 5 of 9 from the field and made all six free throws as the Hornets snapped the Knicks’ three-game win streak.
The Knicks played without Carmelo Anthony, who was held out to rest his knee on the second night of a back-to-back. Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Knicks with 25 points and Lance Thomas had 16 points and eight rebounds. Walker missed his third game in the last five after his knee flared up. The injury news got worse for the Hornets when big men Marvin Williams (concussion) and Bismack Biyombo (knee bruise) left the game early with injuries and did not return.
The Hornets were coming off a sluggish 39-point loss to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, and that lack of energy seemed to carry over early against the Knicks.
Charlotte shot 16.7 per cent from the field to open the game, missing 24 of their first 29 shots. However, the Knicks couldn’t take advantage and only led by one at half-time.
The Hornets eventually took the lead with 3 minutes left in the third quarter when Jason Maxiell knocked down an 18-foot jumper from the foul line.
The Hornets extended their lead to seven when P.J. Hairston knocked down a 3-pointer from 29 feet away and Michael Kidd- Gilchrist scored on a layup off a feed from Lance Stephenson. Henderson finished with 14 points.
The Knicks battled back behind Hardaway, who knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 69 with 2:39 remaining.
But Roberts’ fall-away jumper from the left baseline gave the Hornets the lead for good.
The Knicks had a chance to tie the game with 22 seconds left but Hardaway clanked a 3-pointer off the backboard and Cole Aldrich threw the ball away with 11 seconds left after chasing down a loose ball.
Henderson knocked down two free throws with 10 seconds left to help seal the win.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford was hoping that Al Jefferson, in his third game back from a groin injury, would help to pick up the scoring slack with Walker out. But the big man started the game 2 of 11 from the field and finished with nine points.
GRIZZLIES 101 — 76ERS 83
Zach Randolph had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jeff Green scored 18 as the Memphis Grizzlies coasted to a 101-83 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
Vince Carter added 13 points as the Grizzlies (31-12) won their sixth in the last seven games.
Memphis led by as many as 25 in the second half, allowing coach Dave Joerger to rest his starters in the fourth quarter. Marc Gasol, selected as an All-Star starter, finished with nine points, as did point guard Mike Conley.
Jerami Grant, the 39th overall pick in last summer’s draft out of Syracuse, led the Sixers with a career-high 16 points. Michael Carter-Williams was the only other Philadelphia player in double figures with 10 points going 3 of 12 from the field.
The Sixers shot 38 per cent for the game and committed 24 turnovers.
Memphis needed a 41-point fourth quarter to eventually defeat the Sixers 120-115 in overtime on Dec. 13. The return match in Memphis was never really close after the Grizzlies took a double-digit lead early in the second quarter.
As usual, Memphis dominated the paint 52-32. But the 76ers, who lost their fifth straight, out-rebounded Memphis 48-47 and held a 20-12 advantage in fast-break points.
That wasn’t enough to overcome the poor ball handling and shooting percentage.
TRAIL BLAZERS 103 — WIZARDS 96
LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Trail Blazers two days after saying he was going to have thumb surgery and had 26 points and nine rebounds in a Portland’s 103-96 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
Damian Lillard added 20 points and seven assists as the Blazers snapped two-game losing streak.
Tied at 79 midway through the fourth quarter, Wesley Matthews made two 3-pointers that gave Portland an 87-85 with 3:28 left. Lillard’s 3 extended the lead 92-85.
Nene’s layup closed the Wizards to 94-91 but he missed a free throw then fouled Meyers Leonard on a 3-point attempt on the other end. Leonard made all three free throws to put Portland up 97-91 with 1:07 left and Washington couldn’t catch up.
John Wall, this week was named an Eastern Conference starter for the All-Star game, led the Wizards with 25 points and nine assists.
Originally published as NBA Wrap: Joe Ingles and Dante Exum star for Jazz, Bucks smash Pistons, Knicks fall short against Charlotte
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