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The Lakers won the In-Season Tournament, earning each of the players $500,000 in prize money, but they came crashing back to earth on the back of the fourth quarter explosion from the 28-year-old Aussie.

As expected, Doncic and James went blow for blow, each hitting 33 points, although the Slovenian had six rebounds and 17 assists, while LeBron had eight rebounds and nine assists.

It was Doncic’s eighth straight game hitting 30-plus points.

Lakers centre Anthony Davis hit a game-high 37 points and 11 rebounds, while Dallas’ Tim Hardaway Jr. all but cancelled out his tally with 32 points.

But in the final quarter, it was Exum who stood tall, hitting 17 points, including five three-pointers to carry the Mavericks to the two-point win.

Exum hit seven for the match in a new career-high.

And the Mavericks’ billionaire majority owner Mark Cuban was blown away, wrapping Exum in a bear hug after the match.

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ESPN basketball insider Olgun Uluc tweeted Exum is “playing the best basketball of his career.

“Over his 2 seasons in Europe, Exum was a 42.1% three-point shooter (2.1 3PA). This game was development, not an anomaly. He never stopped being an NBA-level player; injuries just forced a detour to Barça/Partizan before an NBA team gave him an opportunity.”

US Fox Sports analyst Ric Bucher posted: “Big fan of guys like Dante Exum, who had 26 in a W over LAL tonight. Drafted 5th in ‘14 as a project, got injured, fell out of favour, bounced around & then out of the league. Went overseas for 2 years, improved & found his way back. That’s resilience. Respect.”

Even more impressive was that Exum has made the most of his opportunity in the absence of several stars including Kyrie Irving.

Exum is averaging 21.7 points, 5.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds with 64 per cent shooting from the field and 66 per cent from beyond the arc in his past three matches, having struggled to get much game time earlier in the season in his first season back in the NBA.

Exum was waived in 2021 and travelled to Europe, but was brought back by the Mavericks on a veteran minimum deal.

“I’m happy for him … was out of the league and has an opportunity now for a second time,” NBA legend Vince Carter said of Exum on TNT.

“I think sometimes these young guys take this opportunity of being a professional athlete for granted.

“When you lose it, you want it back. Hopefully he will not let it go again.”

Exum was humble after the result.

“Tonight, they kind of left me wide open,” Exum said via the Dallas Morning News. “I had no choice, I was forced to. That was just showing the confidence that I was just going to sit there and just shoot it.

“Thankful for the result, but I think the mindset going forward is those are the shots I’ve got to keep shooting if they’re going to play me like that.”

Doncic stayed in the game despite rolling an ankle and suffering a bloodied lip in a physical battle between the two Western Conference rivals.

“I’m not going out in a game like this, no way,” the Slovenian star said. “When you’re playing against the best you want to stay on the court.

“This was an amazing team win. We’ve got so many guys out, everybody stepped up, everybody played hard.”

Doncic also paid tribute to the Aussie.

“Simply unbelievable,” Doncic said. “He’s been amazing for us.”

Exum has played over 260 NBA matches after being drafted fifth overall in the 2014 Draft but in stints with Utah and Cleveland where he struggled with injury, before he was waived after playing pre-season minutes for Houston.

It sent him to Europe where he played with Barcelona, winning the Spanish Cup, and Partizan NIS Belgrade, where he was an ABA champion and in the All-ABA League team.

It was Partizan’s first title in a decade.

But while he was under the radar for casual basketball fans, he hit the headlines when he was body slammed during the EuroLeague playoff series.

He also impressed for Australia, including playing a key role in the nation’s Olympic bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games.

It kept him on the NBA radar and he was picked up by the Mavericks during the off-season, a signing which appears now to be a masterstroke.

With AFP