Dyson Daniels hit a personal best and filled up the box score to help the Atlanta Hawks beat the Wizards in Washington 120-105 in their first game against former star Trae Young.
Daniels racked up a career-best 17 rebounds and a season-high eight assists to go with eight points in 34 minutes as a team-best +21 for Atlanta’s second-straight win on Thursday (all times AEDT).
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The Aussie shot just 4-of-13 from the field — including 0-of-4 from 3-pointrange to continue his dire returns from beyond the arc — and had his first game of the season without a steal.
But his defensive presence was enormous in the win as Atlanta improved to 5-4 on the season.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 26 points led the Hawks in scoring in the absence of Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu tallied a 14-point, 16-rebound double-double.
It came in a game Quin Snyder shook up his starting line-up, with Pick 8 draftee Kingston Flemings replacing veteran CJ McCollum in the backcourt.
Anthony Davis posted 26 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks, Kyshawn George tallied 24 points and seven assists and Young tallied 18 points and six assists against his former side.
The Wizards fell to 4-4 overall.
WEMBY HAS FIRST 50-20 GAME IN SPURS HISTORY
Victor Wembanyama produced a career-high 52-point performance as the San Antonio Spurs battled past the Dallas Mavericks 112-111.
French superstar Wembanyama, whose previous best was a 50-point display in 2024, dominated at both ends of the court to power San Antonio to their sixth win of the season.
Wembanyama’s masterpiece included a record-breaking first-half that saw him reach the interval with 29 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
The 22-year-old would go on to finish with 52 points, 24 rebounds and eight blocks as San Antonio held off a ferocious second-half rally to claim victory.
Wembanyama, who was backed by 21 points from Dylan Harper and 17 from Stephon Castle, praised San Antonio’s “relentless” approach.
Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks scoring with 29 points, including five three-pointers.
– AFP
KNICKS DOMINATE AS GIDDEY’S BULLS STRUGGLE AGAIN
The New York Knicks have handed Josh Giddey and the Chicago Bulls another disappointing defeat, dominating from the opening quarter as Chicago’s struggles continued.
The Bulls have now lost their past five games, losing by an average of 19.2 points and sit at 1-7 on the season, with the Knicks wasting no time taking control of the contest.
New York came out firing, outscoring Chicago 43-21 in the opening quarter, with Jalen Brunson leading the charge.
The Knicks superstar scored 22 points in the opening quarter alone, outscoring the entire Bulls team while shooting an incredible 80 per cent from the field.
Things didn’t get much better for Chicago in the second quarter, with New York piling on another 41 points to take a commanding 84-52 lead into halftime.
From there, the Knicks were able to cruise through the second half to secure a dominant victory.
For Australian Josh Giddey, it was another tough night as he continues to struggle to find his best form to start the season.
Giddey finished with 10 points, six assists and just one rebound, whilst also committing three turnovers.
The Bulls have placed plenty of pressure on Giddey to lead their offence this season, following several changes to their roster during the offseason and late last season.
First-year head coach Tiago Splitter has admitted he is still looking for the right combination in his starting lineup, whilst also acknowledging the pressure on Giddey to run the team with a lack of other ball handlers around him.
Last season, Giddey had the likes of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu alongside him, but this season he has Norman Powell and Tre Jones, with Powell more naturally suited to playing as a shooting guard.
However, it isn’t just their offence that has struggled, with Chicago’s defence also becoming a major concern to start the season.
The Bulls are allowing a league-high 128.9 points per game, whilst sitting 29th in defensive rating and 27th in opponent field goal percentage, with teams shooting 48.5 per cent against them.
Their performance against the Knicks was no different, giving up 135 points as New York shot 50 per cent from the field and 43 per cent from beyond the arc.
It left NBA insider Brett Siegel stunned by just how poor Chicago has been defensively, taking to social media to deliver a brutal assessment.
“This year’s Chicago Bulls team may be the worst defensive team in NBA history,” Siegel wrote.
“The No. 1 ranked HS team in America could probably score 100+ points against them.”
For the Knicks, Brunson continued his impressive start to the season, finishing with 33 points on 58 per cent shooting from the field, whilst Karl-Anthony Towns added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
New York also had 12 of their 14 active players score in the contest, highlighting just how dominant they were against Chicago.
The victory moves the Knicks to 4-4 on the season, as they look to build some momentum following their difficult start to the year.
76ERS CONTINUE RED-HOT START WITH REVENGE OVER PISTONS
The Philadelphia 76ers have continued their incredible start to the NBA season, improving to 8-1 after taking down the Detroit Pistons 112-106.
It was an impressive performance across the board for Philadelphia, with all five starters finishing in double figures as they claimed their fourth straight victory.
Jaylen Brown led the way with 30 points and seven rebounds, whilst Joel Embiid was dominant with 26 points and 15 rebounds on 44 per cent shooting from the field.
LeBron James also put together an impressive performance, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, whilst Tyrese Maxey added 19 points and VJ Edgecombe finished with 11.
The victory was made even sweeter for the 76ers, with their only loss of the season coming against the Pistons earlier in the season.
On that occasion, Detroit travelled to Philadelphia and claimed a 106-93 victory, although the 76ers were without Embiid and Edgecombe.
But this time around, with both players back in the lineup, Philadelphia made the most of their opportunity for revenge on Detroit’s home floor.
The 76ers now hold the best record in the NBA at 8-1 and have won their past four games, with matchups against the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors to come in the coming days.
For the Pistons, the loss sees them fall to 6-2 on the season, despite another impressive performance from superstar Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham finished with 26 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, alongside two steals and a block as he continued his strong start to the campaign.
Duncan Robinson was also impressive for Detroit, finishing with 27 points whilst shooting 67 per cent from the field and 64 per cent from beyond the arc.
The Pistons will also be hoping to welcome Jalen Duren back in the coming weeks, with the big man continuing his recovery from a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined for much of the opening weeks.
SGA DOMINATES AGAIN AS THUNDER GO BACK-TO-BACK AGAINST CAVALIERS
It was almost rinse and repeat for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who claimed back-to-back victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way once again.
After taking down Cleveland 117-112 yesterday, the Thunder backed it up with another impressive performance in front of their home fans, claiming a 124-116 victory.
And just like yesterday, it was Gilgeous-Alexander who stole the show, putting together another dominant performance.
The reigning MVP finished with 43 points, eight assists and three rebounds in yesterday’s victory, before backing it up with another 42 points, eight assists and four rebounds today.
Ajay Mitchell was also impressive for Oklahoma City, finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Isaiah Hartenstein made his presence felt with 12 rebounds, four assists and three points, whilst Alex Caruso also made his return from injury.
For the Cavaliers, both Donovan Mitchell and James Harden put together strong performances, but it wasn’t enough to get Cleveland over the line.
Mitchell finished with 27 points, six assists and three rebounds, whilst Harden added 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Australian Tyrese Proctor was also handed an opportunity in the starting lineup in just his second NBA game, and made the most of his minutes.
Proctor finished with 11 points, one rebound and one steal in 21 minutes of action, shooting 57 per cent from the field and 66 per cent from beyond the arc.
It was another solid performance from the Australian, who has continued his impressive shooting to start the season.
The victory sees Oklahoma City improve to 6-2 on the season, having now won back-to-back games after suffering consecutive defeats to the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks.
The Thunder will now face the Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers twice, Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks in their next five games, giving them a strong opportunity to build on their impressive start to the season.
For Cleveland, the loss sees them fall to 4-4 on the season, with two matchups against the defending champion New York Knicks coming in their next three games.
AROUND THE NBA
The Minnesota Timberwolves have claimed an impressive 117-107 victory over the red-hot Houston Rockets, despite still being without superstar Anthony Edwards.
LaMelo Ball led the way for Minnesota, finishing with 20 points, six assists and three steals, whilst fellow guard Ayo Dosunmu was also impressive with 21 points and six assists.
For the Rockets, Alperen Sengun put together another strong performance, finishing with a triple-double of 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Kevin Durant also made his presence felt, finishing with 21 points, five rebounds and two assists, but it wasn’t enough to get Houston over the line.
The victory sees Minnesota improve to 6-3 on the season, despite continuing to play without Edwards.
Meanwhile, the Rockets fall to 7-2 after having their strong start to the season interrupted by the Timberwolves.
The Denver Nuggets have moved above .500 after taking down the Toronto Raptors 128-109.
Led by another dominant performance from Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets were able to cruise to victory, with the superstar finishing with a triple-double.
Jokic finished with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, continuing his impressive start to the season.
Jamal Murray was also strong for Denver, finishing with 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds, whilst Aaron Gordon added 17 points.
For the Raptors, RJ Barrett led the way with 22 points and five rebounds, whilst Scottie Barnes put together another solid performance with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The victory sees Denver improve to 4-3 on the season, whilst Toronto falls to 4-4 following the defeat.