While the Los Angeles Lakers are the obvious winners from last week’s shock Luka Doncic trade, one Australian is thriving in the Slovenian superstar’s absence.
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Dante Exum had his best game of the season as he helped an undermanned Dallas to a surprise 127-120 win over the defending champion Boston Celtics on Friday.
Exum, who only recently returned to the Mavericks line-up after missing the first 48 games of the season while he recovered from right wrist surgery, scored 15 points to go with five assists and a game-high plus-minus of +29.
Exum was on a hot streak from deep, going 4-for-6, and now has scored double figures in his past three games while he also played solid defence on Jayson Tatum in Friday’s game.
Tatum finished on 17 points in the loss, with Jaylen Brown leading the way for Boston on 25 points while Payton Pritchard chipped in with a handy 21 points, six rebounds and six assists off the bench.
As for Dallas, Klay Thompson had 25 points while Spencer Dinwiddie (22), Naji Marshall (20) and Max Christie (15) all hit double figures off the bench.
Doncic’s departure leaves Kyrie Irving as the Mavericks’ primary ball handler, although Exum has proven himself capable of taking on added responsibility as a playmaker in the past at Dallas.
Given he is an unrestricted free agent next summer, this could be the perfect opportunity for Exum to put himself in the shopfront window by making the most of his increased playing time.
Speaking earlier in the wake, Exum admitted the Doncic trade was a “real big shock”.
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“But I’ve been traded twice in my career so you just understand and learn how this business works and it’s just something you have to adjust to,” he added.
“… I’ve learned from being traded before that sometimes it’s not about you as a person or as a player, it’s just them looking at what they can do that is the best for the organisation. But on the other end for Luka, he has an organisation that wants him.
Of course, in some ways the move makes it more challenging for Exum to reintegrate himself back into the line-up, having been forced into increased playing time perhaps sooner than he would have expected.
“For me, it’s hard just trying to get accustomed to being in the team, the team dynamics have changed now,” he said.
“I’m trying to find my way, I’m trying to be a point guard and organise everything but also trying to find my breath. Hopefully that happens quick.”
JAMES’S 42 POINTS LEAD LAKERS OVER WARRIORS
LeBron James joined NBA icon Michael Jordan as the only players to score 40 points in a game at the age of 40, pouring in 42 on Thursday as the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Golden State Warriors 120-112.
James, who turned 40 on December 30, delivered another age-defying performance that featured a three-pointer from the half-court logo in the first half and a dagger three that pushed the Lakers’ lead to 115-106 with 1:08 remaining.
James’s sixth three-pointer of the night helped thwart a late surge that saw the Warriors slice a 26-point deficit to five points — 109-104 — with 3:40 remaining.
Warriors star Stephen Curry shook off a slow start to key the comeback, scoring 19 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter.
But James and the Lakers wouldn’t be denied. James added 17 rebounds, eight assists, one steal and one blocked shot as the Lakers won their fourth straight game and their 10th in their last 12.
“What do I think? That I’m old,” James said of joining the exclusive 40-at-40 club. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep.”
More seriously, James added: “The biggest thing is that we got the win. But anytime I’ve been named or (put) in the category with any of the greats it’s always humbling.”
It was all under the admiring eye of Luka Doncic, the 25-year-old Slovenian star acquired by the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday in exchange for big man Anthony Davis in a deal that rocked the NBA.
Doncic, nursing a calf injury, could make his Lakers debut as early as Saturday but Lakers coach JJ Redick indicated it would now more likely to be in Monday’s game against Utah.
The Warriors are also eagerly awaiting reinforcements in the shape of Jimmy Butler, whose acquisition at the trade deadline ended Butler’s acrimonious breakup with the Miami Heat.
With the deal finalized, Butler joined the Warriors in Los Angeles, where he said he was “just so happy to be playing basketball again” after being suspended three times this season by the Heat for conduct detrimental to the team in the midst of his trade demand.
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