Dyson Daniels’ uncompromising defence was again on full show despite the Atlanta Hawks’ failed comeback attempt against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
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The third-year guard finished with 18 points on 7-17 shooting and added a staggering seven steals, three rebounds and two blocks.
The seven steals were a career-high for Daniels, while they were the most in a single game by a Hawks player since 2010.
The Bendigo native troubled Detroit superstar Cade Cunningham for a large portion of the evening, having been assigned the daunting task by head coach Quinn Snyder.
Daniels missed his first pair of three-point attempts of the game — both from the corner — amid a 0-4 start from the field.
However, it kickstarted a run of three consecutive baskets for the up-and-coming Australian guard, who surprisingly put up nine shots in the first quarter alone.
Daniels hit a floater from point-blank range to get on the board, before stealing a Cunningham pass and taking it the other way for a transition score.
He then hit a second floater to reduce Atlanta’s first-quarter deficit to nine points, prompting a timeout from Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
“He is relentless on defence and loves it,” Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins said after Daniels blocked a Detroit shot.
Daniels finished the first period 3-9 shooting for eight points, along with one steal and one block, but he was a -11 — thought it must be noted all five Hawks starters were net negatives to start as the visitors trailed by 17 points after one.
The 2022 No. 8 draft pick continued to guard Cunningham when he checked back into the game in the second quarter.
“We noticed in the game against New York Daniels’ effect on Jalen Brunson. He seems to be — and Cade’s had a tonne of assists — but in terms of the offence from Cunningham, it seems like he’s having the same effect tonight,” Hawks broadcast announcer Bob Rathbun noted.
Cunningham had averaged 23.0 points per game to start the season but managed just two points in the first half on 1-6 shooting.
“Daniels is one of few guys in this league, from a defensive standpoint, that puts that type of pressure on you consistently throughout the game,” Wilkins added.
“It makes it a lot tougher on Cade … Daniels is really forcing him to give it up … (Cunningham) is not the offensive threat (tonight) that he’s been.”
On the topic of Daniels’ defence, Rathbun added: “And he’s just emotionless on his face. He just goes out there and gets right in your jersey — he doesn’t mind talking a little bit of trash, though.”
The athletic 6’8 guard took just one shot in the second quarter after nine first-period heaves, finishing the half 3-10 from the field for eight points to go with three steals, as the Hawks trailed by 13 points.
While Cunningham started to see a few of his shots fall in the second half, Daniels also brought more offence to the table — knocking down his first three-pointer of the night to reduce the Hawks’ deficit to nine points, before later going at Cunningham for a close-range deuce.
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“Guys like Dyson Daniels, with the good defence (and) creating havoc (have been key to this comeback),” Rathbun noted as Atlanta crept to within six points in the third period.
Later, in the game’s final minute, Daniels hit a clutch triple from the corner to bring the Hawks to within one, before forcing a Cunningham miss on the next possession down the floor.
However, after superstar Hawks guard Trae Young put Atlanta ahead one point with just seconds remaining, Cunningham finished over Daniels to give Detroit a one-point lead.
That would prove the final margin after Onyeka Okongwu’s dunk attempt at the rim was blocked by Cunningham.
SIMMONS’ STUNNING PLAY AS NETS ALMOST PULL OFF UPSET
Ben Simmons had one of his most complete games of the season as the Brooklyn Nets pushed the defending champion Boston Celtics all the way, falling just short of a huge upset in a 108-104 loss.
Simmons, who will not play on Sunday against Cleveland in the second game of a back-to-back, was heavily involved early in the game and finished with eight points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
Cam Thomas, as expected, led the way for the Nets with 30 points while Jayson Tatum top-scored for the Jaylen Brown-less Celtics with 33 points.
Yet he and all of Boston’s players were made to work for their points against a scrappy Nets team that has quickly exceeded expectations this season, already winning four of their first five games.
Cam Johnson had the hot hand early, scoring five early points to spark a 9-0 Brooklyn run to open the game.
Simmons checked in halfway through the first quarter with the Nets still up 16-4, playing the point center role he had taken on while Nic Claxton was eased into the season off the bench.
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Simmons shared the court with Dennis Schroder, Thomas, Jalen Wilson and Ziaire Williams – finding the latter cutting towards the rim with a pinpoints pass to extend Brooklyn’s lead.
It was a nice first touch for Simmons, who was executing well as Brooklyn’s primary facilitator and screener in the five-out offence, finishing the first quarter with four points, two assists and a steal.
One minute he was pushing the pace to connect with Williams again for the finish and the next he was slicing to the rim himself, getting the floater going and adding another bucket soon after to put the Nets up 28-16.
Boston went on an 8-0 run to close the quarter, with Brooklyn taking a 28-24 lead into the second despite 11 points from Jayson Tatum.
The signs were just as strong from Simmons in the second quarter, fighting for a defensive rebound at one point and finding Thomas for the finish with an outlet pass.
The Nets looked at their best when playing with pace and Simmons was certainly helping them achieve just that, although coach Jordi Fernandez went to the Simmons-Claxton pairing for a few minutes before swiftly substituting the Australian out of the game with four minutes left in the quarter.
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Claxton capped off another solid Nets period with an emphatic block on Tatum as Brooklyn took a 51-49 buffer into halftime on the back of 20 points from Thomas.
But Tatum answered back in the third quarter, scoring 11 quick points to put the pressure back on the Nets, who led 71-70 entering the final four minutes of the period.
Brooklyn responded with two quick buckets to jump back ahead, with Simmons making a driving layup and then later closing out the quarter with a laser pass to Williams at the death after beating Tatum with a spin move.
Again, the result was still well and truly in the balance entering the final quarter, with the Nets up 78-76.
Simmons headed back to the bench with the Nets still leading 88-85 late in the fourth, only for Brooklyn to struggle to get its shots falling outside of a confident Schroder 3-pointer.
That triple allowed the Nets to regain the lead after briefly falling behind, but Boston went right back ahead soon before a trip to the free throw line saw Thomas tie it up at 92-92 entering the final 90 seconds.
The Nets had a few chances to take the lead, with Schroder using his speed off the mark to beat a pair of Celtics to defenders to the cup only to fail to get the finish.
Active hands from Dorian Finney-Smith later forced a turnover, but once again didn’t lead to points.
In the end, the Celtics weren’t able to land the dagger late either, with the game going to overtime tied at 94-94 before Boston closed it out to win 108-104.
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