Dyson Daniels was inauspicious in the Atlanta Hawks’ loss to an Eastern Conference power; on the same day his superstar teammate was at the centre of a bombshell trade revelation.
The Australian guard failed to assert himself as the travelling Hawks fell to the Toronto Raptors 118-100 for the second time in three days.
Watch NBA with ESPN on Kayo Sports | Stream an average 9 LIVE Regular Season games per week plus the best of the NBA Playoffs.| New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Daniels made just four of 13 shot attempts for 11 points, with six rebounds and three assists. He was a net -24 in his 38 minutes played.
Early in the first quarter, Daniels made one of his favourites shots — a running floater in the lane — to open his scoring account for the night, but to call it a torrid evening for the Aussie thereafter would be an understatement.
While he’d progressively upped his scoring in the first half of this season from 7.5 points per game in October to 15.5 early in January, Daniels was infrequently involved on offence as the Hawks quickly fell behind the East four-seed Raptors.
The defensive-minded guard had two personal fouls by early in the second quarter, and while he returned late in the half, he failed to have a significant impact on the contest.
In 17 first-half minutes, Daniels had just two points on 1-6 shooting with two rebounds and was a -22 in his time on the court.
The Bendigo native was barely sighted in the third quarter but made two shots from close range early in the final period to take his then-tally to seven points.
The vast majority of Daniels’ shots come from inside the three-point arc — described by Hawks broadcast analyst Brian Oliver as “a little reluctant to shoot the three” — having missed his past 15 three-point attempts.
With a tad over four minutes left in the game, Daniels spun impressively to lose his defender and score the layup to get the Hawks within eight points. It was his final make of the game.
In a rarity, the defensive menace did not record a steal. Daniels was the runaway NBA steals leader last season.
76ers extend Knicks losing streak | 00:51
The Hawks are now 2-9 in their past 11 games, and the result comes as Trae Young, who missed the game with a quad contusion, was engulfed in trade reports on Tuesday.
ESPN insiders Marc Stein and Shams Charania both detailed that Young’s management had been working with Atlanta on arranging a trade for the four-time All-Star.
In eight seasons as a Hawk, Young has helped lead the franchise to three playoff appearances, including a dream run to the East finals in 2021.
But amidst the emergence of 24-year-old forward Jalen Johnson and persistent defensive liabilities, Young has become expendable in the Peachtree State.
And while it was reported by Marc Stein that the Washington Wizards have emerged as a “legitimate destination” for the long-range shooter, senior reporter at The Athletic Sam Amick says the Sacramento Kings have “no interest in a Young deal”.
“That has been the Kings’ stance for quite some time now – even with rumblings about a Young-for-Zach LaVine swap – and I’m told it remains unchanged,” he wrote on X on Tuesday.
And while Stein and Charania’s reporting hints at an urgency around dealing Young, Amick writes there’s no guarantee a Young-Atlanta divorce is imminent.
“In the absence of clarity regarding legitimate trade suitors for Young, and with league sources indicating that his market was widely considered minimal, it remained entirely possible the Hawks will have to resolve his future in the summertime,” he wrote.
NBA’S BEST SUDDENLY IN CONCERNING HOLE
The reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder suddenly look beatable — and vulnerable.
The Thunder have lost four of their past eight games, and the most recent of that stretch came on Tuesday in utterly disenchanting fashion; falling 124-97 at home to the lowly Charlotte Hornets.
A 34-17 second quarter paved the way for the 13-23 Hornets to upstage the 30-7 hosts, led by 28 points and seven threes from Brandon Miller and 23 points from outstanding rookie Kon Knueppel.
The Hornets, who grabbed 52 rebounds to the Thunder’s 33 and held a 23-13 edge in second-chance points.
Even 20 Charlotte turnovers, leading to 26 Thunder points, couldn’t help Oklahoma City, who never led after the opening minutes and connected on just 36.6 percent of their shots from the field.
Reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was held to just 21 on an inefficient 7-21 field goal shooting and a net -20 in 30 minutes.
Oklahoma City remains in clear possession of the Western Conference no.1 seed but are now only four games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs — who are 3-0 against the rival Thunder this season.
It means OKC’s streak of 24 victories against Eastern Conference foes came to an end.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Oklahoma City wouldn’t panic after dropping six of 12 games since their blazing 24-1 start to the season.
“We’ll evaluate it as we do every game, learn from it and then we’ll turn the page and try to be a better team,” he said after the Thunder were held below 100 points for the first time this season.
PISTONS CRUSH KNICKS AS EAST SWINGS
In Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 29 points and handed out 13 assists to propel the Pistons to a 121-90 victory over the Knicks in a duel of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
Detroit improved to 27-9 and stretched their lead atop the East to four games over the Boston Celtics — who overtook the Knicks for second spot in the conference with a 115-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Javonte Green added 17 points off the bench for Detroit and Jaden Ivey chipped in 16 for a Pistons team without injured starters Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 25 points, but he had precious little scoring support. Miles McBride added 17 off the bench and Mikal Bridges scored 10, but Karl-Anthony Towns scored just six points on one-of-four shooting and OG Anunoby made just one of three shots on the way to five points.
“Obviously we knew there was a little extra to this game,” Cunningham said of the first meeting between the teams since the Knicks eliminated the Pistons in the first round of last season’s playoffs.
“But (we’re) just trying to continue what we’ve been doing all year and trying to keep our momentum.” Brunson kept the Knicks in touch early with 12 points in the first quarter and New York trailed by just one point after a strong finish to a tight first frame.
But nine Knicks turnovers in the second quarter helped the Pistons push their lead to 64-54 at half-time.
Cunningham’s 15 third-quarter points matched the Knicks’ total for the period — New York’s lowest scoring quarter of the season leaving the Pistons firmly in control.
Knicks coach Mike Brown said New York didn’t match the physicality of the Pistons.
“It’s pretty simple,” he said. “They just physically kicked our ass. There’s no ifs and buts about it.”
Discussion about this post