Dyson Daniels lit up for a season-high 27 points and stuffed the stat sheet as the Atlanta Hawks downed the Philadelphia 76ers.
But Josh Giddey and the Chicago Bulls came crashing back down to earth with a second loss to the West’s last-placed New Orleans Pelicans this season in Zion Williamson’s return.
Daniels produced arguably his best performance yet of the campaign. He was massive on both ends of the floor, finishing with 27 points on 13-of-19 shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks in 39 minutes of Monday’s contest (all times AEDT).
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The rising Aussie gun fell just one-point shy of his career-high 28.
Jalen Johnson added his fourth-straight triple-double (12 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists) and Atlanta narrowly outlasted the Sixers at home 120-117.
Paul George led all scorers with 35 and Joel Embiid (22 points, 14 rebounds) and VJ Edgecombe (26 points) also stepped up for a Philly team missing Tyrese Maxey.
Daniels scored four-straight points for Atlanta to maintain a four-point buffer with 1:15 remaining in the fourth quarter, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker nailed a pair of free throws after consecutive Philadelphia 3-point misses to ice the win.
After a slow start to the season offensively, Daniels has now averaged 17.5 points on 50 per cent shooting, 6.4 rebounds, 4.4 assist and 1.2 steals over his last five games
“He’s long and I think he’s just tough. He’s coming up with the ball, because that’s the competitor he is. Any way he can impact winning, he’s going to do it,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said of Daniels post-match.
The 22-year old has gotten more touches with Trae Young sidelined as the star guard nears a return from a seven-week knee injury.
However Kristaps Porzingis will be out for at least the next two weeks for further evaluation of an illness.
Porzingis, who’s missed eight of the last 10 games, was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) last season while playing for the Boston Celtics and missed significant time.
The win saw the Hawks improve to 15-12 overall to sit a game behind the East’s No. 3 seeded Boston Celtics and four games inside the play-in.
Chicago, meanwhile, is now four games outside the play-in after dropping its eighth game from its last nine at the hands of the lowly-ranked Pelicans.
The Bulls went down 114-104 at home after New Orleans powered away in the fourth quarter including a 10-0 run inside the final five minutes to effectively put the scoreboard out of reach and silence the United Centre crowd.
Giddey had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the defeat.
The Aussie delivered a touching tribute to victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack, with ‘Australia’ and a love heart written on his shoes.
Chicago, after a bounce-back win over Charlotte on Saturday that snapped a seven-game losing streak, slipped to 10-15 this season following a 6-1 start.
It comes ahead of a tough stretch in the Bulls’ schedule. They host the Cavaliers on Thursday before away games in Cleveland and Atlanta twice.
Williamson scored 18 off the bench in his return from an adductor strain and Trey Murphy and Jeremiah Fears both put up an equal game-high 20 points.
Jordan Poole also returned from injury as the Pelicans, now basically at full strength again, tied together consecutive wins for the second time this season to improve to 5-22.
ALL RESULTS
Wizards 108 Pacers 89
Hornets 119 Cavaliers 111
76ers 117 Hawks 120
Bucks 82 Nets 127
Kings 103 Timberwolves 117
Pelicans 114 Bulls 104
Lakers 116 Suns 114
Warriors 131 Trail Blazers 136
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