Luckless Australian Dante Exum’s rough run with injuries has continued while Ben Simmons returned from a sideline stint of his own and Josh Green caught fire for the Hornets.
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There were several Australians in action on Saturday in the NBA, but Exum lasted just seven minutes in Dallas’ 133-96 loss to the Houston Rockets.
ESPN’s Shams Charania later reported Exum suffered a broken bone in his left hand and would be out indefinitely, joining an ever-growing casualty ward for the Mavericks.
It is the latest injury setback for Exum, who missed the first 48 games of the season while he recovered from right wrist surgery.
Kyrie Irving (torn ACL), Dereck Lively II (ankle), Daniel Gafford (knee), Anthony Davis (adductor), Jaden Hardy (ankle), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (wrist), Kai Jones (quadriceps) and P.J. Washington (ankle) are all unavailable.
Jock Landale had six points, five rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes for the Rockets, who improved to 42-25 with the win.
Elsewhere, Green came up big for a season-high 20 points to go with four steals as the Hornets defeated the Spurs 145-134.
Green made six 3-pointers in the win as Charlotte tied an NBA record for threes made in a single half with 18.
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In other news, Simmons returned from a seven-game absence with a knee injury and was solid in a 121-98 win for the Los Angeles Clippers over the Altanta Hawks.
Simmons passed up a few opportunities near the rim and looked a bit hesitant in general at times as a scorer, but often still made the right play by finding open teammates as he went on to finish with two points, four assists, two steals and two rebounds in 17 minutes.
Simmons did get a nice floater to go in the third quarter as he capped off a 19-0 run.
The Clippers rode a 35-8 third quarter on their way to victory against a Hawks team that fell apart offensively, with Dyson Daniels having a rough shooting night (2-for-12 from the field).
Daniels had three steals in the loss, extending his streak of games with at least one steal to 38-straight, which is the longest in the NBA since Victor Oladipo (64 games, 11/8/17-4/8/18).
Australian rookie Johnny Furphy also got a run on Saturday, albeit only two minutes, as he recorded one steal in a 112-100 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
CAVS CONTINUE WINNING WAYS
The Cleveland Cavaliers romped to a franchise record 16th straight victory, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 133-124 to extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland, who had been forced to overcome a double-digit deficit in Tuesday’s win over Brooklyn, had no such difficulty in Friday’s clash in Tennessee.
The Cavs, who have already clinched their place in the postseason, maintained their charge towards securing the Eastern Conference No.1 seeding with a dominant offensive display.
Cleveland — who have now won 20 of their last 21 games — took a stranglehold on the contest with 75 points in the first half to open up a hefty 18-point cushion at the break.
Memphis, who came into Friday’s game on a run of four straight wins, never looked like reeling in the visitors in the second half as Cleveland closed out a victory that sees them improve to 56-10.
Evan Mobley led the Cavs’ scoring with 22 points while Darius Garland finished with 20. Seven Cleveland players finished in double figures.
Ja Morant led Memphis with a season-high 44 points in a losing effort. Cleveland now lead the second-placed Boston Celtics by 8.5 games.
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CELTICS BOUNCE BACK
The reigning NBA champion Celtics bounced back from a home defeat to Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City with a 103-91 road victory against the Miami Heat that officially booked their playoff ticket.
Derrick White helped close the deal for Boston, rattling in 12 fourth quarter points as the Celtics outscored Miami 25-14 in the final frame to clinch a win that lifts them to 48-19 in the East.
Jayson Tatum led Boston’s scoring with 28 points, including five three-pointers, while Jrue Holiday finished with 25.
Andrew Wiggins top-scored for Miami with 23 points.
NUGGETS WIN THRILLER AGAINST SHORT-HANDED LAKERS
A thrilling game in Denver meanwhile saw the injury-ravaged Los Angeles Lakers come within a whisker of snatching an improbable victory over the Nuggets before the hosts squeezed home 131-126.
The Lakers, missing starters LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes, clawed their way back from a 13-point third quarter deficit to edge into the lead in the final minute after 37 points from Austin Reaves and 32 points from rookie Dalton Knecht.
But hopes of victory were dashed in the dying seconds, with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook combining for eight unanswered points to give Denver victory.
Denver star Jokic finished with 28 points, with Murray adding 26 and Christian Braun 22. Denver improved to 43-24 and are second in the West, while the Lakers (40-25) dropped to fifth after their fourth straight loss.
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