Daniels locks up ‘frustrated’ superstar in huge upset; Aussie goes off on Wemby: NBA Wrap

Dyson Daniels’ Atlanta Hawks produced their best win of the season in a 121-116 upset of the New York Knicks as No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher went off for a career-high 33 points.

Daniels was huge on the defensive end of the court locking down Jalen Brunson, who still put up 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting in Thursday’s game (all times AEDT).

However Brunson was evidently frustrated at times by Daniels’ smothering defence that constantly suffocated the Knicks superstar and halted him from getting to his usual spots.

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While Daniels had it going defensively, he struggled on the other end of the floor, shooting 3-of-16 from the field for six points including missing all of four attempts beyond the arc.

The Aussie added five rebounds, two assists, four steals and one block.

His offensive funk was offset by Risacher’s best performance yet, with the 19-year old Frenchman shooting 11-of-18 from the field with six threes, seven rouunds, three steald and two blocks.

Jalen Johnson added 23 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists and Trae Young dropped in 23 points with 10 assists.

Atlanta, who won its second game from its last three to improve to 4-5, withstood a big performance from Karl Anthony-Towns (34 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks) among all Knicks starters in double figures.

It marked New York’s second-straight loss to fall to 3-4.

In Houston, Jock Landale scored 11 points with six rebounds in a season-high 18 minutes off the bench as the Rockets downed San Antonio 128-100.

Landale entered the game with 4:14 remaining in the first quarter, and by the 8:19 mark of the second term, had nine points as Houston led 41-24.

Perhaps most impressively, Landale was matched up against Spurs defensive maestro Victor Wembanyama.

The Aussie big man provided great minutes overall, finishing a +15 as Houston, led by 21 points apiece from Fred VanVleet and Jalen green, improved to 5-3 to sit fourth in the West.

It comes after Landale (averaging nine minutes from four games) has played inconsistent minutes so far this season, now behind Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams in the Rockets’ centre pecking order.

Adams missed Thursday’s game against the Spurs due to a knee issue.

San Antonio, who’s currently without coach Gregg Popovich due to health concerns, fell to 3-5.

ELSEWHERE …

Stephen Curry outdueled Olympic teammate Jayson Tatum as the Golden State Warriors extended their strong start to the season with a 118-112 road victory over the Boston Celtics.

The heavyweight clash had been billed as a chance for Tatum to make a point after being benched for multiple games by Golden State’s Team USA coach Steve Kerr during August’s gold medal-winning Paris Olympics campaign.

But while Tatum impressed after coming alive in the second half to finish with a 32-point haul, it was Curry and the Warriors who came away with a battling victory at the TD Garden.

“Like we always say ‘Have each other’s backs’ — and guys are stepping up and committing to it,” said Curry, who had 27 points and nine assists with seven rebounds and four steals.

“We’re capable of beating anybody. It’s hard. You’ve got to embrace the challenge. But this is a different year and we’re trying to take baby steps and develop an identity,” added Curry, who moved up to 30th on the NBA’s all-time scorers list, leapfrogging Charles Barkley (23,757 points).

Curry was given offensive support from Andrew Wiggins who scored 16 points, while Buddy Hield added 16 from the bench, along with Kyle Anderson (11 points) and Jonathan Kuminga (10).

“We’re very deep and you don’t know whose night it’s going to be. I love the vibe that we have but it’s only eight games — a long way to go,” Curry told ESPN.

Tatum meanwhile scored 24 points in the second half to help Boston turn a 14-point third quarter deficit into a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter.

But Boston’s rally faltered down the stretch as the Warriors and Curry fought back to claim a win that leaves Golden State second in the Western Conference with a 7-1 record.

Warriors coach Kerr meanwhile was given a hostile reception by Celtics fans over his handling of Tatum at the Olympics, booed loudly during pre-game introductions.

Kerr however shrugged off the controversy in pre-game remarks with reporters, acknowledging that he “didn’t enjoy” benching Tatum in a game against Serbia in Paris.

“Those are not fun decisions,” Kerr said.

“But our guys were all amazing, they committed to each other, they committed to winning a gold medal… that’s the real story.

“But we live in a time where we have to talk about stuff that actually doesn’t really matter,” he added.

In other results, the Cleveland Cavaliers continued their unbeaten start to the campaign with a 131-122 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on the road in Louisiana.

The Cavaliers improved their franchise record start to the season to 9-0 and are the only undefeated team left in the Eastern Conference.

Donovan Mitchell led the way once more with 29 points including three three-pointers on a night when six Cavs players finished in double figures.

In Memphis meanwhile, LeBron James scored 39 points but could not stop the Los Angeles Lakers from falling to a 131-114 blowout defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies improved to 5-4 with the win while the Lakers are now 4-4.

-AFP

ALL RESULTS

PISTONS 107 HORNETS 108

MAGIC 111 PACERS 118

KNICKS 116 HAWKS 121

WARRIORS 118 CELTICS 112

SPURS 100 ROCKETS 127

LAKERS 114 GRIZZLIES 131

CAVALIERS 131 PELICANS 122

BULLS 99 MAVERICKS 119

THUNDER – NUGGETS

HEAT – SUNS
76ERS – CLIPPERS

RAPTORS – KINGS