Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, acquired as part of Atlanta’s blockbuster trade that shipped Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, put the defensive clamps on Murray during Murray’s first game against his old team, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Murray was limited to shooting just 2-of-15 from the field against the Hawks, while Daniels notched 19 points on 50% field goal shooting.
Murray was the subject of frequent boos from the Atlanta home crowd, and couldn’t get much offense cooking against Daniels. Daniels has emerged as the defense-first backcourt partners the Hawks had hoped Murray would be when they first acquired him from the Spurs in 2022.
The 21-year-old Daniels is in the third season of his rookie-scale deal, and seems to be fitting in nicely with his new squad. So far this year, the 6’8″ guard is averaging a career-best 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3.0 assists a night.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- The Heat have sent rookie center Kel’el Ware to put in some reps with their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, for the first time, reports Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Ware has suited up for a grand total of 69 minutes across Miami’s first 20 contests this year. The 7-footer was selected with the No. 15 pick out of Indiana.
- The Wizards‘ epic losing streak has reached 15 games, approaching the team’s franchise record, writes Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. Washington tied that record, 16 straight defeats, just last season. The Wizards could potentially match or even break that tally. Washington next plays Dallas, Denver and Memphis, all West squad with winning records.
- Hornets center Mark Williams suited up for his first game in almost a year, a 110-104 defeat to Philadelphia on Tuesday. Williams has been sidelined with a lingering strained tendon in his left foot. Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes that the big moment signified a positive step forward for the young center. Notching just nine minutes of action, the 7-foot big man scored four points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line. He also pulled down three rebounds and blocked one shot.