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Ben Simmons fouled out in 13 minutes of game time while Dyson Daniels, literally, soared to dazzling heights as NBA pre-season games continued on Saturday (AEDT).
After only managing a few minutes in the Pelicans’ third pre-season game with an ankle injury, Daniels was given ample game time off the bench against Atlanta — and made the most of his opportunity.
The Aussie finished with 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks from 20 minutes as the Pelicans defeated the Hawks 120-111 at Legacy Arena.
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And one particular rejection caught the attention of the NBA world.
AJ Griffin drove the ball down the court before attempting a one-handed dunk in transition.
Daniels, though, had other ideas, timing his leap to perfection and cleanly rejecting Griffin.
Daniels, who was selected by the Pelicans with their eighth overall pick in this year’s draft, has been described by his coach Willie Green as “fearless”.
“Defensively he doesn’t get rattled by not being able to score the ball at times,” Green added.
“He’s 19 and to have that level of maturity is pretty spectacular to see.”
Meanwhile, Nets fans got another glimpse at Simmons during Brooklyn’s 112-102 win over the Timberwolves … the emphasis being on glimpse.
The 26-year-old committed six fouls — three in the first quarter, two in the second then another in the third — to be fouled out of the game with 10.26 left in the third quarter. To that point, he’d only played 13 minutes.
He finished the game with two points, two rebounds and six assists
Simmons this season makes his long-awaited return to the court with new team Brooklyn after a tumultuous finish to his stint at the 76ers.
While there will be plenty of pressure coming from outside the organisation, Brooklyn coach Steve Nash recently made it clear he is not expecting Simmons to be an immediate revelation.
“I’m extremely excited about Ben, but it’s just not going to happen overnight,” he said.
“It’s a new group, new style of play, new roles, new teammates, new offence, new defence. All that stuff takes time.”
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