A legend has called out the Nets over their use of Ben Simmons.
Plus the basketball world has heaped praise on a rising Aussie.
Catch up on all of the day’s action in our NBA Wrap!
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New Orleans went on a 15-5 run with Morant resting and stretched the spurt to 19-5 for a 104-91 edge with 6:12 remaining, Alvarado scoring five in the run and Nance and McCollum each adding four.
Nance finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots while Alvarado had 12 points and six assists.
The Pelicans, among the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting clubs, went 18-of-38 from beyond the arc, helped by direction from coach Willie Green and confident drives to the hoop to draw in defenders and set up passes to the outside when no shot develops.
“Coach put an emphasis on the early easy pass, making sure guys had a shot ready,” McCollum said. “Guys have been in the gym a lot working on catch and shoot threes and tonight we shot them.
“All the times we force our way into the paint we’ve got to trust our judgment. It’s a credit to the guys making the right pass and making the right play.” Memphis forward Jaren Jackson Jr. made his season debut after undergoing right foot surgery following the 2022 playoffs, contributing seven points, six rebounds and five blocked shots.
Dyson Daniels tallied three points, nine rebounds, a steal and a block in 17 minutes, getting an extended run with Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson missing the game with a bruised right foot.
And the young Aussie received plenty of praise for his output.
The Grizzlies said Wednesday they’d be without guard Desmond Bane for two to three weeks with a sprained right big toe. Bane is averaging career highs of 24.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists a game with career-best shooting percentages from the floor and 3-point range.
Meanwhile Jaren Jackson Jr. made his season debut following off-season foot surgery, registering five blocks.
NETS SMASHED AS LEGEND CALLS OUT SIMMONS BENCHING
The Brooklyn Nets have been blown out on the road by the Sacramento Kings 153-121.
Kevin Durant led the Nets with 27 points, however it was otherwise a game to forget for Jacque Vaughn’s side as it allowed the Kings to shoot over 60 per cent from the field including 48 per cent from downtown.
Ben Simmons came off the bench yet again and was productive with a season-high 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in 20 minutes.
And speaking on TNT at halftime with the Nets down 73-54, NBA legend Charles Barkley questioned whether Simmons was being best utilised as a reserve.
“What are the Brooklyn Nets doing? They’ve only got one guy who can score in the starting unit,” he said.
“Ben Simmons can only play really fast, and I don’t understand bringing him off the bench at all.
“He needs to be playing to help those guys get easy baskets … obviously his confidence is shot right now, but he can push the ball and he can help them get some easy baskets.”
Terrence Davis dropped a team-high 31 points off the Kings bench on an ultra efficient 12-for-16 shooting effort and seven triples to go with seven rebounds and three steals, while Domantas Sabonis had 17 points, seven boards and seven assists.
It marked Sacramento’s fourth-straight win to improve to 7-6 and go above .500 for the first time this season, while the Nets suffered their second-straight loss to drop to 6-9.
MAVS EDGE CLIPPERS AFTER LUKA MAGIC
At Dallas, Luka Doncic had game highs of 35 points and 11 rebounds to spark the host Mavericks over the Los Angeles Clippers 103-101.
Dorian Finney-Smith’s 3-pointer lifted Dallas level at 93-93 with 2:50 remaining in the fourth quarter. Then Dwight Powell stole the ball and set up Reggie Bullock’s 3-pointer that put the Mavericks ahead 96-93 with 2:02 remaining.
Bullock added another 3-pointer after a Clippers turnover to give Dallas a 99-93 lead with 91 seconds to play.
Nicolas Batum answered with a 3-pointer for the Clippers and Paul George added a layup to lift the visitors within 99-98 with 51 seconds remaining.
Doncic sank a 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining to stretch the Dallas lead to 102-98. George answered on a layup with 18 seconds to play and Bullock made only 1-of-2 free throws with 7.3 seconds to play to make it 103-100 as the Clippers looked for a 3-pointer to equalise.
Instead, the Mavs fouled Batum and he made a free throw then missed another, but Dallas grabbed the rebound and ran out the final seconds to secure the victory.
George led the Clippers with 23 points and Batum had 22 while Finney-Smith added 21 for Dallas.
ALL RESULTS
GRIZZLIES 102 PELICANS 113
CLIPPERS 101 MAVERICKS 103
KNICKS 118 JAZZ 111
SPURS 110 TRAIL BLAZERS 117
NETS 121 KINGS 153
