![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Australian guard Daniels scored 11 points on an efficient 5-8 shooting from the field, adding six rebounds, eight assists and swooping for two steals in an equal-team-high 38 minutes of action. <\/p>\n
But typically, it was his industrious work on the defensive end of the floor that drew plaudits from pundits. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to love how active Dyson Daniels has been in this first half. He\u2019s been active on both ends of the floor,\u201d former Hawks player and broadcast analyst Brian Oliver said in the second quarter. <\/p>\n
In particular, Daniels played the role of chief irritant for superstar New York guard Jalen Brunson, a two-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA Second Team member. <\/p>\n
After Brunson committed an eight-second backcourt violation, the Hawks broadcast suggested Daniels was having a significant impact on the All-Star. <\/p>\n
\u201cA little bit of frustration; I think Dyson Daniels has made it difficult for him with the level of physicality,\u201d Oliver said. <\/p>\n
Play-by-play caller Bob Rathbun added: \u201cHe may be getting in his head a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Atlanta led New York by 13 points at half-time, as Daniels was on track for a triple-double with seven points, five rebounds and six assists. <\/p>\n
The \u2018Great Barrier Thief\u2019 also hadn\u2019t let Brunson \u2014 who has a knack for getting aggressive inside the key \u2014 get to the free-throw line while guarding him. <\/p>\n
Daniels picked up right where he left off to start the second half, making a trademark floater before getting loose for a breakaway dunk to take his points total to 11 for the night. <\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, he is doing a masterful job of running this ball club,\u201d Oliver said of the Aussie in the third quarter as the Hawks opened up a 20-point lead. <\/p>\n
The Bendigo native continually forced passes or tough shots from Brunson, staying in front of the diminutive guard with his shrewd defensive instincts and point-of-attack prowess. <\/p>\n
\u201cDaniels has had him (Brunson) in solitary confinement tonight,\u201d Rathbun said. <\/p>\n
Daniels exited for a well-deserved spell late in the third, and hilariously, Brunson converted an and-one at Kristaps Porzingis\u2019 expense just seconds after the Aussie had checked out. <\/p>\n
Brunson struggled mightily with Daniels as his primary defender, but thanks to screen actions and rotations, he worked his way to 24 points \u2014 though it came on an inefficient 10-24 shooting and a measly 1-10 clip from three-point range. <\/p>\n
The Knicks cut Atlanta\u2019s lead to just 13 early in the fourth as the home side made its anticipated run. <\/p>\n
In a crucial play, with New York within 11 points and three minutes remaining, Daniels secured a massive offensive rebound off a missed shot and dished to Jalen Johnson for the and-one dunk to put the visitors back up 14. <\/p>\n
Post-game, forward Nickeil Alexander-Walker spoke glowingly of Daniels\u2019 unafraid mindset. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s relentless, he keeps going,\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he\u2019s not afraid of a matchup, he\u2019s not afraid to, in this day and age, get embarrassed and have guys score and take it to heart. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think Dyson has a good amount of amnesia when it comes to that \u2014 like \u2018I don\u2019t know what happened\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept showing up, and he was tenacious on the ball, and he was what we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dyson Daniels flashed on both ends of the floor and played a monumental role on a rival star…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-388371","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}