He has not yet reviewed the images, but we suggest he do so. In the fourth quarter of their match against the Lakers, Luka Doncic delivered a marvelous laser pass towards Dante Exum at the head of the racket. With only his left hand, through the arms of his opponents, and without seeing his teammate… “ I didn't expect this pass to happen. I'm glad I got my shot in “, displays Mavs backlinerelieved not to have spoiled the evening's offering.
This sequence clearly illustrates the evening spent by the former Partizan Belgrade player. For most of the evening, the Slovenian was caught in twos by the Californian defense, leaving his partner free at the back.
17 points in the fourth quarter!
“ For any shooter who sees a little daylight and sees their first shot go up and go in, the basket is as wide as the ocean », formulates Tim Hardaway Jr. (32 points with 5/10 from afar), who also took advantage of the spaces generated by the playmaker.
And what an ocean for Dante Exum, a shooter who is much less referenced: only 30% 3-point success in his career. This night while he once again took advantage of the absence of Kyrie Irving, to reach his best mark of the season (26 points), he converted 7 of his 9 long-range attempts, a career record.
He was especially decisive in the last quarter with… 17 points scored (also career record) fueled by five award-winning baskets, including the “dagger” in the last minute.
“ Simply amazing, he was amazing for us “, Luka Doncic can marvel, while his coach Jason Kidd sees the mark of the latter's confidence in his teammates: ” If it's not Tim, it's Exum and then the next guy. Tonight, Exum was the one he was looking for. »
What makes the Lakers regret their defensive strategy? “ We have a game plan, we stick to it. Dante signed the 3-point game of his career, hats off to him “, retorts LeBron James, impassive. “ By trying to put more guys in front of Luka, we decide who we are going to leave behind a little. The numbers showed that Dante could be that guy. But he's a professional, a hell of a player. Tonight was his night », Adds Darvin Ham.
22 points on average since he started!
“ They kind of left me wide open. I had no choice, I had to do it. I showed that I had confidence in myself to shoot. I'm happy with the result, but I think the mindset going forward is that these are the shots I have to keep taking if they defend me like that », Develops the 28-year-old player, better known for his defensive qualities.
The one who considers himself first of all as a player who penetrates ensures that “ it started in LA (editor’s note: the Mavs were on the road there at the end of November, against the Clippers and the Lakers) and the other teams started to pivot on me. So since then, I've been in the gym working. » His work is paying off today. For three games, starting each time, he has averaged nearly 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
| Dante Exum | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2014-15 | UTH | 82 | 22 | 34.9 | 31.4 | 62.5 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 4.8 |
| 2016-17 | UTH | 66 | 19 | 42.7 | 29.5 | 79.5 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 6.2 |
| 2017-18 | UTH | 14 | 17 | 48.3 | 27.8 | 80.6 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 8.1 |
| 2018-19 | UTH | 42 | 16 | 41.9 | 29.0 | 79.1 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 6.9 |
| 2019-20 * | All Teams | 35 | 14 | 47.1 | 34.9 | 74.4 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 4.5 |
| 2019-20 * | KEY | 24 | 17 | 47.9 | 35.1 | 73.2 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 5.6 |
| 2019-20 * | UTH | 11 | 8 | 43.5 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.2 |
| 2020-21 | KEY | 6 | 19 | 38.5 | 18.2 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 3.8 |
| 2023-24 | DAL | 19 | 14 | 50.0 | 28.6 | 65.2 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 6.4 |
| Total | 264 | 18 | 41.3 | 30.4 | 75.5 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 5.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
