Dante Exum has a massive 26-point performance against Lebron’s Lakers

Dante Exum scored 26 points and shot 7/9 from behind the arc. The Mavericks are undefeated when Exum starts. 

Dante Exum stole the show for the Dallas Mavericks in their match on Wednesday morning against Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks were down two points heading into the fourth quarter. They ended up winning the match 127-125 following an explosion of points by Exum and three pointers by the Aussie in the final period. 

Exum scores 26 points, hits 7 threes

Wednesday morning’s matchup between the Lakers and the Mavericks in Dallas was billed as a battle between Slovenia’s Luka Doncic and the legendary Lebron James. Both players ended up scoring more than 30 points each in this match, but it was Australia’s own Dante Exum who stole the show.  
 
The Melbourne-native contributed to his Mavericks team throughout the match, but he really turned it on in the fourth quarter when the Mavs needed him most. Exum scored 17 points in the fourth quarter. 15 of these points came from beyond the arc. Thanks to Exum’s contribution, the Mavericks won the match 127-125.  
 
Luka Doncic assisted several of Exum’s three-pointers in the fourth. The Slovenian finished the match with 33 points, 17 assists, and 6 rebounds. Exum, meanwhile, finished the match with 26 points, 7 threes, and 3 assists.  
 
The Lakers’ stars also had big games. Lebron nearly had a triple-double. He scored 33 points, assisted 9 buckets, and grabbed eight rebounds. Antony Davis scored a match-high 37 points and snagged 11 rebounds.  
 
This victory brings the Mavericks record up to 16-8, which is good enough to see them sit in 3rd place in the Western Conference right now. The Lakers are 14-11 and 6th in the West.  

Exum’s return to NBA stardom after Euro odyssey

Dante Exum has emerged as a key player for the Mavericks in recent weeks following an injury to Kyrie Irving. The 28-year-old has played 20 games for Dallas this season. He has started the four games. In those four matches, Exum has averaged 17.5 points and looked like the perfect backcourt partner for Luka Doncic.  
 
Few people would have predicted Exum would be putting up these kinds of numbers for the Mavericks this season. After playing over 200 NBA games for the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Australian point guard spent the last two seasons outside of the NBA playing for Barcelona in Spain and for Serbia’s Partizan.  
 
If you asked Exum himself, even he probably would have told you that his time as an NBA star was over.  Thankfully for Exum, and Australian basketball, we were all wrong about him. It now seems like Exum will play a big role for the Mavericks throughout the rest of the season.  

NBA community praises Exum 

If you don’t trust us about how impressive Exum’s journey back to the NBA is, listen to what some other NBA experts have to say about Exum’s path.  
 
Vince Carter, who played in the NBA for over 20 years, praised Exum for seizing the opportunity, saying that it’s something a lot of players would struggle to do.  
 
Ric Bucher, FOX Sports’ leading NBA analyst, said of Exum “[I’m a] big fan of guys like Dante Exum…[He] went overseas for 2 years, improved & found his way back. That’s resilience. Respect.” 
 
Doncic, Exum’s teammate and the Mavs’ superstar, called the Aussie “Simply unbelievable,” and said that Exum has “been amazing for us.”

To his credit, Exum has not let the praise go to his head. “Tonight, they kind of left me wide open,” Exum said, downplaying his own good performance.“ 
 
Barring injury, Exum will suit up for Australia at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The betting sites have the Boomers tipped as one of the favourites, alongside the US and Canada.