Daniels, Simmons step up as their NBA teams slide

Big contributions from Australians Dyson Daniels and Ben Simmons could not prevent their NBA teams continuing form skids.

Young gun Daniels backed his 15 points with six assists, six steals and a block but his Atlanta Hawks went down 128-112 at home to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

The Hawks were without their big star Trae Young (heel) but that absence was offset with the Grizzlies missing Ja Morant.

Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 22 points starting for the Grizzlies in place of the injured Morant.

The Hawks (14-15) had a bright start to the season and reached the in-season NBA semi-finals but have now lost four of their last five matches.

Simmons also put up 15 points on Saturday to go with his 10 assists and six rebounds for the Brooklyn Nets in a 105-94 home loss to the lowly-placed Utah Jazz.

It was Simmons' first double-double of the season for the Nets (11-17), who have lost seven of their last nine games.

Fellow Australian star Josh Giddey missed a second straight game for the Chicago Bulls due to a sprained ankle as they lost 123-98 to defending champions Boston Celtics (21-6) at home.

The result reversed the upset 117-108 win the Bulls (13-15) had claimed over the Celtics in Boston two days earlier.

Celtics ace Jayson Tatum scored a season-high 43 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and dished out 10 assists.

It was his third career triple-double and the first for a Celtics player that included 40 or more points since the great Larry Bird scored 49 with 14 rebounds and 12 assists against Portland in 1992.

Darius Garland scored 26 points to lead six players in double figures as the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to a league-best 25-4 with a 126-99 win over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers.

In Sacramento, LeBron James had 32 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Kings 103-99 to sweep a two-game set.

While in Orlando, Cole Anthony scored 27 of his 35 points in the second half as the Magic equalled their largest comeback in franchise history to beat Miami 121-114 after trailing by 25 points.

The home side also trailed by 22 entering the fourth quarter before outscoring the Heat 37-8.

Their 25-point comeback ties a mark set in 1989 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

For Milwaukee, the loss of Giannis Antetokounmpo with back spasms proved no issue as Bobby Portis came into the starting five and scored a season-high 34 points in the 112-101 win over Washington.

Khris Middleton had 18 points, six rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks, while Portis finished with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Antetokounmpo missed his third game of the season and the Bucks also played again without Damian Lillard (right calf strain) after winning the NBA Cup earlier this week.