Aussies in NBA: Delly records 12 assists in losing effort
It’s been a hot start for the Aussies in the NBA and Matthew Dellavedova has done his part, dishing out a season-high 12 assists in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 112-106 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHBlfgRedUY
Dellavedova’s 12-assist effort against the Pelicans was the second highest of his career, tying a mark he has reached twice previously – in a 113-108 win over the Washington Wizards in April 2015 and in a 122-100 victory over the Detroit Pistons in April 2014. Both of those games came when Dellavedova was still a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It was the third time Dellavedova has fallen one assist shy of his career-high, a 13-assist outing he had against, ironically, Milwaukee in November 2015.
![pasted-image-at-2016_11_11-06_04-pm pasted-image-at-2016_11_11-06_04-pm](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9d5e5c7-a11e-4583-bb15-adbbf99f98aa_687x765.png)
Graph via Statmuse and Jayme Markus.
Dellavedova complemented his 12 dimes with seven points and five rebounds, but it wasn’t enough, as the Bucks fell to 4-4 on the season, giving the Pelicans their first win of the 2016-17 campaign.
Despite his reasonable stat line, though, Dellavedova will be kicking himself after only managing to spilt a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left and the Bucks down 108-105. On the very next possession, Anthony Davis hit a jumper, ending any chance of a Milwaukee comeback.
Dellavedova is averaging 8.8 points, 6.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and a steal, while shooting 43.5 percent from the field in his first season with the Bucks. All those numbers are career highs, as Dellavedova leads Milwaukee in assists.