Young Australian guard Dyson Daniel made his satisfaction clear as he returned from injury to boost the Atlanta Hawks in a 126-111 BNA win over his former team, the New Orleans Pelicans.

Daniels scored 16 points, adding five rebounds, three assists and a steal in Sunday night’s win in New Orleans.

The 21-year-old starter had missed his team’s previous two games with a hip flexor injury.

Jalen Johnson led with 29 points for the Hawks while Trae Young had 23 and Larry Nance added 14 from the bench as the visitors snapped a four-game losing skid, improving to 3-4.

The No.8 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Daniels joined Atlanta from the Pelicans in the offseason as one of four Pelicans players plus draft picks acquired in exchange for guard Dejounte Murray.

Daniels and Nance didn’t hide the satisfaction they got from producing against the club that traded them in that deal.

Nance blew a kiss to the Pelicans’ bench after a 3 late in the third quarter. Daniels celebrated a 3 with a hand gesture that resembled spraying gunfire across New Orleans’ bench.

The Pelicans (3-4) were hard hit by injury, with Murray and star forward Zion Williamson among those ruled out, leaving Brandon Ingram as the club’s only usual starter in uniform.

Ingram scored 32, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a Hawks squad with six players with at least 11 points.

Australian Ben Simmons started and had four points, six assists and six rebounds as his Brooklyn Nets (3-4) were beaten 106-92 by the Detroit Pistons (2-5) at home.

In Dallas, Luka Doncic had 32 points and nine rebounds and seven assists and Daniel Gafford scored a season-high 18 points as their Mavericks beat the Orlando Magic 108-85.

The defending Western Conference champions outscored the Magic 30-9 in the first 9:30 of the second quarter en route to a 65-40 halftime lead.

- with AAP