Josh Giddey has surpassed a number of legendary NBA names on Sunday after recording his 22nd career triple-double in a tense win over the struggling Washington Wizards.
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The Wizards led the majority of the game and looked to be on track for just their second win of the season, only for the Bulls to rally from a 16-point deficit to claim a 121-120 victory.
With it, Washington dropped to 1-15 on the season while the Bulls improved to 9-7, bouncing back after a heavy 143-107 loss to the Miami Heat on Saturday.
Giddey was one assist short of a triple-double in that game and stuffed the stats sheet again on Sunday, scoring 18 points to go with 12 rebounds, 11 assists and three steals.
With it, Giddey moved into 23rd on the NBA’s all-time triple-double list and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Kyle Lowry, Michael Ray Richardson, and Chris Webber in the process.
Nikola Vucevic led the way for the Bulls with 28 points and 12 rebounds, continuing his strong start to a season which has given Chicago plenty to think about considering he has long been the subject of trade rumours.
But this Bulls team looks a genuine chance of competing in the Eastern Conference and with Vucevic’s quality play on both ends, it may be hard to justify moving off him at this rate without a significant offer.
Coby White is another star Bulls player who had been the subject of trade rumours in the offseason but he too impressed in his first start since returning from injury, putting up 20 points in the win.
Second-year forward Matas Buzelis had a handy 13 points in the win to go with three blocks.
The Wizards had a chance to steal the game late after White missed a long 3-pointer but some strong pressure from Tre Jones forced a turnover.
Flagg’s best too good for Pelicans | 00:52
DYSON ANSWERS THE CHALLENGE IN BIG HAWKS VICTORY
Elsewhere, fellow Australian Dyson Daniels scored a win over his former team as Kristaps Porzingis led the way for the Atlanta Hawks in a big 115-98 victory over the sorry New Orleans Pelicans.
Daniels, who has struggled to get his offensive game going as of late, looked like he had been challenged by the coaching staff to find his shot early with six quick points.
In fact, the Bendigo bandit scored all six of Atlanta’s first points of the game as the Pelicans opened up a surprise 13-6 lead, but it was all downhill from there for the struggling Western Conference franchise, who was without lead scoring option Zion Williamson.
The Pelicans had all kinds of issues containing Porzingis all game, with the Hawks big man scoring a team-high 29 points in the win to go with seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Daniels, meanwhile, finished with 14 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists. He only had one steal but that didn’t speak to just how effective the Australian was guarding impressive Pelicans rookie Derik Queen, who had 20 points.
The loss saw New Orleans drop to 2-15 while Atlanta improved to 10-7, rebounding after back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Pistons and Spurs.
THOMPSON TEES OFF ON MORANT
Four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson let his feeling beknown toward Ja Morant after the Memphis star mouthed off after the Grizzlies’ 102-96 win over Thompson’s Dallas Mavericks.
Morant, who was sidelined for a third straight game with a calf strain, went at Thompson verbally, and the players had to be separated to avoid the tensions escalating any further.
The bad blood between Thompson and Morant dates back to the 2022 when Thompson’s Golden State Warriors eliminated Morant’s Grizzlies on their way to winning the championship.
Thompson had a season-high 22 points in the loss, but the 35-year-old missed a chance to tie the game from three-point range with 20.6 seconds left on the clock.
Morant then said to teammate Cam Spencer during an on court interview: “Tell him who the best shooter in the house was. It wasn’t bruh from Golden State.”
Thompson saved his savage response for once he was in the locker room, telling reporters: “He’s a funny guy with no accountability.”
“Just running his mouth. He’s been running his mouth a long time,” Thompson continued.
“It’s funny you run your mouth when you’re on the bench. It’s kinda been the whole story of his career so far, just leaving us wanting more.
“We all want to see him out there and do his best, but he’s just been letting a lot of other stuff get in the way of that. We need that in the NBA.
“We need our best players to be out there, and when you’re a star, it comes with a great responsibility. I hate to see that go to waste.”
Thompson was referring to Morant’s suspensions in the past three years – he served bans of eight and 25 games respectively for flashing handguns and displaying handguns on an Instagram Live steam, as well as a one match ban for a confrontation with a coach.
HARDEN EXPLODES IN CRUCIAL CLIPPERS WIN
Earlier, James Harden scored a team-record 55 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers in a 131-116 NBA victory at Charlotte, extending the Hornets’ losing streak to five games.
Harden scored 27 points in the first half for the Clippers, who snapped a three-game losing streak in improving to 5-11 on the season.
The 36-year-old guard made 17-of-26 shots from the floor, 10-of-16 from three-point range, and 11-of-14 free throws in his record-setting performance while also passing off seven assists.
Croatian center Ivica Zubac contributed 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Clippers.
Kon Knueppel led the Hornets with 26 points while Brandon Miller added 21 for Charlotte, which fell to 4-12.
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