Josh Giddey continues to rewrite the record books, with the Australian putting up a career-high 19 assists as the Chicago Bulls fell short of a remarkable comeback on Friday AEDT.
A visibly frustrated Giddey otherwise had a tough night from a shooting perspective, struggling to get his shots to fall early and finishing the game 4-for-11 from the field with nine points, six rebounds and five turnovers.
But even on a shaky shooting night, Giddey found a way to impact the game and help lead the Bulls on a frantic comeback as Chicago rallied from as many as 29 points down in the third quarter to lose 115-110 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Giddey had 12 assists in the first half alone, the most by a Bulls player in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98).
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While the Bulls threatened to steal the game late, they couldn’t overcome a huge performance from Cavaliers guard James Harden who had his best showing since being traded to Cleveland mid-season.
Harden, playing without backcourt partner Donovan Mitchell, had 36 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while Evan Mobley chipped in with 26 points and 14 rebounds for Cleveland.
Tre Jones led the way for the Bulls with 20 points, while fellow Australian Lachlan Olbrich was a coach’s decision DNP in the loss.
Luka & LeBron dominate in Houston | 02:27
Elsewhere, superstar LeBron James tied the NBA record for most regular-season games played as his Los Angeles Lakers took on the Miami Heat.
James took the court for his 1,611th regular-season game, equalling Hall of Famer Robert Parish’s record, and can break the mark when the Lakers visit Orlando on Saturday.
James, playing his unprecedented 23rd season, already holds a host of NBA records, including points scored, field goals made and field goals attempted.
His latest milestone comes in a return to Miami, where he played for four seasons and won the first two of his four NBA titles.
The 41-year-old is coming off a 30-point performance on spectacular 13-of-14 shooting in the Lakers’ win at Houston on Wednesday.
The Lakers have won seven straight games to surge from sixth to third in the Western Conference.
— with AFP
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