Josh Giddey picked up right where he left off at Madison Square Garden with another huge performance on Sunday (all times AEDT) to continue his hot form post the All-Star break.
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The Aussie in Chicago’s 121-117 loss to Phoenix racked up 24 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists with three triples and three steals while shooting a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line in 35 minutes.
The nine free throws made set a new career-high return for Giddey, who made four of those foul shots inside the last 4:09 of the game in his attempts to drag the Bulls over the line in the tight contest at United Center.
A Coby White 3-pointer got Chicago within three points at 118-115 with 34.1 remaining, but Bradley Beal, who returned to Phoenix’s staring line-up, responded with his own dagger three to clinch the win for the visiting team.
It marked Giddey’s 17th double-double for the season and the 71st of his career as he takes on greater offensive responsibilities for the Bulls in the second half of the season following Zach LaVine’s trade to Sacramento.
Giddey has clearly been one of the big winners of the trade deadline.
Sunday’s near triple-double comes off the back of arguably Giddey’s best showing for the 2024/25 campaign in New York on Friday, tallying a season-high 27 points and 16 rebounds to go with four assists.
The 6-foot-8 guard has very much found his groove — averaging 18.4 points on 48 per cent shooting from the field, seven rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals and one block in the month of February.
During that span he’s also been knocking down 2.6 3-pointers at a 47 per cent clip and shooting 77 per cent from the free throw line in promising progress of areas he’s historically struggled.
It comes as the 22-year old approaches the biggest contract extension of his career to date, set to become a free agent at the end of this season.
Keep up this level of play and Giddey will earn himself a lucrative payday, with a report last year stating the Aussie was seeking an annual US $30 million deal
While Giddey is flourishing, the 22-35 Bulls are clinging onto a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.
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LUKA’S BEST LAKERS SHOWING (via AFP)
Luka Doncic delivered a dominant 32-point performance as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped the Denver Nuggets’ nine-game winning streak with an impressive 123-100 victory on the road in Colorado.
Doncic, playing only his fourth game for the Lakers since his blockbuster trade from Dallas, was in scintillating form as the Lakers conjured a statement wire-to-wire win over their Western Conference rivals.
The Slovenian superstar was the standout performer on a night when the Lakers saw four players finish with 20 points or more for the first time this season.
Doncic finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while LeBron James backed him with 25 points. Austin Reaves added 23 points and Rui Hachimura 21.
“I’m starting to feel a little bit more like myself — that’s why I was smiling the whole game,” Doncic told ESPN afterward.
“There’s still a lot of room for improvement and this is only my fourth game. Chemistry takes time. But you saw today that things are getting better.”
Doncic had signalled he was in the mood for a stellar performance early in the first quarter, arrowing a couple of superb passes to James and Jaxson Hayes to help the Lakers take an 8-3 lead.
A sublime three-pointer from Doncic put the Lakers into a 31-18 lead as the visitors remained firmly on top.
Doncic finished the first quarter with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists and was soon back into the groove in the second quarter.
A delicate lobbed assist to James for an alley-oop dunk made it 60-52 before Doncic unfurled a 24-foot three-pointer to put the Lakers 11 points up.
The Nuggets closed the deficit to 63-54 at the half, but the Lakers remained in control for much of the third quarter, taking a nine-point advantage into the final frame.
The Lakers continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over in the fourth, and Doncic put Los Angeles into a 20-point lead at 117-97 with just over four minutes remaining after another Denver turnover to effectively ice the game.
The Lakers improved to 34-21 with the win and remain fifth in the West. The Nuggets fell to 37-20 with the defeat.
Elsewhere, the Philadelphia 76ers problems continued with a seventh straight defeat as they slumped to an agonizing 105-103 home loss against the Brooklyn Nets.
Sixers ace Tyrese Maxey leveled it for Philadelphia with a three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining.
But Nic Claxton’s tip layup at the buzzer snatched victory for Brooklyn, who improved to 21-35 with the win.
Cameron Johnson led Brooklyn’s scorers with 23 points, while Maxey’s 31-point haul went in vain for Philadelphia.
Sixers star Joel Embiid had another frustrating outing, finishing with only 14 points from 4-of-13 shooting and being benched for the fourth quarter.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse defended Embiid’s contribution as he continues to struggle with a niggling knee problem.
“He’s giving us what he can,” Nurse said of Embiid. “He’s not himself, we all know that. He’s not, certainly, the guy that we’re used to seeing play at a super high level.
“But I commend him for giving us what he can.”
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