Josh Giddey has career day against Knicks to inspire Bulls to stunning 29-year first

The Chicago Bulls are 5-0 for the first time since 1996-97 and Australian Josh Giddey is a big reason why.

The Bulls guard exploded for 21 points in the first half alone on his way to a career-high 31 in a 135-125 win over the New York Knicks, leaving Chicago as the only undefeated defeat in the Eastern Conference.

It has been a stunning start to the year for the Bulls, who recently have been a lock for the play-in tournament but not much more and are playing without star guard Coby White.

Without White, the Bulls have needed Giddey to step up as the clear top option in the backcourt alongside Tre Jones and he has done just that, falling just short of a triple double on Saturday with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

The most impressive number from Giddey’s performance against the Knicks, however, was the zero turnovers he had despite being Chicago’s primary creator.

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Giddey, who signed a four-year, $100 million ($154 million AUD) contract extension, finished last season showing marked improvement as a 3-point shooter and while it didn’t seem like it would be sustainable, he entered Saturday shooting 42.9 per cent from deep and continued to let it fly without hesitation from deep against New York.

The Knicks made a fast start to Saturday’s game, draining three of their first five 3-point attempts on the way to an early 14-7 lead.

But that began to cool off in the rest of the quarter, with New York making just two of its next 10 attempts as the Bulls warmed their way into the game after they picked up the pace.

New York just simply could not contain Chicago, both in transition and in the halfcourt, with Giddey heavily involved both as a passer and scorer.

Giddey had a pair of driving layups to open the game and then pounced on a bad Karl-Anthony Towns pass before putting it on a platter for Matas Buzelis on the transition dunk.

Jalen Brunson quickly scored for the Knicks on the other end but the Bulls came right back at them with Giddey once again at the centre of it, finding a wide-open Isaac Okoro for the 3-pointer.

Chicago had trimmed New York’s lead to 16-14 by that point and tied the game up soon after as Giddey put pressure on the rim and drew a foul, making both of his free throws.

While Giddey was in the thick of it early for the Bulls, it would be doing the rest of his teammates a disservice to not credit how well they were sharing it around with the ball movement and screening key to their success early in Saturday’s game.

The Bulls finished the first quarter with a 35-27 lead and when Giddey re-entered the game to begin the second, he quickly extended Chicago’s lead with a 3-pointer from the right corner.

That, again, came late in the shot clock after a series of passes and screens from the Bulls eventually helped get Giddey open and the Australian showed no hesitation in letting the ball fly from the corner.

The 3-pointers kept coming for the Bulls in the second quarter, with Giddey making four as the Knicks struggled with turnovers and lethargic defence to fall behind 72-53 at halftime.

At that point it looked like Chicago would steamroll its way to a fifth-straight win to open the season, but the Knicks had other ideas as they slowed the game down and went on a 26-9 run to reduce the Bulls’ lead to 84-79.

The Bulls steadied to kick back ahead 91-80 but an aggressive Towns ended the quarter with eight points in the last three minutes as Chicago took a 100-90 buffer into the final quarter.

That lead didn’t last long though with the slower pace continuing in the fourth, making it much harder for the Bulls to find easy points as the Knicks instead closed the gap to 115-113.

New York opened the fourth quarter like it did the first, making seven of its first eight 3-point attempts, but a flurry of points from Nikola Vucevic in the paint helped the Bulls stem the tide.

Vucevic then found a cutting Giddey, who had some key rebounds late in the game, for the layup that set a new career-high mark for the Australian as the Bulls held on for the win.

DYSON ‘THE BEST HE’S LOOKED’ IN BIG HAWKS WIN

Elsewhere, fellow Australian Dyson Daniels bounced back for his best game of the season as he helped the Trae Young-less Hawks to a big 128-108 win over the undermanned Indiana Pacers.

Daniels has struggled on the offensive end to start the season but seemed to benefit from Young’s absence.

The Bendigo bandit looked comfortable playing in a more on-ball role for the Hawks, finishing the day with a season-high 18 points to go with nine rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Much like the game against Brooklyn, it was a slow start from Atlanta despite Daniels and Jalen Johnson looking aggressive early as they both got to the rim for quick lay-ups.

Those were the only easy points for the Hawks, however, who were clearly struggling to get in an offensive rhythm without the injured Trae Young as the Pacers opened up a 17-6 lead.

It prompted Quin Snyder to call a timeout, and as was the case in the Nets game, he got an instant response as the Hawks went on a 16-5 run and ended the quarter on top 32-29.

Daniels had a few nice moments on both ends of the floor, first picking off a pass from Mac McClung that was intended for Ben Sheppard to set up a transition bucket as Keaton Wallace found Mo Gueye with the lob.

That tied the game at 22 and Daniels later got a floater to fall before drawing a foul to add two quick free throws on his way to six points in the opening period.

The Australian, who was also shouldering added responsibility as a ball-handler with Young sidelined, then found Onyeka Okongwu for a 3-pointer.

Okongwu put his mark on the quarter late with another triple, while also blocking a Pascal Siakam dunk as the Hawks carried plenty of momentum into the second.

Daniels too continued his fast start to Saturday’s game as he took on the undersized McClung for the finish early in the second quarter before going coast-to-coast soon after to put the Hawks ahead 41-37.

“This is the best he’s looked this season offensively,” declared Atlanta’s play-by-play commentator Bob Rathbun.

The Hawks commentary team revealed that before the game Daniels had said he was looking to be more aggressive at the rim against the Pacers, having shot at 39 per cent from within three feet of the basket compared to 68 per cent last season.

They weren’t just words from the reigning Most Improved Player either, with Daniels looking at his assertive best while also making smart plays as a passer after coming down with a defensive rebound and then finding Johnson for the dunk with an outlet pass.

There was a lot of that in Saturday’s game, with both teams pushing the pace and trading quick buckets as the Hawks took a 63-59 lead into halftime.

Atlanta quickly extended that difference after opening the third quarter on a 22-5 run with Johnson heavily involved on both ends.

He was particularly active on the boards with eight rebounds in the third alone while Zacharie Risacher came to life with 10 points as the Hawks ended the quarter on top 97-76.

The game was all but over at that point and Atlanta closed it out to claim a crucial win without Young, whose return to play is up in the air with an MRI to determine the full extent of his knee injury after he was initially cleared of a torn ACL.

As for the Pacers, they became the third team to start a season 0-5 after making the Finals and are the walking wounded at the moment, with five players out injured.