Josh Giddey has fallen two rebounds shy of his first triple-double of the season, but he continues to propel the still-undefeated Chicago Bulls.
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Instead, he notched a 20-point double-double in a dazzling performance as the Bulls made it four wins from four against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday (AEDT).
And pundits are starting to realise the error in their ways in “overreacting” to the four-year, $100 million ($154 million AUD) contract extension he signed in the pre-season.
The Bulls continue to be arguably the biggest surprise team in the East to begin the season, winners of their first four games, with two coming against East playoff teams from last season.
And on Thursday, Chicago’s latest victim was Sacramento, which now boasts two familiar faces in former franchise pillars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.
But it was Giddey and the Bulls who blitzed the visiting Kings after half-time, with the Australian point guard continuing his sparkling start to the season; posting 20 points on 50 per cent field-goal shooting, 12 assists and eight rebounds.
Giddey finished the night a staggering +27 — easily the most of any player on the court.
Chicago’s primary all-handler continues to do his best work driving downhill. In the first quarter, he spun up a nice floater in the lane for his sixth point on 3-4 field goal shooting in the opening period.
“Magic Giddey, he just gets into that lane and you don’t know what he’s going to do with that ball,” Bulls broadcast analyst and former franchise great Stacey King said.
The Bulls’ Australian floor general cut backside for a basket plus a foul late in the second quarter after more good movement without the basketball — a facet of the game he has always been proficient in.
Giddey lifted in the waning moments of the first half, notching two assists and scoring a transition basket to get Chicago within two points at half-time. The six-foot-nine guard had 12 points on 5-7 shooting.
In the third quarter, the 23-year-old again exhibited his burgeoning spin move, leaving Kings guard Keon Ellis in the dust on his way to the basket.
“Josh Giddey is just a really, really good player,” Stacey King said as the replay was shown.
“There was method to the madness (in trading for him). Everybody didn’t understand why (the Bulls) were trying to get all these young guys who’ve had relative success in the NBA.”
Giddey had his 10th assist of the night in the third quarter to put him in the triple-double conversation.
He later had his 12th assist of the night after driving downhill, drawing the defender and dishing at the last moment.
Giddey sends Daniels’ shot packing | 00:12
HAWKS’ BIG INJURY CONCERN AFTER DYSON’S MIXED BAG IN WIN
Meanwhile, Dyson Daniels had three steals as the Atlanta Hawks got back on track with a 120-108 win over the winless Brooklyn Nets.
The victory was soured, however, by an injury to superstar guard Trae Young, who sprained his right knee in a collision with teammate Mouhamed Gueye late in the first quarter.
NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that Young is scheduled for an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of the injury, although Hawks coach Quin Snyder told reporters post-game there are no concerns with a potential ACL issue.
It was panic stations early for the Hawks as they slumped to a 12-0 start to Thursday’s game, going 0-for-6 from field goals with both Jalen Johnson and Kristaps Porzingis uncharacteristically sloppy on their finishing.
The sluggish start forced coach Quin Snyder to call a quick timeout and he got the desired impact as the Hawks went on a 17-4 run to take the lead and prompt Brooklyn to call its own timeout.
Daniels, who has struggled early in the season on offence, had a few nice moments as he hit a running layup and later found Zacharie Risacher for a transition slam after a Nickeil Alexander-Walker steal.
The Hawks led 34-27 at the end of the first quarter and pushed that lead out to 64-51 by halftime, with Luke Kennard going 3-for-3 from deep.
The Nets made a fast start to the third quarter, opening on a 13-6 run to cut Atlanta’s lead to 70-64, with Porter Jr. the only real consistent source of offence for Brooklyn.
The Hawks were able to steady with Daniels driving to the paint and passing it off to a cutting Kristaps Porzingis for the finish, with Atlanta pushing the buffer back out to 77-66 after a Risacher 3-pointer.
But Porter Jr., who was traded to Brooklyn during the offseason, continued to make shots for the Nets and while the Hawks took a 94-83 lead into the final quarter, it still hardly felt like a comfortable position to be in.
That was even more true after Porzingis fouled out late in the fourth, seeing Onyeka Okongwu check in with the Hawks still holding onto a 115-106 advantage at that point.
The Nets were able to close the gap to 115-112 and threatened late but a key defensive rebound from Daniels, who swatted a missed Nic Claxton tip shot in the direction of Kennard, helped save the day for Atlanta.
Daniels finished the day with seven points, six assists, four steals and three steals. It was a solid output from the Australian, but his finishing at the rim remains a major concern early in the season.
The 22-year-old told foxsports.com.au in the offseason that he had been working on his mid-range game and consistency as an outside shooter ahead of his second year with the Hawks.
“I’ve been working on becoming a more consistent and reliable shooter from the outside and then just being able to handle pick-and-roll, create for others,” Daniels said.
“We want to play fast this year, so it’s going to be a lot of getting out in transition, becoming a better finisher at the rim, adding to my bag in the mid-range and being able to knock those shots down.
“So, it’s kind of more of the all-around game that I’m focusing on. I think the biggest key for me is being that reliable outside shooter, especially with the team we’ve got this year. There’ll probably be a lot of open looks.”
‘MY GOODNESS’: BIG PRAISE FOR AUSSIE ROOKIE IN LOSS
Earlier, Cleveland’s three-game winning streak came to a sudden halt at the hands of Boston but Australian rookie Tyrese Proctor was a shining light in the 125-105 loss.
Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics scoring 30 points, including 13 in a 20-3 run to end the second quarter, while Sam Hauser closed the first quarter with five 3-pointers.
Superstar Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, who popped up on the injury report late with a hamstring injury, made all four of his 3-point attempts for 12 points in the first quarter as Cleveland opened up a 42-40 lead.
But he wasn’t really able to get it going beyond that point, with Mitchell making just one of his final eight shots, finishing the day going 5-for-12 from the field on his way to 15 points.
In what was a tough night for the Cavs, Proctor showed improvement on the defensive end and earned praise from ESPN commentator Doris Burke for his “very high level” of play on that end.
“That young man, Proctor, is working so hard on the defensive end,” she said.
Proctor had one great possession defending Payton Pritchard, forcing him to pass it up to Derrick White, who the Australian then followed through a screen and played physical defence on before being called for a foul.
Proctor, who had two points in the loss, also forced a missed shot while guarding White later in the game.
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