Giddey stuffs stocking as Bulls pinch win from Hawks
Shayne Hope |
Australian guard Josh Giddey has posted the fastest triple-double in Chicago Bulls franchise history, leading his team to a thrilling 126-123 NBA comeback win over Atlanta.
As fellow Boomers star Dyson Daniels sat out for the Hawks on Tuesday (local time) with hip soreness, the Bulls rallied from a huge deficit to extend their winning streak to four games.
Giddey registered 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, 15 assists and 11 rebounds – but also had seven turnovers.
The 23-year-old brought up his 25th career triple-double in 20:02 on court and was key to the Bulls’ victory alongside Coby White (24 points) and Nikola Vucevic (21 points, 15 rebounds).
Only the legendary Michael Jordan (28) and Scottie Pippen (15) have had more triple-doubles in a Bulls uniform than Giddey (14).
And the Melburnian’s tally of seven triple-doubles this season is the second-most in the league behind Denver superstar Nikola Jokic, who has 14.
Two days after combining for 302 points in the highest-scoring game of the season, Chicago and Atlanta gave defence a little more consideration in their latest clash.
The Bulls, who scored 83 first-half points in the previous encounter, trailed almost the entire game and fell as much as 18 points behind during the second period on the way to a 55-68 half-time deficit.
They were down by 13 entering the final period and still faced a double-figure deficit with less than six minutes remaining.
But they finished hot on a 19-6 run to complete a 3-0 season series sweep of the Hawks.
White hit the go-ahead free-throw with 1.9 seconds remaining after an away-from-play foul called against Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher, and Vucevic then added another two from the stripe to seal the result.
“We stuck with it and we’ve been in this situation before where we’ve had to claw out of a hole,” Giddey said post-game.
“It sucks that we dug ourselves that hole but credit to the guys. We didn’t throw the towel in, stuck with it, trusted the process and got stops.
“When we’re playing our brand of basketball we’re a tough team to play against.”
Jalen Johnson (24 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds) and Trae Young (22 points, 15 rebounds) impressed for the Hawks.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 21 points after replacing Daniels in the starting line-up.
Tempers flared midway through the final period when Young and the Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu were involved in an off-the-ball altercation.
Players from both sides rushed in to remonstrate and took some time to be separated by referees.
“It was kind of good for us. It gave us a little bit of energy that we probably needed (when we were) down 10 or something,” Giddey said.
“That kind of got the crowd into it as well, so it’s always fun when little stuff like that happens and gets both teams fired up.”
Chicago (14-15) have now won five of their past six games, while Atlanta (15-16) have lost four straight and are 2-8 in their past 10 outings.
Elsewhere, Australian centre Jock Landale had 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for Memphis in their 137-128 win over Utah.
Compatriot Johnny Furphy had six points and three rebounds for Indiana in a 111-94 loss to Milwaukee.
San Antonio beat Oklahoma City 130-110 in a clash of teams with the best records in the Western Conference.
No.1 draft pick Cooper Flagg had 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as Dallas beat Denver 131-130.
AAP
