Josh Giddey’s all-time NBA first as wild rise peaks on milestone night to help seal playoffs spot
Australia’s Josh Giddey turned the primary participant in NBA historical past to document a triple-double in every of his first three video games on the hallowed Madison Square Garden as his late-season surge continued Monday.
Giddey tallied 16 factors, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in 31 minutes for his Oklahoma City Thunder in a rollercoaster 113-112 win over the New York Knicks on the well-known venue.
Down by ten factors after three quarters, a surge to open the ultimate quarter took the Thunder previous the Knicks and up by as many as eight factors.
The pair traded the lead again and again with the sport happening to the wire, just for Giddey to ice the sport with an inbound help for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to attain with 2.1 seconds remaining.
New York’s Jalen Brunson – who had put the Knicks within the lead with 4.1 to go was controversially denied a foul on that shot – threw up a possible game-winner because the clock ticked down nevertheless it bounced quick off the rim.
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The win means the Thunder transfer solo high of the Western Conference with a 52-22 document and safe their berth within the playoffs, returning to the NBA post-season after a three-year absence.
Giddey’s tenth profession triple double additionally makes him simply the second OKC participant to achieve that mark, behind Russell Westbrook’s 138.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returned for the Thunder after a quad contusion noticed him dominated out of their final two video games, and managed 19 factors on 7-of-16 taking pictures, whereas Jalen Williams led the best way with 33 factors on environment friendly 14-of-18 taking pictures to go together with 8 assists.
Speaking of his teammates, Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned: “It won us the game. Clearly I didn’t have my best night but that’s what the team is for. They’ve had my back all season, they had my back again tonight.
We just came in here and did our job, everyone stuck to the script and we got our W.”
Jalen Brunson had 30 factors and seven assists for the Knicks, whereas Miles McBride had 19 and Isaiah Hartenson 17 to go together with 15 rebounds.
But the Knicks shot simply 41.3% from the ground and 30.2% from deep.
Since the NBA All-Star break, Giddey has stepped up in an enormous method for the Thunder.
‘How?! How did he do this?!’ | 00:35
In 53 video games earlier than the break, Giddey averaged 11.5 factors, 6.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per sport whereas taking pictures 44.7% from the ground and 32.5% from past the arc – properly beneath his averages from his first two seasons.
That was largely as a result of struggling to suit into a brand new position as an offensive contributor reasonably than chief playmaker.
But since then, he’s improved throughout the board – igniting a late-season spark for the Thunder.
And in his final 5 video games particularly, he’s averaged 22.8 factors, 9.0 rebounds, and seven.2 rebounds a sport, taking pictures 63.9% from the ground and 52.2% from three-point vary.
