NBA Wrap: Giddey plays career-low minutes in epic OKC win as fellow Aussie continues statement stretch
Josh Giddey performed a career-low quarter-hour on Sunday as Oklahoma City pipped Nikola Jokic and the reigning champion Nuggets 118-117 after a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s turnaround bounce shot with 1.4 seconds remaining.
Gilgeous-Alexander completed with 25 factors, Jalen Williams added 24 and rookie Chet Holmgren had 17 factors, 11 rebounds and 9 blocked pictures for the Thunder.
Jokic had 24 factors and 12 assists for the Nuggets, who led by eight factors with 3:33 to play however misplaced at residence for simply the second time this season.
For Giddey although, Sunday’s career-low in minutes was significantly disappointing given it got here after arguably his greatest efficiency of the season in a good loss to the Kings.
Giddey had 18 factors, eight rebounds, 4 assists, three steals and a block in that recreation however managed simply 4 factors, 4 assists and two rebounds in opposition to the Nuggets.
It is tough to inform if this can be a signal of issues to come back for Giddey given Williams performed nicely defending Jokic so the shortage of minutes might have been extra dictated by match-up.
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Brunson Burner drops 50 on Suns! | 01:30
STEPH COMES UP CLUTCH AS WARRIORS SCORE CRUCIAL WIN
Elsewhere, Stephen Curry scored 16 of his 37 factors within the fourth quarter because the Golden State Warriors held on for a much-needed 124-120 NBA victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Curry made seven of seven makes an attempt within the ultimate interval and Klay Thompson made a pair of key three-pointers within the final 4 minutes because the Warriors — who had led by as many as 18 factors — prevented a second-half collapse and ended their three-game shedding streak.
Cam Thomas scored 41 factors and Spencer Dinwiddie added 16 for the Nets, who took their first lead for the reason that first quarter on Mikal Bridges’s three-pointer with 9:12 left within the fourth quarter.
After a tense trade of leads, a Curry layup gave the Warriors a one-point lead with 6:46 remaining they usually wouldn’t path once more.
It was a morale-boosting win for a Warriors group that has struggled to hold on to leads, and which remains to be digesting the indefinite suspension of star Draymond Green after he struck Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic whereas flailing his arms within the newest in an extended line of on-court incidents.
“It’s been a lot of conversations, a lot of noise around us,” Curry mentioned.
“The game of basketball presents a lot of challenges on the court, but the friendships that you have and the connections that you have — especially with a guy like Draymond who we’ve been to war with for over a decade — all that stuff does weigh on you.”
Wemby double double lifts Spurs | 01:06
KINGS STAR ERUPTS FOR 47 POINTS, AUSSIE SHINES FOR MAVS
Keegan Murray was the star in Sacramento, draining 12 three-pointers — two shy of Warriors star Thompson’s NBA single-game report — on the way in which to 47 factors within the Kings’ 125-104 victory over the Utah Jazz.
King missed simply one in all his first 13 makes an attempt from past the arc, setting a report with 11 straight, however missed his final two.
In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns scored a season-high 40 factors and pulled down 12 rebounds and Anthony Edwards added 37 factors for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 127-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Jimmy Butler was the hero in Miami, drilling a step-back bounce shot as time expired to carry the Heat to a 118-116 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Butler completed with 28 factors to steer the Heat, who have been once more with out injured Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 27 factors and Patrick Williams added 25 in a tense recreation that featured 4 lead modifications within the fourth quarter.
In Portland, Luka Doncic delivered 40 factors, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to steer the Dallas Mavericks to a 131-120 victory over the Trail Blazers.
Doncic scored 30 factors within the first half and had his fifth triple-double of the season secured within the third quarter.
Australian Dante Exum, in the meantime, continues to take advantage of his alternative with Kyrie Irving unavailable after placing up 18 factors within the win.
Exum is now averaging 19.4 factors, 4.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists per recreation over his final 5 appearances whereas capturing 67.9 per cent from the ground.
Morant returns from suspension subsequent week | 01:03
EASTERN CONFERENCE HEAVYWEIGHTS MAKE LIGHT WORK OF STRUGGLERS
Things have been even simpler for Eastern Conference contenders Milwaukee and Philadelphia, who each posted blowout wins.
Damian Lillard scored 33 factors, Bobby Portis added 31 off the bench and Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in 22 factors with eight rebounds and 6 assists because the Bucks handed the hapless Detroit Pistons their twenty third straight defeat, 146-114.
Milwaukee out-scored the Pistons 43-20 within the first quarter, and Detroit didn’t get the deficit under 18 factors the remainder of the way in which.
The 76ers, fuelled by 42 factors and 15 rebounds from reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid, crushed the Hornets 135-82 in Charlotte.
It was the biggest margin of victory within the league this season, topping Boston’s 51-point win over Indiana final month.
Embiid notched his tenth straight recreation with 30 factors and 10 rebounds regardless of sitting out the whole fourth quarter together with the remainder of the Sixers starters.
