Australian basketball star Josh Giddey chalked up 27 points and 16 rebounds but couldn’t lift his Chicago Bulls to victory in a pulsating clash with the New York Knicks, who clinched a 113-111 overtime win on Friday (AEDT).
Giddey is now one of just three players to have tallied 100 points, 50 rebounds and 45 assists in a five-match span, putting himself in the esteemed company of the legendary Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
Meanwhile, fellow Australian star Ben Simmons had some impressive moments for the Los Angeles Clippers, who suffered a 116-110 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
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Simmons registered four assists, including three in five minutes, as well as three field goals from three attempts and five rebounds.
Giddey opened overtime at Madison Square Garden with a three-pointer before the Knicks responded with a 9-0 run, highlighted by three consecutive baskets from Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns had 32 points and 18 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson added 22 points and 12 assists.
Miles McBride finished with 22 points, while Mikal Bridges had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the short-handed Knicks, who improved to 36-18 in their first game following the All-Star break.
New York, which has won three straight and nine of 11, was without Josh Hart, who was held out due to pain in his right kneecap. OG Anunoby missed his sixth consecutive game because of a sprained right foot.
Nikola Vucevic had 21 points for the Bulls, who have lost their last five games.
Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls in action against the New York Knicks. Getty
Vucevic had a chance to win with two seconds left in the fourth quarter, but had his shot blocked by Bridges under the basket.
Chicago pulled within 113-111 with two baskets from Coby White and had a chance to send the game into a second overtime when Vucevic missed an eight-foot jumper over Landry Shamet as time expired.
In the Bucks’ win against the Clippers, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points in his return after missing six games with a strained calf.
The Los Angeles Clippers’ Ben Simmons tries to get past the Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard. AP
Anteotkounmpo was on a minutes restriction and played just under 24 minutes, leaving for good with 6:27 remaining as the Bucks trailed 101-96.
Milwaukee then completed its comeback from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit with Antetokounmpo on the bench.
Brook Lopez scored 22 points and put the Bucks ahead for good by converting a three-point play with 3:02 remaining.
Kawhi Leonard had 25 points, James Harden added 24, and Ivica Zubac had 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who played without Norman Powell due to knee soreness.
Milwaukee was missing Bobby Portis, who began serving a 25-game suspension after testing positive for the painkiller Tramadol, a violation of the league’s anti-drug program. Portis said he took the Tramadol by mistake.
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