Home

Giddey shines in OKC's NBA loss to 76ers

Murray WenzelAAP
Australian guard Josh Giddey has had his best game in the NBA for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Camera IconAustralian guard Josh Giddey has had his best game in the NBA for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Credit: AP

Josh Giddey has exhibited toughness to go with poise in an eye-catching NBA performance that kept his Oklahoma City Thunder close in a 115-103 loss to Philadelphia.

The 19-year-old No.6 draft pick from Melbourne finished with an NBA career-high 19 points to go with eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals against a 76ers outfit still without Ben Simmons.

Giddey had Joel Embiid apologising when the All-Star centre caught the Australian's body in a hard foul that sent the lanky playmaker sliding into the padding below the hoop as he attempted a dunk.

Giddey, who played for the Adelaide 36ers in the last NBL season, made both free throws then stole the ball from Embiid and drained a three-pointer from the next play.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

That sequence late in the fourth quarter sent tongues wagging and ensured his young OKC side, now 0-3, stayed close after Seth Curry (28 points) set up the victory with a 17-point first quarter.

Point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 29 points and paired well with Giddey to please Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, who said his Aussie young gun appeared to be fine despite wincing after the heavy contact from Embiid.

The Game AFL 2024

"He had his foot on the gas tonight," the coach said of Giddey after his third NBA game.

"I thought there was a good collaborative rhythm tonight ... we're optimistic about that partnership ... it's going to improve over time."

Elsewhere, Patty Mills finally missed a shot, going two-of-10 from the field in Brooklyn's 111-95 loss to Charlotte.

Mills had set a historic pace at his new team, who have dropped to 1-2 this season, draining a perfect 10 from 10 three-point attempts in the opening two games before missing his first four from beyond the arc against the Hornets.

Former NBL import LaMelo Ball continued his impressive form for Charlotte (3-0) with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists while Miles Bridges produced a 360-degree slam dunk on his way to 32 points and nine rebounds.

Stephen Curry had an average shooting performance but still led all scorers with 27 points as Golden State made it three wins in a row by overcoming the Sacramento Kings 119-107.

Ja Morant (40 points, 10 assists) missed the chance to send Memphis into overtime with the Los Angeles Lakers when the last of his three free throws bounced off the rim with less than two seconds on the clock.

LeBron James (19 points, six rebounds, six assists), Anthony Davis (22 points, eight rebounds), Carmelo Anthony (28 points) all contributed in the 121-118 win that came after back-to-back losses to begin the season.

Boston scored their first win of the campaign with Jayson Tatum's 31 points and nine rebounds enough in a 107-97 defeat of Houston.

Orlando won for the first time this season courtesy of a team-high 29 points and 16 rebounds from Cole Anthony in a 110-104 defeat of the New York Knicks.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails