Josh Giddey had what Stacey King called a “phenomenal” game as the Australian led the Chicago Bulls to a much-needed 129-126 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
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While a winnable game, the Bulls had dropped plenty of those recently on their way to a seven-game losing skid and in a desperate bid to turn things around, coach Billy Donovan experimented with some different line-ups throughout the Hornets game.
But the one constant was Giddey, who put up 26 points in the win to go with 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Now, the Bulls head back home with a real chance to make it two in a row when they face the struggling New Orleans Pelicans.
The Bulls made a solid start to Saturday’s game, taking a 33-29 lead after an efficient first quarter which saw them shoot 59 per cent from the field and drain four 3-pointers.
Giddey was heavily involved too with five points and three assists, while standout Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel — who received his Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award pre-game — built on his strong recent form with Charlotte’s first seven points of the game.
Josh Green, meanwhile, came off the bench for his first game of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in June and with both LaMelo Ball and Tre Mann unavailable, the Australian was going to be called on to initiate the offence more often.
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Green is at his best in that kind of on-ball role and looked to get involved immediately when he checked in, putting on a nice move to create separation and get the mid-range shot to fall.
Green was also his usually active self on the defensive end.
It was the Knueppel show early for the Hornets before Miles Bridges took over in the second quarter, scoring 16 points alone as Charlotte took a 61-55 lead into halftime.
Giddey ended the second quarter with a flurry of points, first making a triple before then working his way into the paint for a pair of quick finishes at the rim to score seven of Chicago’s last nine points.
The Bulls, searching for answers to arrest their concerning form slump, experimented with multiple different line-ups including double-big looks.
But there was seemingly little Donovan could do to rediscover the spark that saw Chicago open the season 6-1, with the halfcourt offence often getting bogged down while defensive breakdowns and turnovers were leading to easy points for Charlotte on the other end.
The Bulls did, however, end the third quarter on 14-4 run to make it a one-possession game entering the fourth, with the Hornets leading 92-89 after 10 more points from Knueppel.
Chicago continued to close the gap in the fourth on the back of strong performances from some of its bench players, headlined by Jalen Smith, Zach Collins and Patrick Williams.
Having already proven he isn’t afraid to mix things up with new-look line-ups, Donovan then made his biggest decision of the game as he benched Nikola Vucevic down the stretch in favour of Collins.
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Collins had a big impact in the clutch with a pair of buckets and four rebounds before Giddey started to take over for the Bulls, scoring eight points in the final three minutes as the Australian aggressively hunted his shot.
Giddey then “fell asleep” as King put in commentary late in the game as he let Bridges slip by on an inbounds pass and then, in a desperate attempt to make up for it, fouled the Hornets forward.
That three-point play cut Chicago’s lead to 124-122, but Giddey quickly made up for it with another quick basket and despite some late drama, the Bulls held on for a much-needed win.
While a relieving result, it will still do little to silence the outside noise as trade rumours swirl ahead of the February 6 deadline with star guard Coby White the biggest name to monitor.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported on Saturday the Timberwolves have “legitimate interest” in White, following a report from The Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley on Friday that Minnesota had “inquired” about the 25-year-old’s availability for a trade.
The Athletic’s Timberwolves reporter, Jon Krawczynski, however later claimed on the same day that there was “absolutely nothing cooking” regarding a potential White trade.
“Could that change down the road? Maybe. He’s certainly a name to watch. But nothing percolating yet,” Krawczynski added.
For what it’s worth, NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Saturday that the Bulls “continue to field trade interest” in White.
So, watch this space.
In San Francisco, Stephen Curry returned from injury to score 39 points but it was not enough to stop the Golden State Warriors from falling to a 127-120 loss against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.
In the process, Curry surpassed the legendary Michael Jordan for the most 35-plus point games after the age of 30 in NBA history.
His 39-point haul was the 94th time he’d scored 35 points or more — one better than Jordan’s 93 games.
Julius Randle led the scoring for Minnesota with 27 points, with Rudy Gobert adding 24 points and Donte DiVincenzo 21.
EMBIID EXPLODES FOR BEST GAME IN 11 MONTHS
Meanwhile, Joel Embiid had his best game of the season as the former MVP started to show signs of life in a 115-105 win over the Indiana Pacers after a worrying start to the year.
Embiid, who played just 19 games last season and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April, has looked a shadow of his former self while battling to stay healthy.
However, he played a season-high 30 minutes in Philadelphia’s last game against the L.A. Lakers and with Tyrese Maxey (illness) unavailable, there was only more pressure on Embiid to lift on Saturday.
The Sixers big man did just that, looking far more aggressive and decisive off the dribble as he put up a season-high 39 points on his way to earning MVP chants at one point from the home crowd.
It was Embiid’s most points in a regular-season game since January 22, 2024, when he dropped 70.
Obviously Embiid is far from playing at an MVP-calibre at the moment, but to even see that he is still capable of these kind of performances is a huge positive for the Sixers.
Rookie VJ Edgecombe also came up big in the win with 22 points, four rebounds and five assists while Paul George chipped in with 23 points of his own.
Australian Johnny Furphy played a limited role off the bench for Indiana with two scoreless minutes.
In Washington, the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a massive scare as they pipped the cellar dwelling Wizards 130-126 off the back of a nuclear game from Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell exploded for 48 points as the Cavaliers outscored the Wizards 45-26 in the fourth qaurter.
Australian rookie Tyrese Proctor didn’t feature in the game and has not played since Cleveland’s 135-119 win over Indiana on December 2, having missed two previous match-ups due to personal reasons.
PISTONS HUMILIATE DYSON’S HAWKS
Elsewhere, turnovers killed the Atlanta Hawks in a 142-115 loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.
Australian Dyson Daniels had his hands full on both ends of the floor, having to defend MVP candidate Cade Cunningham while also helping run the offence with point guard Trae Young still sidelined.
He was heavily involved in defeat for the Hawks with 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four turnovers, while the 3-point shooting remains a work in progress for Daniels in his second season with the Hawks.
It was an off shooting night for Atlanta as a whole though, with the Hawks starting 5-for-8 from downtown before struggling to get many shots to fall for the remainder of the game.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker was automatic from deep early and finished Atlanta’s leading scorer on X points, while Jalen Johnson continues to be a walking triple-double after putting up 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the loss.
Turnovers (five) were an issue for Johnson too, however.
The Hawks had done well to keep the game close despite the ball security issues, but a sluggish start to the third quarter saw them out-scored 19-7 and Detroit take a 21-point lead.
From there, the Pistons didn’t look back.
Cunningham’s 15 points were his fewest since late October but it mattered little with three of Detroit’s other starters hitting double figures while the Eastern Conference leaders were also able to go eight deep into their bench and got solid contributions across the board.
All up, Detroit’s bench outscored Atlanta 77-32.