Josh Giddey’s biggest issue continues to plague him

Aussie teen star Josh Giddey continues to perform in the NBA, but his biggest issue yet again held him back from making history.

JOSH GIDDEY Picture: Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images

Josh Giddey’s shooting woes continued to prove costly in his hunt for an elusive triple-double as the Oklahoma City Thunder went down 103-90 to the Miami heat at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma.

The 19-year-old came dangerously close to a double-double as he finished with nine assists and nine rebounds, including a rapid-haul six rebounds in eight minutes in the first half.

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But the Thunder’s sixth pick of the 2021 NBA Draft could muster up just six points, sinking three shots from 10 attempts and missing all five three-point efforts.

Giddey has managed to score more than 10 points four times this season but has failed to do so in his last six outings.

The former Adelaide 36ers star has especially struggled with his three-point shooting game early in his NBA career, nailing just 11 from 43 attempts this season.

It’s been a similar story throughout the opening games of Giddey’s rookie season.

Against the New Orleans Pelicans on November 11, Giddey had 12 rebounds and nine assists along with seven points.

However, he made just three of 10 attempts from inside the arc and landed just one three-pointer from three.

Josh Giddey has plenty of time to improve his jumper, but he’s now shooting 25.6% (11/43) from deep this season after going 0-5 tonight.

— Nick Crain (@CrainNBA) November 16, 2021

Josh Giddey is gonna have a lot of peak Draymond stat lines in his career lol

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) November 16, 2021

PATTY GETS HOT AS AUSSIES SQUARE OFF

The NBA’s mouth-watering battle of Aussie superstars ended with Boomers captain Patty Mills setting a new scoring record as he took Josh Giddey to school in a comprehensive Brooklyn Nets win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Giddey, 19, has endeared himself to American basketball pundits since OKC selected him with pick six of the 2021 NBA draft, already coming within a whisker of breaking the record for youngest player in league history to record a triple-double.

Meanwhile, 2014 NBA champion Mills, who joined the Nets this season after a decade with the San Antonio Spurs, has been lighting it up with his formidable shot accuracy from deep.

The Aussie superstar poured in a career-best nine three-pointers, the most ever scored by a Nets player starting on the bench, in his mammoth haul of 29 points as Brooklyn cruised to a 120-96 win.

“I couldn’t make any (shots) inside the three-point line, but it obviously feels good when the ball can go in the rim,” Mills said post-match.

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Patty Mills was the star when he faced off against fellow Aussie Josh Giddey. Picture: Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images

Mills credited the side’s “hunger mentality” for its latest win.

“We learned a lot on this road trip,” Mills said after the game.

“For us to be able to understand each other more, to get a number of game reps under our belt, to work out those little kinks along the way. I think that showed a lot of fight.

“It’s one step at a time, we just want to get better each game.”

Mills started from the bench but coach Steve Nash took a gamble and pumped the veteran’s minutes up despite his quiet stretch of form on the road.

It paid off in a big way — Mills was in just about everything in his first meeting with the Aussie teen sensation.

Mills beat the buzzer to extend the Nets’ lead at the first change and was once again clinical from deep, shooting with a staggering 75 per cent accuracy (9/12) outside the arc.

𝐇 𝐈 𝐒 𝐓 𝐎 𝐑 𝐘 🤩

Patty Mills hits a career-best *𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚* three-pointers — the most ever by a Nets player off the bench in franchise history.

3️⃣-3️⃣-3️⃣-3️⃣-3️⃣-3️⃣-3️⃣-3️⃣-3️⃣

The Nets stunned Josh Giddey's Thunder in Oklahoma. pic.twitter.com/n2QdyvcD1t

— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) November 15, 2021

🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/idEkGT2ztY

— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) November 15, 2021

As Steve Nash said two days ago, Patty Mills shots will fall.

— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) November 15, 2021

Patty Mills is feeling it.

— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) November 15, 2021

Patty Mills has entered the chat.

— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) November 15, 2021

Giddey, however, couldn’t inject himself into the contest in the final quarter and finished on the bench with only 20 per cent accuracy (2/10) from the field to his name.

The Nets juggernaut is now 10-4 for the season and 5-1 on its most recent road trip, which ended with the win over the Thunder.

Giddey now has two months to plot his revenge on Mills and co.

The Thunder and the Nets meet once more in the regular season, on Friday January 14.