‘Really good’ Giddey turns heads with first Chicago Bulls triple double

Australian basketball star Josh Giddey has left jaws on the floor after producing a scintillating performance for his new team.

The Josh Giddey-led Chicago Bulls toppled the Ben Simmons-less Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday (AEDT), while Dyson Daniels continued his impressive season with Atlanta as the Hawks outlasted the Australian’s former team.

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After riding the bench for the final nine minutes of last Saturday’s nine-point loss to Boston, Giddey responded by putting up his 12th career triple-double and first as a Chicago player — dropping 20 points on 9-17 shooting, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

Adding to the calibre of his night, Giddey’s 20 points was an equal-season-high mark.

The Bulls improved to 9-13 on the season and in doing so broke Brooklyn’s three-game road winning streak, consigning the Nets to a 3-12 record against Eastern Conference opponents.

JOSH GIDDEY TRIPLE-DOUBLE ALERT 🚨🚨

Josh Giddey secures his first triple-double of the season as the Bulls take down the Nets! #NBA

📊 20 PTS | 13 REB | 11 AST | 9-17 FG pic.twitter.com/lGFa2ZR7En

— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) December 3, 2024

After missing his first of eight (!) three-point attempts of the evening, Giddey found Nikola Vucevic for an open three-ball from the top of the arc — prompting positive commentary from Bulls broadcast analyst Stacey King.

“The chemistry is starting to get really good with these guys (and) Giddey now,” King said in the first quarter.

“They’re starting to understand where he’s dribbling the ball (and) where he’s going to pass it — they’re getting their hands ready.”

Regardless of the fact his long-range shot wasn’t falling on Tuesday — finishing 1-8 from distance — the Australian’s desire to shoot it without hesitation was undeniably a promising sight. His eight attempts were a season-high.

An aggressive Giddey later drew a trip to the free-throw line before nailing a floater while driving at full pace.

However, early in the second period, Giddey missed his second three before turning the ball over on an inbounds pass. It led to an easy Brooklyn score and prompted head coach Billy Donovan to pull the Australian. His five turnovers for the night were a game-worst.

Josh Giddey turned the ball over on a simple inbounds pass after a Nets basket, giving them another easy layup, and Billy Donovan immediately pointed at Zach LaVine to check in for Giddey.

Nets lead 35-32 with 8:46 left in 2nd quarter.

— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) December 3, 2024

But after checking back into the game near the end of the first half, Giddey made amends by knocking down his first and only three-ball of the evening.

Then, he made consecutive basket cuts for scores — drawing plaudits from King, who also explained what the 6’8 guard had to bring to the table defensively.

“That’s seriously where he’s really effective with his size,” King said.

“Getting in there (the key), moving without the basketball — 10 points, three rebounds, two assists. When he’s doing that, he’s active defensively; (he) stays engaged.

“You just want him to be solid (defensively), just stay in front of his guy. You don’t need him to gamble, you’re not asking him to be a lockdown defender, you’re just asking him to be a serviceable defensive player. Move your feet (and) use your height to your advantage.”

Josh Giddey records his first triple-double with the Chicago Bulls and 12th of his career. (Image courtesy: Chicago Bulls via X.)

The fourth-year floor general scored a finger-roll layup to start the second half, before a snazzy behind-the-back pass for another Vucevic three prompted a timeout from Nets coach Jordi Fernandez.

“Giddey always seems to know where (Vucevic) is on that trail,” King said.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Giddey dished to Ayo Dosunmu for his 10th assist of the evening, culminating in his first triple-double in Bulls colours.

“A really good all-around game for Josh Giddey,” commentator Adam Amin said during the final period.

“I know he hasn’t shot the ball well tonight — so, maybe that’s the one thing you look at: 1-8 from three-point range.

“That being said, we’ve always talked about Josh’s defence — and he’s not going to be an All-NBA-calibre defender — but I think his engagement on the defensive end has been much improved, and on some nights, he has been much better defensively because of it.”

Giddey hits his first triple-double as a Bull 👏 pic.twitter.com/f94Odq5m68

— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) December 3, 2024

Next, Giddey and the Bulls travel to Texas to play Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs on Friday.

Simmons, meanwhile, had been ruled out of Tuesday’s contest with lower back injury management and left knee soreness.

MORE HISTORY FOR DYSON AS HAWKS BEAT AUSSIE’S FORMER TEAM

Dyson Daniels continued his impressive season with Atlanta as the Hawks outlasted the Australian’s former team, the New Orleans Pelicans, 124-112 on Tuesday.

Daniels had 19 points in the win, adding four steals, five rebounds, two assists and a block while De’Andre Hunter led the way off the bench for Atlanta with 22 points.

With his four steals, Daniels became the first Hawk to have over 60 steals through their first 20 games of a season since Doc Rivers in 1989.

The Hawks made a slow start to Tuesday’s game, repeating bad habits as they turned the ball over on three of their first four possessions before going on an 8-0 run to jump ahead 14-11.

That coincided with Atlanta also getting some stops on the defensive end, which allowed the Hawks to push the pace on offence and create open looks, prompting New Orleans to call an early timeout.

Dyson continued his unbelievable season. Todd Kirkland/Getty Images/AFP

The Pelicans, who were already undermanned, then suffered a pair of injury scares as Brandon Boston went to the floor grabbing at his right knee while Yves Missi also headed to the locker room after coming up sore earlier in the game.

Boston was able to quickly recover while Missi later returned to the court, with the former bringing plenty of punch as a backcourt option off the bench.

The Pelicans led 28-26 after the first quarter, with the Hawks’ offence spluttering down the stretch as New Orleans went on a quick 10-0 run in the non-Trae Young minutes.

Young and Daniels returned to the game three minutes into the second quarter, with the score level at 33-33.

Daniels missed his first two 3-point attempts after he re-entered the game but started to heat up in the final four minutes of the quarter, first making a triple and then blocking a Javonte Green layup on the other end.

Dyson has been a revelation in Atlanta. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP

The Australian guard added another six points to close out the period, but even still it wasn’t enough for the Hawks to take a lead into halftime, trailing 59-58.

It came after a sloppy first half from Atlanta, who finished 5-for-22 from downtown with 11 turnovers.

Daniels picked up where he left out late in the third quarter with a pair of buckets to kick off the third while a big triple from Young helped cap off an 11-2 run for the Hawks.

That had Atlanta leading 80-73 with just under three minutes left in the quarter as New Orleans called a timeout, with the seven-point lead being the Hawks’ largest of the night.

Atlanta took a 92-85 buffer into the final quarter on the back of a few key shots from Young, who otherwise was having an inefficient shooting performance.

Even if it wasn’t Young’s best outing of the year he was still finding a way to make an impact as a passer, dishing out dimes in the fourth quarter as the Hawks built a comfortable lead.

The Pelicans still refused to go away and threatened at times to make a late comeback but couldn’t get quite close enough, with Atlanta taking a 124-112 win.

Originally published as ‘Really good’ Giddey turns heads with first Chicago Bulls triple double