Josh Giddey again flirted with an historic triple-double and once more found himself in rare NBA air as his Oklahoma City Thunder pushed contenders Utah to the brink.
The Australian No.6 draft pick narrowly missed becoming the youngest in history to notch an NBA triple-double, finishing with an equal career-high 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in a 110-104 loss to the Jazz.
The 19-year-old’s haul was still enough to see him join fellow NBL graduate LaMelo Ball and LeBron James as the only teenagers in NBA history to reach 100 assists and 100 rebounds in their first 20 games.
The accolade, after 18 games, comes after he became the youngest player besides James to register 10 assists in just his fifth NBA appearance.
That exquisite vision again aroused interest, Giddey’s slick passing, ambitious post moves and for the first time on an NBA court a slam dunk, all part of the highlight reel against the title-contending Jazz (12-6).
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Josh Giddey delivers the most complete offensive showing of his rookie season so far, with 19 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds.
The point guard, running the Thunder’s (6-12) offence with fellow young gun Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sidelined, also hit three-of-four triples to easily take the individual honours against Jazz stalwart and long-time mentor Joe Ingles (three points on one-of-six shooting).
Giddey took the fourth quarter by the scruff of the neck, moving the Thunder ahead before Donovan Mitchell scored six straight points in the final minute.
Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points off the bench to lead Utah, Mike Conley added 18 points and Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 17 rebounds.
Lu Dort led the Thunder with 27 points, hitting five three-pointers often thanks to Giddey’s creative assistant.
Meanwhile, it was business as usual for Patty Mills, who hit a trio of three-pointers inside the first five minutes to set the tone in Brooklyn’s 123-104 defeat of Boston.
The Boomers star’s teammate Kevin Durant scored 21 points to pass Allen Iverson and move into the top 25 on the NBA’s career-scoring list.
Mills finished with seven three-pointers and 23 points for the Nets, who have won four in a row, seven out of eight and 12 of the last 14 games to be two wins clear on top of the Eastern Conference.
Enjoying his move from San Antonio, Mills has scored at least 17 points in his last four games as calls grow for the Olympic bronze medallist to be included in this season’s NBA All-Star three-point contest.