Australian Josh Giddey stepped up when the Oklahoma City Thunder needed him most, putting up a career-high haul in points on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets.
With the Thunder just a half-game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks and tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the final two Western Conference play-in spots, every game down the stretch of the season is particularly important.
Although Charlotte has been in fine form as of late, most recently taking down the Mavericks in back-to-back games to do Oklahoma City a big favour.
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Gordon delivers DUNKFEST for Nuggets | 01:06
But with guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sidelined for Wednesday’s game with a left ankle sprain, the Thunder needed Giddey to help fill the void left by his star running mate.
The Australian did just that, erupting for 30 points — passing his previous career-high mark of 28 — to go with 10 rebounds and nine assists while shooting 14-for-21 from the floor.
Giddey brought up the milestone when he drove right through a clear lane to the bucket to dunk it home.
The Australian had spoken earlier this month about the need to apply a more aggressive approach to his game on a consistent basis.
“It can’t be a sometimes thing,” he told reporters.
“It has to kind of has to be an every night thing and I think for me I pick and choose a litte bit. I think being aggressive and being aggressive smartly doesn’t mean you’re jamming the ball in every time but I think there’s times in the past where I’ve been too passive, just diverting to others.
“I think I’ve got to keep my foot on the gas and that doesn’t mean scoring or making a play every time, just keeping the unit on the floor in attack and playing aggressive, because I think that’s when we’re at our best.”
Giddey had plenty of help too, with Isaiah Joe (32) breaking his career high while impressive rookie Jalen Williams (28) was also on the verge of doing the same for the Thunder.
The Thunder were trailing the fast-finishing Hornets heading into the final minutes of the game in the fourth quarter.
MORE TO COME…