Australian stars Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels went head-to-head in Chicago, and it was clear who got the bragging rights on Tuesday (AEDT).
The close mates matched up against each other on a number of instances, but it was Bulls standout Giddey who did the business at the United Center from start to finish.
Read on for a wrap of the day’s NBA action!
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Chicago continues to be a surprise packet in the new NBA season, starting 3-0 for the first time in four years to shockingly sit atop the Eastern Conference standings.
The newly-turned 23-year-old Giddey was the highest-scoring Chicago starter in 33 minutes, dropping 18 points on 7-14 shooting with 13 rebounds and five assists.
Daniels, meanwhile, wasn’t nearly as impactful as his fellow countryman, managing just two points on 1-8 field goal efficiency. He recorded three steals but was an overall -15 on the night.
Giddey, who recently signed a $100 million ($154 million AUD) extension, committed two turnovers in the opening five minutes as Daniels swooped for two steals in the first period to continue his decorated defensive streak.
But Giddey then blocked a layup attempt by Daniels, who himself inked a $100 million ($154 million AUD) new deal, in a sequence that led to a Bulls basket, with the pair going at each other on numerous occasions.
The Bulls’ floor general had six points and four rebounds in the first quarter despite entering the game with a minor finger injury concern. Both Aussies were rotated off the court after eight minutes of action.
Giddey has continued to shoot the three-ball with confidence, knocking one down in the second quarter while Daniels was still on the bench.
His Australian counterpart returned later in the second period but was unable to exert an offensive impact.
Daniels, who has seen his role on offence minimised since the return of forward Jalen Johnson from injury, recorded his third steal of the game in the second quarter despite having no points to his name.
“That’s what Dyson Daniels does as well as any player in the league; just constantly looking for the ball,” said Bulls broadcast play-by-play caller Adam Amin.
Meanwhile, Giddey led Chicago for scoring in the first half with 12 points on 5-7 field goal shooting. He’d also totalled nine rebounds and two assists.
Late in the half, Daniels fouled Giddey hard after the Bulls guard spun impressively on the Hawk on his way to the basket.
“(Giddey) put (Daniels) in the spin cycle that time — they had to foul him, or that was going to be a layup,” special comments analyst Stacey King said.
Amin added: “No love lost between Melbourne and Bendigo, their two hometowns.”
Giddey ticked over a double-double early in the third quarter, showing his rebounding prowess as King remarked: “Josh Giddey rebounds like a small forward.”
Daniels caused another defensive deflection but remained otherwise non-impactful in comparison to Giddey, who was orchestrating plenty as the Bulls took control of the game in the third period.
Daniels’ first two points of the game — a driving layup — came with less than eight minutes remaining in the contest, while Giddey moved to 15 points with a floater in the key.
In a sign of his aggressiveness, 10 of his 15 points to that point had come in the paint.
Giddey CLUTCHES win over Daniels | 00:41
In the game’s waning moments, Giddey played an integral role. First, with 1:05 left, he hit his second three-pointer of the night to bring the Bulls’ lead to six points.
Then, with 14.5 seconds left, Giddey missed a driving floater but claimed the critical rebound over Daniels, who failed to effectively box out, to set up the win-sealing Tre Jones free throws.
“I tell you what, you talk about a big-time rebound by your point guard Josh Giddey — 13 rebounds tonight and no bigger than that one right there,” King said in reaction.
On the other hand, Amin said of Daniels: “Dyson Daniels probably had a couple of plays (in the closing stages) he wished he could have back — blew a layup on the baseline, then did not box out his Australian Boomers teammate Josh Giddey on that last sequence.”
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION (via AFP)
Reigning champion Oklahoma City, the Philadelphia 76ers and the San Antonio Spurs also remained undefeated with impressive triumphs on Tuesday.
Philadelphia guard Tyrese Maxey scored 43 points and Bahamian rookie guard VJ Edgecombe added 26 to lead the 76ers (3-0) to a 136-124 home triumph over Orlando.
Edgecombe, the third pick in this year’s NBA Draft, added a spark as big man Joel Embiid was benched by the Sixers for left knee injury management.
Oklahoma City got 23 points from reigning NBA MVP and scoring champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plus 18 points and 11 rebounds from Chet Holmgren in a 101-94 victory at Dallas.
The Mavericks outscored Oklahoma City 25-14 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t rally for the win.
D’Angelo Russell’s floater lifted Dallas within 95-94 with 54.8 seconds remaining but Isaiah Hartenstein answered with a layup to give the Thunder a 97-94 edge.
Russell missed an attempted tying three-point shot and Holmgren rebounded for Oklahoma City, setting up two free throws by Gilgeous-Alexander with 21.3 seconds remaining.
Gilgeous-Alexander rebounded a Dallas three-point miss and Holmgren sank to final free throws to clinch the Thunder victory to reach 4-0.
Victor Wembanyama continued his strong start to the 2025-26 campaign, scoring 24 points and grabbing 15 rebounds to lead San Antonio’s 121-103 home triumph over Toronto.
Stephon Castle added 22 points for the Spurs, who improved to 4-0.
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points and Jarrett Allen added 20 to lead the Cavaliers’ 116-95 romp at Detroit while reserve Tari Eason had 22 points and Alperen Sengun added 21 to power Houston’s 137-109 home rout of Brooklyn.
Anfernee Simons scored 25 points off the bench and the Boston Celtics cruised to victory 122-90 at New Orleans.
Later games saw Phoenix at Utah, Denver at Minnesota, Memphis at Golden State and Portland at the Los Angeles Lakers.