Not even an “angry” Josh Giddey triple-double explosion could power the Chicago Bulls to a desperately-needed win on Thursday (AEDT).
Elsewhere, superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with a non-contact, lower leg injury after trade speculation has intensified around the Milwaukee Bucks star.
The Bulls’ disenchanting slide extended to five-straight losses — a torrid patch headlined by porous defence — as the lowly-ranked Nets, led by flamethrower Michael Porter Jnr, triumphed in Chicago 113-103.
Watch NBA with ESPN on Kayo Sports | Stream an average 9 LIVE Regular Season games per week plus the best of the NBA Playoffs.| New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Going into Thursday’s contest, the Bulls’ opponents had averaged 127.9 points over the past 10 games — and while Brooklyn didn’t go quite that big, it comfortably outscored its league-worst season average of just 108.8 points per game.
Giddey was easily the Bulls’ best player in an equal-game-most 36 minutes of action, scoring 28 points on a highly efficient 10-14 shooting, with 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
It was an offensive struggle for Chicago to start the second quarter, with a driving Giddey layup at the 8:16 mark the first points of the period as Brooklyn began to gain ascendancy.
The six-foot-eight playmaking guard continued to be aggressive with his downhill drives, aggressively using his body to either shoot at the rim or dish out to a shooting teammate.
“Josh is going to float around with a triple double almost every night, okay? He’s your Haliburton guy,” Bulls great and analyst Stacey King said on Chicago Sports Network.
“What you need from the rest of these guys is you need to surround him with a (Pascal) Siakam (type).”
With a little over four minutes remaining in the first half, Giddey was slapped with a technical foul after scathing a referee for what he thought was an earlier foul on a drive to the basket.
But the Australian floor general made amends after Michael Porter Jnr’s free throw, storming to the rim for a ferocious dunk on the very next possession.
“That is the angriest I’ve seen Josh Giddey maybe all season,” play-by-play caller Adam Amin said.
“Upset and frustrated by the technical foul, and he took it all the way to the rim for a dunk … let’s see if that gives a little life to what has been a flat performance in the first half for the Bulls.”
King added: “They don’t want to see an angry Giddey.” It was just his third dunk of the season.
“Josh is slowly becoming a leader on this team — a little more vocal, you can see sometimes when the Bulls aren’t playing well, he’s slapping his hands saying ‘let’s go, let’s go’,” King later continued of the burgeoning Aussie.
“That’s what you want out of your point guard. You want your point guard to be a leader … he’s been a leader his whole life — every team he’s played on, he’s been the point guard, so it shouldn’t be any different here.”
Giddey finished his half with an and-one drive to the basket to take his tally to a team-best 15 points on 4-7 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists.
But 44 points was Chicago’s lowest first-half tally of the season as it trailed the Nets by 10.
The 23-year-old, who started his third quarter the same way he capped the first half by scoring at the rim, was also efficiently dishing to his teammates as the Bulls made their run.
“Giddey has been the most aggressive player for the Bulls out here,” Amin said.
Halfway through the third, Giddey ticked over 21 points with nine rebounds and eight assists.
Earlier, coach Billy Donovan promisingly gave Australian centre-forward Lachie Olbrich first-quarter minutes in the injury absence of Jalen Smith, and King was quick to praise the Illawarra Hawks product.
“I know the stats don’t always tell you how good a player has played, but he comes out there with energy, he’s got a motor, he doesn’t stop moving. I mean, the kid just needs time,” King said.
Olbrich launched a corner three with confidence but went scoreless in his first four minutes.
In Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo collapsed to to the ground suddenly while running back on defence after assisting a bucket to AJ Green in the opening minutes of Milwaukee’s shock upset win over Detroit 113-109.
The 30-year-old was able to walk off the court unassisted.
“Uh oh, Giannis down. Doesn’t look good. Does not league good. He went down immediately, summoned for the trainer,” commentator Marques Johnson said.
Milwaukee said Antetokounmpo has a right calf strain that ruled him out of the rest of the game.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said post-match he thinks the team has ruled out an Achilles injury, with Antetokounmpo to undergo an MRI.
The Bucks rallied without their superstar in a shock upset over Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East.
Kevin Porter Jr. led the way with 26 points and seven assists and Ryan Rollins added 22 points and eight assists as Milwaukee was well represented by its guards.
It saw the Bucks improve to 10-13 as they brace to likely be without Antetokounmpo for a period of time ahead of a stretch against tough East opponents — Philadelphia, Detroit again, then Boston.
Thirteen of Milwaukee’s next 19 games are on the road followed by games against OKC and Denver.
It comes after Rivers shot down any suggestion that Antetokounmpo has asked for a trade out of Milwaukee.
The head coach was forced to address rumors that Antetokounmpo requested a trade ahead of the Bucks’ game against the Pistons.
“There have been no conversations,” Rivers told reporters.
“I want to make it clear for, I would say one more time, but for the 50th time it clearly is not getting to one network, for sure. Giannis has never asked to be traded. Ever. I can’t make that more clear.”
The “one network” that Rivers was referring to would be ESPN, which reported that Antetokounmpo and his agent were talking with the Bucks about his future with and “discussing whether his best fit is staying or a move elsewhere.”
The report also stated that a resolution is expected in the coming weeks.
Antetokounmpo’s future with the Bucks has been up in the air, and during the offseason, it was reported that he had interest in being traded to the Knicks and that New York was given an exclusive negotiating window during a multi-week period in August.
Other teams are believed to be interested in the NBA champion if the possibility of a trade opens up.
A few weeks ago, when Milwaukee was at MSG, a Post reporter brought up the initial ESPN regarding the summertime trade possibility to the Big Apple, Antetokounmpo said he didn’t “remember that.”
“Right now, I’m here representing my team, and that’s it. We beat the Knicks. So it doesn’t matter,” he said.
“What matters right now is we have a game in two days … try to stay locked in and get two in a row.
“But I didn’t read that article. I try to stay away from all the rumors and speculation and trades. It doesn’t concern me one bit. I try to involve myself and I try to help my team win games.”
The Bucks started the season off hot, going 4-1 out of the gate, but they’d dropped eight of their last nine games including a damning loss to Washington entering Thursday.
-Parts of this story were first published in the New York Post and reproduced with permission.
ALL RESULTS
Trail Blazers 122 Cavaliers 110
Nuggets 135 Pacers 120
Spurs 114 Magic 112
Clippers 115 Hawks 92
Hornets 104 Knicks 119
Nets 113 Bulls 103
Kings 95 Rockets 121
Pistons 109 Bucks 113
Heat 103 Mavericks 118