Australian Josh Giddey scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds in an impressive double-double for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but couldn’t help his team to victory in a 113-121 defeat to the Charlotte Hornets.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points and Lu Dort 22 points for the Thunder, but LaMelo Ball’s 27 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists led the Hornets to power past the Thunder in the second half. However, Giddey’s impressive shooting from the line – a perfect 7-7 – had fans and pundits raving about his upside in that department.
The widely-shared argument is that Giddey could unlock his true scoring potential by attempting to get to the line more frequently.
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Ja Morant provided a career high 17 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Toronto Raptors 119-106 with Dillon Brooks helping himself to 25 points.
The Raptors have now lost five straight home games and eight of their last 10 games despite Pascal Siakam’s strong form — he now scored 25 or more in the last six games.
The Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 135-126 with Tyrese Haliburton scoring 29 points, one of four Indiana players to put up more than 20 points.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was ejected in the third quarter after angrily protesting a non-call on a travel by Donovan Mitchell.
“I’ve been on that guys to stay off the referees and then it was the mortal sin,” said Carlisle.
“I got a lot of nice text messages during the fourth quarter from people who agreed with my assessment but that is all I will say about it,” he added.
The New York Knicks suffered a fifth straight loss with a 112-115 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs with Keldon Johnson scoring 30 points.
Julian Randle had a season high 41 points but couldn’t stop the Knicks slipping to an 18-18 record with the loss to the next to bottom team in the West.
