New year, new Josh Giddey?
It may still be 2023 in Oklahoma City as the Thunder celebrated New Year’s Eve with a 124-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, but back home in Australia, it’s already 2024.
And Giddey kicked off the new year with one of his best games of the 2023-24 campaign, making a season-high (and career-high) four 3-pointers to finish with 20 points.
Giddey also had six rebounds and five assists in the win, which was Oklahoma City’s fourth in a row as the Thunder improved to 22-9 with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24 points) leading the way.
What was particularly impressive about Giddey’s performance was how he adapted to what the Brooklyn defense threw at him, finding other ways to impact the game if the outside shot wasn’t working. not.
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Thunder ends Nuggets’ six-game winning streak | 00:57
Defense seemed optional early in Monday’s game as the Nets took a 36-33 lead after the first quarter, although it could have been more given the way Brooklyn opened the game.
The Nets led 18-8 after just four minutes, with Mikal Bridges heavily involved from the start as he scored eight points with two assists.
Brooklyn had already made four 3-pointers and finished the quarter shooting 60% from downtown as Bridges led all scorers with 15 points while Cam Thomas added 10 points coming off the bench.
Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, had 13 points for the Thunder.
Chet Holmgren, who didn’t make a single shot in the first quarter, was everywhere early for OKC in the second, getting involved immediately by finding Vasilije Micic for a jump shot.
Holmgren then made his first shot of the night, adding four more points and six rebounds in the quarter.
Oklahoma City entered halftime with a 59-56 lead as Brooklyn went from shooting over 61 percent from the field in the first quarter to just 25.9 percent in the second.
The Nets entered the third quarter desperately needing consistent production from other players, with Bridges and Thomas combining for 33 of their 56 points by halftime.
Spencer Dinwiddie answered the call early in the third, making a jump shot to score Brooklyn’s first points of the period before adding four more along with an assist and a steal.
Dinwiddie’s early burst put Brooklyn right with Oklahoma City a few minutes into the third as Giddey began making shots, first draining a 3-pointer, then twice finishing closer to the rim to bring home seven points in the first five minutes.
Giddey also grabbed two defensive boards which then led to points at the other end, with the Australian even dishing it out to Gilgeous-Alexander for one of the buckets.
That score from Gilgeous-Alexander put the Thunder in good control, up 78-67 with 5:37 on the clock, and the Nets didn’t get much closer until late in the third quarter as a 3-and-out shot Holmgren’s points saw OKC take an 89-79 advantage into the final period.
Gilgeous-Alexander started the fourth quarter on the bench but the Thunder managed to maintain their lead without him, ahead 105-92 when the superstar guard returned to the game.
At that point, there was just under seven minutes remaining and Giddey immediately made a 3-point basket when play resumed, seeing OKC extend its lead to 108-92.
Giddey scored another 3-pointer shortly after, while Lu Dort also added a pair of 3s, making it difficult for the Nets to get any closer to reducing the deficit.
The Thunder had already secured the victory, but were still scrambling on every possession, with Dort missing a wide-open dunk only for Giddey to get the offensive rebound and find his teammate for the second of his 3-pointers.
LAKERS’ STRUGGLES CONTINUE AGAINST PELICANS
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers’ struggles after winning the in-season tournament continued after a comprehensive 129-109 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The heavy defeat came despite LeBron James’ 34 points and eight assists, while Anthony Davis (20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks) and Austin Reaves (20 points, nine assists) were also heavily involved.
Reaves also had to take on additional responsibilities after starting the second half in place of Rui Hachimura (left calf strain).
Taurean Prince, meanwhile, made a team-high four 3-pointers to finish with 15 points.
Defense, however, was the biggest problem for Los Angeles, which gave up 42 points to the Pelicans in the first quarter after CJ McCollum caught fire from deep, hitting five 3-pointers in the first nine minutes of the game.
That set the tone for what was going to be a tough night for the Lakers, who allowed a season-high 74 points in the first half while scoring 57 of their own.
New Orleans’ big three of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum combined for 74 points, with the Pelicans now 4-0 when all three score 20-plus points in games.
Meanwhile, Herb Jones – already known for his elite perimeter defense and improved finishing at the rim – showed his potential from deep by hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the victory.
Jose Alvarado was a total menace on the defensive end off the bench, however, racking up four steals and two blocks as he caused all sorts of problems for the Lakers.
And of course, Alvarado’s defensive stops also made life easy for the Pelicans on offense, as was the case when he picked off James to set up an Ingram 3-pointer.
The Lakers are now 17-17 overall and improved to 3-8 since winning the season tournament while the Pelicans improved to 19-14 with Monday’s win and have a record are 7-3 since their loss to Los Angeles in the IST.
CELTIC STORM TOWARDS VICTORY, TRAE REACHES 40 IN VICTORY
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics took care of business with a dominant 134-101 victory over the lowly San Antonio Spurs.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 49 points as Boston re-established itself as the Eastern Conference’s top contender, improving to 26-6.
Earlier, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Washington Wizards 130-126 thanks to 40 points and 13 assists from superstar guard Trae Young.
Kyle Kuzma, who had 31 points midway through the third quarter, finished with 38 points in the loss.
OTHER SHEET MUSIC
Defeat of the Phoenix Suns 112 Magical Orlando 107
Defeat of the Sacramento Kings 123 Memphis Grizzlies 92
