Josh Giddey performed under the bright lights of LA, going toe-to-toe with Lakers star Luka Doncic
Chicago Bulls point guard Josh Giddey went toe-to-toe with Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic, producing one of his hottest shooting nights of the season but it fell just short of passing Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time triple-double list.
Giddey ended Chicago’s 142-130 loss to the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena just two rebounds short of his 29th career triple-double after he equalled Jordan on 28 earlier in the week in an overtime win over the Golden State Warriors.
The 23-year-old Melbourne product needed just four rebounds in the final quarter but Bulls coach Billy Donovan pulled the pin on his star with more than four minutes left in the contest.
Despite falling short of passing Jordan, something that will happen in the coming games, Giddey showed out on the glitz and glamour stage that is the Lakers home court, recording 27 points as well as 15 rebounds and eight assists.
The former Oklahoma City Thunder draft pick went 10-from-17 from the field in the performance but more importantly went 6-from-9 from the three-point line and scored most of his points early in the fourth quarter to keep the Bulls alive before the Lakers pulled away through Doncic’s 51-point game.
Doncic also fell just short of a triple-double with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Other than Giddey, it was a disappointing performance from the undermanned Bulls, giving up 56% shooting from the field for the Lakers and 47% from beyond the arc.
Giddey also sits just five triple-doubles behind fellow Aussie and three-time NBA All-Star Ben Simmons. He passed Scottie Pippen for the second-most triple-doubles in Bulls history last week.