The Chicago Bulls are 5-0 for the first time since 1996-97 and Australian Josh Giddey is a big reason why.

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The Bulls guard exploded for 21 points in the first half alone on his way to a career-high 31 in a 135-125 win over the New York Knicks, leaving Chicago as the only undefeated defeat in the Eastern Conference.

It has been a stunning start to the year for the Bulls, who recently have been a lock for the play-in tournament but not much more and are playing without star guard Coby White.

Without White, the Bulls have needed Giddey to step up as the clear top option in the backcourt alongside Tre Jones and he has done just that, falling just short of a triple double on Saturday with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

It was Giddey’s fourth double-double, however, and according to ESPN stats, he is the third Bulls player to average 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists through the first five games of a season.

The most impressive number from Giddey’s performance against the Knicks, however, was the zero turnovers he had despite being Chicago’s primary creator.

Giddey, who signed a four-year, $100 million ($154 million AUD) contract extension, finished last season showing marked improvement as a 3-point shooter and while it didn’t seem like it would be sustainable, he is now shooting at 45.5 per cent on the season and continued to let it fly without hesitation from deep against New York.

The Knicks made a fast start to Saturday’s game, draining three of their first five 3-point attempts on the way to an early 14-7 lead.

But that began to cool off in the rest of the quarter, with New York making just two of its next 10 attempts as the Bulls warmed their way into the game after they picked up the pace.

New York just simply could not contain Chicago, both in transition and in the halfcourt, with Giddey heavily involved both as a passer and scorer.

Giddey had a pair of driving layups to open the game and then pounced on a bad Karl-Anthony Towns pass before putting it on a platter for Matas Buzelis on the transition dunk.

Jalen Brunson quickly scored for the Knicks on the other end but the Bulls came right back at them with Giddey once again at the centre of it, finding a wide-open Isaac Okoro for the 3-pointer.

Josh Giddey dazzles in masterful showing | 00:38

Chicago had trimmed New York’s lead to 16-14 by that point and tied the game up soon after as Giddey put pressure on the rim and drew a foul, making both of his free throws.

While Giddey was in the thick of it early for the Bulls, it would be doing the rest of his teammates a disservice to not credit how well they were sharing it around with the ball movement and screening key to their success early in Saturday’s game.

The Bulls finished the first quarter with a 35-27 lead and when Giddey re-entered the game to begin the second, he quickly extended Chicago’s lead with a 3-pointer from the right corner.

That, again, came late in the shot clock after a series of passes and screens from the Bulls eventually helped get Giddey open and the Australian showed no hesitation in letting the ball fly from the corner.

The 3-pointers kept coming for the Bulls in the second quarter, with Giddey making four as the Knicks struggled with turnovers and lethargic defence to fall behind 72-53 at halftime.

At that point it looked like Chicago would steamroll its way to a fifth-straight win to open the season, but the Knicks had other ideas as they slowed the game down and went on a 26-9 run to reduce the Bulls’ lead to 84-79.

The Bulls steadied to kick back ahead 91-80 but an aggressive Towns ended the quarter with eight points in the last three minutes as Chicago took a 100-90 buffer into the final quarter.

That lead didn’t last long though with the slower pace continuing in the fourth, making it much harder for the Bulls to find easy points as the Knicks instead closed the gap to 115-113.

New York opened the fourth quarter like it did the first, making seven of its first eight 3-point attempts, but a flurry of points from Nikola Vucevic in the paint helped the Bulls stem the tide.

Vucevic then found a cutting Giddey, who had some key rebounds late in the game, for the layup that set a new career-high mark for the Australian as the Bulls held on for the win.

Giddey has no bad blood with OKC | 01:03

DYSON ‘THE BEST HE’S LOOKED’ IN BIG HAWKS WIN

Elsewhere, fellow Australian Dyson Daniels bounced back for his best game of the season as he helped the Trae Young-less Hawks to a big 128-108 win over the undermanned Indiana Pacers.

Daniels has struggled on the offensive end to start the season but seemed to benefit from Young’s absence.

The Bendigo bandit looked comfortable playing in a more on-ball role for the Hawks, finishing the day with a season-high 18 points to go with nine rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Much like the game against Brooklyn, it was a slow start from Atlanta despite Daniels and Jalen Johnson looking aggressive early as they both got to the rim for quick lay-ups.

Those were the only easy points for the Hawks, however, who were clearly struggling to get in an offensive rhythm without the injured Trae Young as the Pacers opened up a 17-6 lead.

It prompted Quin Snyder to call a timeout, and as was the case in the Nets game, he got an instant response as the Hawks went on a 16-5 run and ended the quarter on top 32-29.

Daniels had a few nice moments on both ends of the floor, first picking off a pass from Mac McClung that was intended for Ben Sheppard to set up a transition bucket as Keaton Wallace found Mo Gueye with the lob.

That tied the game at 22 and Daniels later got a floater to fall before drawing a foul to add two quick free throws on his way to six points in the opening period.

The Australian, who was also shouldering added responsibility as a ball-handler with Young sidelined, then found Onyeka Okongwu for a 3-pointer.

Okongwu put his mark on the quarter late with another triple, while also blocking a Pascal Siakam dunk as the Hawks carried plenty of momentum into the second.

Daniels too continued his fast start to Saturday’s game as he took on the undersized McClung for the finish early in the second quarter before going coast-to-coast soon after to put the Hawks ahead 41-37.

Dyson Daniels had his best game of the season. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

“This is the best he’s looked this season offensively,” declared Atlanta’s play-by-play commentator Bob Rathbun.

The Hawks commentary team revealed that before the game Daniels had said he was looking to be more aggressive at the rim against the Pacers, having shot at 39 per cent from within three feet of the basket compared to 68 per cent last season.

They weren’t just words from the reigning Most Improved Player either, with Daniels looking at his assertive best while also making smart plays as a passer after coming down with a defensive rebound and then finding Johnson for the dunk with an outlet pass.

There was a lot of that in Saturday’s game, with both teams pushing the pace and trading quick buckets as the Hawks took a 63-59 lead into halftime.

Atlanta quickly extended that difference after opening the third quarter on a 22-5 run with Johnson heavily involved on both ends.

He was particularly active on the boards with eight rebounds in the third alone while Zacharie Risacher came to life with 10 points as the Hawks ended the quarter on top 97-76.

The game was all but over at that point and Atlanta closed it out to claim a crucial win without Young, whose return to play is up in the air with an MRI to determine the full extent of his knee injury after he was initially cleared of a torn ACL.

As for the Pacers, they became the third team to start a season 0-5 after making the Finals and are the walking wounded at the moment, with five players out injured.

OTHER SCORES AROUND THE LEAGUE AS THE NBA CUP BEGINS

Elsewhere, Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and the Boston Celtics knocked Philadelphia from the ranks of the unbeaten 109-108 as the NBA Cup in-season tournament began.

The Celtics avenged a 117-116 loss to the 76ers in their opener at Boston and improved to 3-3 while dropping the host Sixers to 4-1.

“Just grit. I think we just slugged it out,” said Brown, whose 13-of-19 shooting including 4-of-7 from three-point range.

“We made a bunch of mistakes but we found a way to win in the end.”

Tyrese Maxey, who led Philadelphia with 26 points and 14 assists, and VJ Edgecombe sank three-pointers to lift the 76ers within 108-106 with 51 seconds remaining.

Brown added what turned out to be the deciding free throw with 32.9 seconds remaining but Maxey sank a layup with 20.8 to play to lift the 76ers within the final margin.

Brown, who scored 16 points in the first quarter, committed a foul to turn the ball over with 11.6 seconds remaining but Maxey missed a short jumper.

Jaylen Brown had a big day. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)Source: AP

After Boston’s Josh Minott missed two free throws, the hosts had a final chance but Joel Embiid, who had 20 points, missed a three-point shot at the buzzer.

LUKA STUNS IN RETURN GAME

Los Angeles Lakers star guard Luka Doncic, sidelined a week ago with a left finger sprain and lower left leg bruise, scored 44 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and passed off six assists in a triumphant return with a 117-112 victory at Memphis.

“I was very happy to see him back,” Lakers standout Austin Reaves said. “He has the capability of putting a team on his back and I think he did that tonight.”

Luka Doncic celebrates a made three-pointer during an NBA Cup game at FedExForum on October 31, 2025 in Memphis, Tennessee.Source: AFP

Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points, including the game-winning basket with 0.4 of a second remaining, and James Harden added 24 to give the Los Angeles Clippers a 126-124 home victory over New Orleans.

Portland’s Jerami Grant sank two free throws with 1.4 seconds to play to give the Trail Blazers a 109-107 home victory over Denver.

The Nuggets got 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists from Nikola Jokic, his streak of four straight triple-doubles to start the season ending in the defeat.

Devin Booker’s 36 points led Phoenix to a 118-96 home victory over Utah. The Atlanta Hawks, playing without star guard Trae Young due to a right knee sprain, improved to 3-3 by beating winless host Indiana 128-108.

Jalen Johnson led Atlanta with 22 points and 13 rebounds. The Pacers, who fell to 0-5, also learned Friday that forward Obi Toppin is out for three months due to a broken right foot.

Toronto had 20 points each from Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett and reserve Jamison Battle in a 112-101 victory at Cleveland

Later NBA Cup openers had the Los Angeles Lakers at Memphis, Utah at Phoenix, Denver at Portland and New Orleans at the Los Angeles Clippers.

All 30 NBA teams were drawn into six five-team groups with each club playing four games through November 28 that will count in round-robin Cup play and the regular-season standings.

Eight teams will advance to the Cup quarter-finals, the six group winners and top runner-up in the Eastern and Western Conference.

Quarter-final matches will be played on December 9-10 with the last four going to Las Vegas for semi-finals on December 13 and the championship game December 16.

— AFP