Josh Giddey gave Australian basketball and Chicago Bulls fans a mighty scare, but thankfully avoided serious injury, while Dyson Daniels delivered another masterclass on Sunday AEDT.
In the third quarter of Chicago’s 128-122 loss in Cleveland, Giddey was crossed over by Cavaliers star De’Andre Hunter and crashed to the floor in a scenario every defender dreads.
Hunter made the most of Giddey’s tumble to charge to the basket for an easy dunk, while the Australian, who is in All-Star contention early in the season, had to leave the court as he was concerned about a rolled ankle.
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Giddey limped down to the locker room for further inspection, and was quickly cleared, returning to the floor only a few minutes later in a huge sigh of relief.
The 23-year-old played 33 minutes in total for 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
For the Cavaliers, Australian rookie Tyrese Proctor came off the bench to play 13 minutes.
The 21-year-old scored six points, brought down two rebounds and dished off an assist.
Hunter and Donovan Mitchell led all comers with 29 points apiece, while Evan Mobley had 24.
In Atlanta, Daniels was only two rebounds shy of a triple-double as his Hawks downed the Los Angeles Lakers 122-102.
Daniels played 36 minutes to register ten points, a career-high 13 assists and eight rebounds.
‘The Great Barrier Thief’ also swiped a steal in the third quarter, extending his ridiculous streak of steals in consecutive games to 62 – a new franchise record.
It is also the eighth longest streak in NBA history.
The performance was made all the more impressive by the fact Atlanta were missing Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kristaps Porzingis against the LeBron James-less Lakers.
Luka Doncic had a game-high 22 points for the visitors, while the superstar’s 11 assists were bettered only by Daniels’ tally of 13.