Josh Giddey has delivered his best performance of what has been a difficult season as the Oklahoma City Thunder secured an impressive win over Eastern Conference powerhouse Boston on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old drained four threes on his way to a season-high 23 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists.
It helped propel the Thunder to a 127-123 win over the Celtics in what lived up to the billing of a top of the table clash. The Celtics sit first in the East while the Thunder are second in the Western Conference.
The Thunder looked set for a comfortable win after extending their lead out to 18 points in the fourth quarter only for the Celtics to mount a late comeback, capitalising on a series of turnovers from Oklahoma to move to within two points with a minute to go.
The Thunder settled, however, and closed the game out thanks to 36-points from point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and two clutch late free throws from Giddey.
It was their fifth straight win, a run that includes beating the current top teams in the East and West plus the reigning champions.
It continues a strong run of recent form for Giddey who equalled a career-high four three-pointers in a 20-point display against the Brooklyn Nets on New Year’s Day.
The NBA world was impressed with what they saw from the Australian who has struggled this season and found his minutes reduced.
That has prompted speculation the Thunder, who hold a bounty of draft picks, could be motivated to make a trade before the deadline.
Wednesday’s performance will go a long way to showing Giddey has an important role alongside Thunder trio Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
Gilgeous-Alexander said of Giddey post-game: “He’s adjusting to the NBA adjusting to his style of play. He works hard, I expected it.”
Thunder coach Mike Daigneault, meanwhile praised Giddey’s turnaround
“He’s got some swagger right now,” he said after the win over the Nets.
“It’s a good example of these guys, there’s gonna be a lot of ups and downs for every single player.
Nobody’s gonna have just a linear progression.”
