Josh Giddey Grabs Youngest Triple-Double in NBA History in Loss to Dallas
Oklahoma City made it a competitive game all night, pulling within four points in the fourth quarter, but ultimately came up short against the Dallas Mavericks in a 95-86 loss Sunday night.
Josh Giddey led the Thunder in the most impressive performance of his career, as he recorded his first triple-double.
Giddey is the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double. He recorded 17 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds while only committing 2 turnovers.
He's been close multiple times, but was finally able to get over the hump against the Mavericks. Giddey shot 3-of-5 from behind the 3-point line and scored all of his points without a free-throw attempt. He also displayed impressive defense with four steals. The sky is the limit for the rookie.
In the first half, Oklahoma City desperately struggled to score. The Thunder took care of the ball well, but simply had too many empty possessions.
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out, the Thunder had no one to turn to when they were in a shooting slump. Lu Dort, who has turned into a reliable scorer and a solid 3-point shooter was also out, leaving OKC with very limited offensive options.
Giddey, who had arguably his best game of the season, had a massive first half for the Thunder. With Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort out, he was counted on for more offense than usual. Giddey finished the half with nine points, six assists and four rebounds, leading the Thunder all around.
With 4:50 left in the third quarter, OKC was able to cut into Dallas’s lead, as Aleksej Pokusevski drilled a trailing 3-pointer to bring the Thunder within four. Giddey found Poku in transition, as that’s where many of his assists came from Sunday night.
In the fourth quarter, OKC made a furious comeback to pull within four with under a minute to go. Giddey drilled a huge triple and Isaiah Roby had some massive put-back shots to make it possible. Maxi Kleber hit the dagger for the Mavericks on an assist from Luka Doncic.
While the Thunder came up just short, it was a very impressive all-around night that included a lot of growth. Outside of Giddey's triple-double, many other players stepped up too.
Ty Jerome and Isaiah Roby both finished the night with 12 points each. Aaron Wiggins continued his stretch of double-digit performances as he added 10 points. Aleksej Pokusevski also added nine points and five rebounds.
Minus Jerome, every member in the starting lineup for the Thunder had a positive plus/minus on the court.
Oklahoma City returns to action Wednesday night as they travel to Minnesota to take on the Wolves at 8 p.m. The Thunder will face Minnesota in back-to-back games.
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