Aussie Josh Giddey shines in OKCs NBA victory over the Nets

Josh Giddey, an Australian, excels as OKC defeats the Nets in the NBA.

Josh Giddey and Ben Simmons' highly anticipated NBA matchup hasn't taken place in New York.

Due to back pain, Brooklyn's Ben Simmons was unable to play against Oklahoma City on Sunday night. The Nets made the 26-year-absence old's known 22 minutes prior to tip-off.

Giddey, however, ensured that Thunder supporters and Australian NBA fans in general continued to enjoy the game at Barclays Center by tallying a season-high and game-high 28 points on 12 of 21 field goal attempts in the 112-102 victory.

The 20-year-old Melbourne player finished with nine rebounds and nine assists, falling just shy of a sixth triple-double as OKC won its third consecutive game.

With nine rebounds and nine assists, the 20-year-old Melbourne native came up just shy of recording his ninth triple-double as OKC won its third consecutive game to cap a road trip to the east coast and move up to 21-23 and 12th in the Western Conference standings.

For Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 28 points, while Luguentz Dort hit five of his seven three-pointers for 22 points.

With Giddey leading the way with nine points, the Thunder made a 15-6 run during the opening four minutes of the fourth quarter to grab the lead, 90-86.

Brooklyn (27-15), which also played without Kevin Durant (knee), was led by Seth Curry, who scored 23 points.got 23 points as Kevin Durant (knee) was out.

Nic Claxton scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his team-best 12th double-double of the year. Kyrie Irving added 14 points, and Boomers captain Patty Mills finished with 6 points on 2-of-3 shooting from outside the arc.

Prior to this game, Simmons had missed 10 games this season. He missed five games because of left knee discomfort, four because of a calf strain, and one because of knee and calf injury treatment.

In 27.2 minutes per game this season, Simmons averages 7.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.2 assists.

In other games, Chicago defeated Golden State 132-118 for the first time since 2017. When the Bulls defeated the reigning champion Warriors, they ended an 11-game losing run. Nikola Vucevic equaled a career best with 43 points.

Golden State (21-22), which has lost four of its previous five games, was led by Klay Thompson's 26 points and Stephen Curry's 20 points.

The New York Knicks defeated the Detroit Pistons 117-104, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Houston Rockets 121-100.