Aussies Abroad: Giddey hits miracle shot

Josh Giddey has made a half-court heave on the buzzer to cap perhaps the wildest finish in the NBA this season, giving Chicago a 119-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

LA looked to have the game won with less than 13 seconds remaining, before Patrick Williams and Coby White hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Bulls ahead.

Williams nailed a triple, Australian guard Giddey then stole an inbound pass from LeBron James and White hit a three with six seconds to go, putting Chicago up 116-115.

An Austin Reaves layup gave Los Angeles a 117-116 lead with three seconds left. But the Bulls still found a way to pull this one out, mobbing Giddey after he buried Thursday night's astonishing winner.

"We gave up a lot of threes in the fourth quarter, still put ourselves in position to win," James said.

"Horrible turnover by myself, miscommunication the play before that. AR tried to save us. Tip your hats."

OMG JOSH 🤯🤯🤯

THE LAKERS GO DOWN AT THE BUZZER 🚨 pic.twitter.com/JgzhmZsm7x

— NBL Next Stars (@NBLNextStars) March 28, 2025

Giddey finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and two steals for his second triple-double against the Lakers in less than a week, and 16th of his career.

The 22-year-old joined Michael Jordan as the only Chicago player with at least five triple-doubles in a season. Jordan had 15 in 1988-89.

"Special moment to do it with these guys, this team," Giddey said.

"We've shown over the last month to six weeks that we can beat anybody.

"The way we play the game, I think it wears people down. We get up and down. We run. We put heat on them to get back. A lot of veteran teams don't particularly want to get back and play in transition."

Josh Giddey in his last 10 games: 220 points, 96 rebounds & 100 assists.

Giddey is 1 of 8 players to ever record such minimums over a 10-game stretch in NBA history.

White had 26 points and Kevin Huerter 21 as the Bulls (33-40) won for the ninth time in 11 games and consolidated ninth in the Eastern Conference.

Reaves led Los Angeles (44-29) with 30 points. Luka Doncic had 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and James finished with 17 points and 12 assists.

Another Aussie in Dyson Daniels extended his season-leading steals record to 208 with another two in Miami.

The "Great Barrier Thief" also added nine points, eight rebounds and three assists, but it was in vain as Atlanta were beaten 122-112 by the Heat.

The win moved Miami (32-41) within three games of the Hawks (35-38) for the No.7 seed in the East. The Heat's win also clinched a playoff berth for New York and eliminated Brooklyn from post-season contention.

Both conference leaders enjoyed home wins.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points as Oklahoma City beat Memphis 125-104 for their eighth straight and team-record 61st game of the season.

OKC have clinched the best record in the Western Conference. The Thunder (61-12) remain two games ahead of Cleveland (59-14) for the league's best record.

The Cavaliers held off San Antonio 124-116.

Dallas, Houston and Sacramento were also victorious and Tyrese Haliburton scored 29 points to be one of nine Indiana players in double figures as the Pacers set a team record for points in a game in a 162-109 rout of Washington.

With the AP.