Australian basketball star Josh Giddey’s sensational shooting form is showing no signs of slowing down after yet another blistering performance.
Josh Giddey believes the Thunder’s recent reversal in fortunes is down to the team taking the heaviest defeat in NBA history “personally” as Oklahoma City extended its win streak to three.
Giddey was forced to watch the Thunder’s 73-point defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies from the sidelines due to illness.
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Since the thrashing, the Thunder has won five of its last seven games, including a 108-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets in which Giddey scored 14 points – the sixth time in eight games that Giddey has broken double figures.
Although the Thunder was on the wrong side of history due to the defeat, Giddey maintained the team was so much more than that.
“After that Memphis loss … we took that personally and wanted to come out and prove that’s not who we are,” Giddey said.
“We didn’t want to be remembered for that.”
Giddey has played a major role in the Thunder’s recent run of wins, averaging 14.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists in his last four games.
However, the rookie did not play the leading role for the Thunder against the Nuggets.
Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put the team on his shoulders and showed Giddey how it’s done, earning his second career triple-double after scoring 27 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 12 assists.
With both himself and Gilgeous-Alexander hitting their straps in recent matches, Giddey believes it’s only going to help the youthful Thunder squad improve.
“It’s a big confidence booster,” Giddey said.
“Three in a row … sending that message when you come into our building that it’s never going to be easy.”
The win over Denver was the Thunder’s sixth at the Paycom Centre in Oklahoma City, but Mark Daigneault’s team have a tough assignment on the quick backup against Western Conference leaders the Phoenix Suns on Friday (AEDT).