Aussies Abroad: Giddey dominates in third straight win

Red-hot Australian superstar Josh Giddey has helped his Chicago Bulls charge to a third straight NBA win on a day when the top sides in both conferences suffered defeat.

Giddey had 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Bulls rolled past the Charlotte Hornets 131-117 on Sunday (Monday AEST) for their third straight win.

Coby White scored 37 points, shooting 6-of-8 from three-point range, to lead scoring for Chicago. Nikola Vucevic contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who are  one game behind the Atlanta Hawks for eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

After falling behind by 10 points early, the Bulls took control in the second quarter and built a 75-55 halftime lead behind White, who had four threes in the second quarter, including a heave from just inside midcourt to beat the first-half buzzer.

Mark Williams had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets, who have lost 10 of 12 games. 

In Atlanta, Australian Dyson Daniels also played a starring role as his Hawks beat the visiting Utah Jazz 147-134 in a high-scoring affair.

Daniels finished with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists as Atlanta extended Utah's losing streak to nine games.

Onyeka Okongwu had 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Trae Young added 23 points and 15 assists for the Hawks, who never trailed.

Keyonte George led the Jazz with a career-high 35 points, including seven threes. Collin Sexton added 27 points and Isaiah Collier scored 17 with 12 assists. 

Collier's 446 assists this season are the most by a rookie since Ja Morant had 488 in the 2019-20 season.

While it was a good day for leading Australians, the same couldn't be said for the ladder leaders in the NBA's Eastern and Western conferences.

 In Oklahoma City, Luka Doncic scored 30 points as the Los Angeles Lakers routed the league-leading Thunder 126-99.

Austin Reaves scored 20 points and LeBron James added 19 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who have won four of five games.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points and Jalen Williams added 16 for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City remained two games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the race for the league's best record with five games to play. But instead of closing in on the top seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, the Thunder have lost consecutive games for just the second time this season.

In Cleveland, Zach LaVine scored 37 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, as the Sacramento Kings remained in position for a play-in spot with a 120-113 victory over the Cavaliers.

DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points and Domantas Sabonis added 27 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who moved into ninth place in the Western Conference with their second straight victory. 

Ty Jerome led Cleveland with 20 points and Donovan Mitchell added 19. 

The Cavaliers (62-16) had a three-game winning streak snapped and will have to wait at least one more game to wrap up the top seed in the Eastern Conference. 

On a busy day in the NBA, there were also wins for the Raptors, Boston, the Trail Blazers, the Pacers, Milwaukee, the Knicks and Houston.