Giddey leads OKC in double-OT triumph over Toronto

Australia's Josh Giddey has scored 24 points, and was one of five OKC players with 20 or more, in a 135-127 double-overtime triumph against Toronto in the NBA.

Josh Giddey has put up his best scoring numbers this NBA season to lead Oklahoma City to a 135-127 double-overtime win at home against Toronto.

The Australian guard finished with a game-high 24 points on Sunday (Monday AEDT) as he helped lift the Thunder back to the top of the Western Conference standings.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Giddey finds Wiggs late game ? <a href="https://t.co/gfP7Ly4Kvj">pic.twitter.com/gfP7Ly4Kvj</a></p>&mdash; OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) <a href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1754327409208205759?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Giddey also chimed in with six rebounds and six assists, while teammates Luguentz Dort and Chet Holmgren had 22 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 21 and Aaron Wiggins 20.

OKC hit 23 three-pointers, tying a franchise record.

The Thunder stormed back into the contest midway through the third quarter with a 17-2 run to pull to 78-72 and levelled it at 110-110 after Giddey's inbound pass was converted by Wiggins with 4.7 seconds remaining.

Earlier, Minnesota improved to 35-15 in the West after their 111-90 victory at home to Houston.

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 32 points, including 22 in the third term, and Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Gobert added four of Minnesota's season high-tying 11 blocks, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The NBA-best Celtics cruised past a short-handed Memphis in Boston 131-91.

The home side faced a squad with only eight available players because 13 were on the injury report.

Jayson Tatum scored 34 points before sitting out the final quarter, while Kristaps Porzingis added 26 to help the Celtics go 23-3 at TD Garden, and 38-12 overall.

Bradley Beal scored a season-high 43 points in his return to Washington as Phoenix (29-21) routed the Wizards 140-112.

Beal played 11 seasons with the Wizards before being dealt to the Suns last off-season. He received a video tribute and standing ovation during player introductions before the game. Then he scored 26 points in the first half.

In Miami, Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and 11 rebounds, James Harden scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Heat 109-95.

Harden flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 11 assists and eight assists.

The Clippers (33-15) are 25-5 since the start of December - by far the best record in the NBA over that span.

Other winners included the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic.