Australian Josh Giddey hit a half-court buzzer-beater over LeBron James to spark wild scenes at the United Centre as the Chicago Bulls stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 119-117 in a NBA thriller on Thursday night.
After sinking the long-range three-pointer to snatch victory for the Bulls, Giddey revealed that it was the first game-winner of his career, while he was just as instrumental to the win with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
Giddey’s heave from beyond halfway is now the longest game-winning shot tracked in Bulls history.
“Let it fly with confidence,” Giddey told KC Johnson, a Bulls broadcaster, after the game. “I missed two before that but let that third one go with confidence and nothing but net. What a way to come back.
“I’ve never made a game-winner before. I’ve made a couple of layups to put us up with a couple of seconds left, but a walk-off like that from half-court, I’ve never done that before. I don’t know if I’ll ever do it again but I’ll take this one tonight.”
The Bulls trailed by five points with 12.6 seconds before Patrick Williams hit a three-pointer to give the hosts a glimmer of hope.
Giddey then picked off a sloppy inbounds throw from James to set up Coby White for another three and give the Bulls the lead with 6.1 seconds left on the clock.
But the Bulls trailed again after Austin Reaves drove for a layup to put the Lakers up by one point with 3.3 seconds remaining.
The Bulls had no timeouts left when Giddey took matters into his own hands as he threw the inbounds pass, received the ball back, dribbled once and then launched a bomb over basketball great James from behind halfway.
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The 22-year-old was mobbed by teammates after the shot sailed through the net and sealed the Bulls’ incredible comeback from as much as 13 points down halfway through the final quarter.
White scored 26 points and Kevin Huerter added 21 as the Bulls won for the ninth time in 11 games, while Reaves led the Lakers with 30 points and Luka Doncic had 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. The Lakers have now lost eight of their past 12 games.
Giddey has returned to form in his first season with the Bulls as he averages 14.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7 assists in 64 matches, but his show-stopping clutch shot will be hard to top.
