Aussies in the NBA Week 23. Photo: @brooklynnets, @okcthunder/Twitter.
Patty Mills historic shooting season from three continued this week, climbing to second on the Nets three pointers made in a season list.
It was not all positive news however with it being announced this week that Aussie rookie phenom Josh Giddey has been shut down for the rest of the season, unable to return in time from a hip injury.
Patty Mills
4 Games, 2 Wins, 6.0pts, 2.0reb, 1.0ast
Patty Mills came off the bench in all four of the Brooklyn Nets games this week as they played some of the top seeded teams in both conferences.
Brooklyn began the week hosting the Utah Jazz, where the team was able to get the 114-106 victory. Mills played 31 minutes, scoring 13 points as well as having three rebounds, one assist and one block.
Mills earnt more playing time with starting guard, Seth Curry going down with an ankle injury late in the second quarter. In the game Mills also hit three, three pointers to place in second on the Nets three pointers made in a season with 212.
The Nets were on the road for their following game against the Memphis Grizzlies where they were unable to get the win, going down by 12 points. Mills got plenty of playing time with 25 minutes, however was unable to hit any of his four shots to finish the game with just a single rebound.
Brooklyn’s road trip continued, travelling to South Beach to play the Miami Heat, where the Nets made a statement over one of the top teams in the East, cruising past them by 15 points with strong defence.
As a team Brooklyn forced 24 turnovers and had 15 steals.
Mills struggled to get his shot to fall in the game, going two of 11 from behind the arc to finish with nine points as well as a single rebound and assist.
The Nets closed out the week returning home to play the Charlotte Hornets. The game marked Kyrie Irving’s home debut following the New York government lifting the vaccine mandate for athletes.
The Hornets however spoiled Irving’s first game in Barclays Centre this season, defeating them 119 to 110. The game held extra significance as well with the Hornets now moving ahead of the Nets in the Eastern Conference standings, with Brooklyn not sitting in ninth place.
Mills played just 12 minutes off the bench in the game, again struggling to score, going at just 25% to finish with two points, three rebounds and two assists.
Matisse Thybulle
4 Games, 3 Wins, 6.3pts, 1.3reb, 0.5ast, 1.3stl
The Philadelphia 76ers had a strong week winning three of their four games to now sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, just half a game off the first seed. The team had a tough schedule of games this week but rose to the occasion, with Aussie Matisse Thybulle providing solid defensive.
Philadelphia made a statement in their first game of the week, defeating the then Eastern Conference leading Miami Heat, 113-106. The Sixers got the win without their two leading scorers with Joel Embiid and James Harden not playing.
Thybulle started the game but played just 16 minutes, to record five points, grab two offensive rebounds and have two assists.
The Sixers were on the road for their next game against the LeBron James less, Los Angeles Lakers. It was a close battle with the 76ers only just holding on for the five-point win, with a dominant second quarter being the catalyst.
Thybulle saw his playing time slightly increase to 22 minutes, however had more of an impact on the defensive end. He finished the game with four points, two rebounds, two steals and a block.
The Sixers stayed in LA for their next game, this time playing the Clippers who they handled easily to win 122 to 97. From the opening jump the 76ers were in command, jumping out to a 16 point lead by the end of the first quarter.
Thybulle made his presence felt on both ends of the floor, scoring 13 points off 83.3% shooting and collecting three steals in the game.
The Sixers entered their final game of the week as the number one seed in the East however were unable to hold the position going down to the Western Conference leading, Phoenix Suns. The game was close throughout until Phoenix broke away in the final quarter to win by 10 points.
While Thybulle started he only played 16 minutes, unable to fill up the stat sheet, scoring just three points and having one block.
Jock Landale
2 Games, 2 Wins, 6.0pts, 4.5reb, 1.0ast
Jock Landale and the San Antonio Spurs continued to battle this week for wins as they look to book their place in the play-in tournament with a top 10 finish in the Western Conference. San Antonio played just two games this week, winning both to now find themselves in 11th place and just one win behind the 10th placed LA Lakers.
The Spurs first game of the week came against the Portland Trailblazers with them blowing them out by 37 points in a 133 to 96 victory. San Antonio got off to a perfect start to the game scoring 45 points in the first quarter to put themselves in a commanding position.
Landale came off the bench in the game, playing just eight minutes where he contribute with two points, two rebounds and a pair of assists for the game.
The Spurs big man saw his playing time increase in the teams second and final game of the week against the Pelicans, playing 19 minutes. Landale had a strong game, scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds of which three were offensive.
The Spurs were able to narrowly win the game 107 to 103, with Landale helping the team stay in the game, with San Antonio outscoring New Orleans by 17 points in the 19 minutes Landale was on the floor.
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Josh Green
4 Games, 3 Wins, 2.8pts, 1.3reb, 1.0ast
Josh Green and the Dallas Mavericks continued to amass wins this week as they looked to improve their seeding with the end of the regular season just two weeks away. Dallas has been in good form recently having won 14 of their last 20 games.
The Mavs opened the week hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves in a close game, winning by just two points. It was the second quarter where the Mavericks made their mark outscoring the Timberwolves by 12 points.
Aussie Josh Green had a rough shooting night, making just one of his five attempts to finish with two points, a pair of rebounds and assists, one steal and one block.
Dallas next hosted divisional rivals, the Houston Rockets where they were able to cruise to 19 point victory. Green again struggled shooting the ball, going at just 25% to score just two points as well as grabbing one rebound.
The Mavericks were on the road for their third game of the week, this time travelling to Minneapolis to play the Timberwolves for the second time. With the home court advantage Minnesota was dominant scoring the ball going at 51.2% as a team compared to Dallas’ 38.9, to win 116 to 95.
Green had his most productive scoring game of the week, playing 17 minutes to finish with seven points and two rebounds.
Dallas returned home for their final game of the week against the Utah Jazz which proved to be an extremely important match up for playoff implications, due to the likelihood the teams could meet in the first round of the playoffs. Dallas was able to get the win in the matchup putting them one game clear of Utah in the standings and into fourth place, giving them home court advantage.
Green had little impact in the game not scoring any points, rather dishing off two assists and having one block in the 14 minutes he played.
Josh Giddey again did not play any games this week, out with right hip soreness. It was announced on Sunday by Thunder coach Mark Daigneault that Giddey would not return this season with the timetable for his recovery lasting longer than the two weeks left in the regular season.
Giddey ends his rookie season having played 54 games and averaged 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists. Giddey made a large impact on the league in his first season having set multiple NBA records, such as becoming the youngest player to record a triple-double as well as winning the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award four times.
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