Star Australian guard Patty Mills put on a three-point clinic to help lift the Brooklyn Nets to a hard-fought 117-112 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Josh Giddey briefly threatened to post the first triple-double of his NBA career.
Mills nailed five of his nine three-point attempts on the way to a 17-point haul on Tuesday, while superstar forward Kevin Durant led all scorers with 27 points as Brooklyn secured their third straight win.
The Nets led by just one point with a little more than two minutes remaining, but a long-range bomb from Mills helped give Brooklyn the breathing space they needed to seal the win.
The result helped Brooklyn stay on top of the Eastern Conference with a 13-5 record.
Mills has been in hot form all season from down town, with his three-point shooting accuracy this season standing at an elite 48 per cent.
In contrast to Mills, Giddey was ice cold from long range on Tuesday as his Oklahoma City Thunder went down to the Atlanta Hawks 113-101.
Giddey missed all five of his three-point attempts, but he was in hot form in all other aspects and came close to notching a triple double.
The 19-year-old made six-of-eight from two-point land on the way to 15 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, one steal and two blocks in one of his best showings of the season.
Giddey made the most of the absence of star Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with the young Australian shining during his 31 minutes on court.
His deft assists and strong drives to the basket set tongues wagging.
Matisse Thybulle produced his highest score of the NBA season to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 102-94 win over the Sacramento Kings.
The 76ers trailed 90-85 with six minutes remaining, but they finished with a 17-4 run to snatch victory.
Thybulle, playing just his second match back after recovering from COVID-19, was a key player in the win with 15 points, three steals and one block from almost 33 minutes of court time.
He shot six of eight from the field.
Australian sharpshooter Joe Ingles had a quiet game in Utah’s heartbreaking 119-118 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Ingles posted just two points, two assists and two steals from his 24 minutes of action.
The Jazz led by six points with just 70 seconds remaining, but the Grizzlies went on a 7-0 run to snare the upset victory.
In other games on Tuesday, Charlotte beat Washington 109-103, Boston cruised to a 108-90 win over the Houston Rockets, Indiana torched Chicago 109-77, Milwaukee thrashed Orlando 123-92, Phoenix edged San Antonio 115-111 and Minnesota beat New Orleans 110-96.
AAP
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