Josh Giddey had to be helped off the field and was sidelined with an ankle injury after enjoying one of his better starts to a game with the Bulls, while Ben Simmons produced a highlight pass for the Brooklyn Nets in an otherwise poor first half.

Read on for our full NBA wrap!

An average of 9 LIVE regular season games per week plus the best of the NBA Playoffs, including every game of the NBA Conference Finals and NBA Finals LIVE on ESPN, available via Kayo New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.

An injury stops the big game for Giddey

In one of his best games for the Bulls, Josh Giddey’s evening ended bitterly due to an ankle injury.

Giddey, who was one rebound and two assists shy of his second triple-double for Chicago with a quarter to go in Tuesday’s game in Toronto, had to be carried to the locker room by the coaching staff after he injured his ankle on a defensive completion.

The Australian turned awkwardly on his ankle as he contested a third corner kick from Gradey Dick with 4:49 minutes remaining in the third period.

Giddey immediately went down, clutching his ankle in pain, before being helped to the locker room – a cruel end to an otherwise encouraging performance.

He finished the game with 11 points on 3 of 4 shooting from the field and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line, one 3-pointer, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block in 23 minutes, a team-high +12 plus/ minus.

Giddey got off to a strong start with four points and three assists in the first period, including blocking Chris Boucher’s drive to the rim in an outstanding defensive game and helping Chicago take an early 23-15 lead.

Toronto started the second period with a 4-0 run before Giddey halted the hosts’ momentum with a three-pointer, playing with greater confidence and building on their encouraging recent form.

The Australian did a little bit of everything in the second period, including breaking the window and finding teammates, hitting two key free throws in a hard-hitting attack at the rim just before halftime with Chicago leading 53-50.

The Bulls opened the second half with a 10-3 run, including five points for Vucevic, who was the visitors’ leading scorer with more responsibility since Zach LaVine was sidelined.

Giddey approached his triple-double in the third period, staying busy on the glass, generally active on defense and making high-percentage shots and smart plays.

But things took a turn for the worse when Giddey’s evening came to an abrupt end due to his defensive efforts in the corner and the team soon ruled him out for the remainder of the bout.

In the end, the Bulls won Tuesday’s game 122-121, with Nikola Vucevic scoring 24 points while RJ Barrett had 32 points and nine assists for Toronto.

SIMMONS’ STUNNING NO-LOOK GAME A RARE HIGHLIGHT FOR SLOPPY NETS

Elsewhere, Ben Simmons showed early signs early in his first game as Brooklyn’s clear lead guard, but the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to a comfortable 130-101 victory.

Simmons made an immediate impact in Tuesday’s game, pressuring Darius Garland into a bad pass that the Australian deflected and turned into a dunk on the other end.

“This is exactly the type of defensive pressure and power you want to see from Simmons to start the game,” YES Network’s Sarah Kustok said in her commentary.

There was the foundation for a strong start by Brooklyn, which jumped to an early 7-0 lead, while Simmons played even more great defense to force a miss on a 3-pointer from Darius Garland before scoring in transition The tempo increased and Cam Johnson found himself for the triple after a no-look pass.

It was just one example of what Nets coach Jordi Fernandez was talking about before Tuesday’s game when he told reporters that the Dennis Schroder move would force Brooklyn’s offense to play at a much faster pace, with Simmons as the primary ball handler acted.

“Dennis was one of the ten slowest point guards in the NBA,” Fernandez said before the game.

“Speed ​​doesn’t mean you’re better or worse. Ben is the 18th fastest, so right here is the answer.

“We’re going to try to play faster, the ball is going to fly… he’s going to push, he’s going to throw forward and we’re going to have more opportunities to get higher quality shots earlier in the game.”

Kustok praised Simmons for the “stifling” defense early in the game, while the Australian also struggled for a defensive rebound as the Nets proved anything but easy to beat against their Eastern Conference rivals.

But the game quickly turned in Cleveland’s favor as Brooklyn increased turnovers, allowing the Cavaliers to get into an offensive rhythm after a slow start.

Although Simmons was an obvious weapon in transition, he was far less effective in the halfcourt offense. At one point, he passed the ball to Johnson instead of trying to get the drive-and-kick play going, and the Nets turned it over shortly afterward.

It proved to be a persistent problem for Brooklyn with Simmons as its primary point guard and without Schroder, who was not only a high-volume pick-and-roll player for the Nets but also consistently ranked 12th in the league in drives per game exert applied pressure on the rim.

The Cavaliers went on a 16-0 run to take a 30-15 lead in the first quarter, having already scored 17 points off turnovers from that point on, and eventually took a 37-17 lead into the second quarter.

Things didn’t go any better at the start of the second quarter, as the Nets opened the period with 1:10 from the field before Simmons passed the ball to Jalen Wilson, who made the 3-pointer.

It was a rare highlight in another otherwise sloppy quarter, as the Nets entered halftime trailing 72-40 and had more turnovers (14) than field goals made (13).

Simmons had a solid start to the third quarter, getting to the rim more and scoring four quick points before intercepting a Garland pass and taking the ball for the dunk on the other side.

There was a moment to forget for the Nets later in the quarter when Simmons hit Noah Clowney in the head, almost the result of sloppy play on both sides of the Nets.

Simmons finished the game with 10 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals, but turned it over six times. Johnson, who is on the trading block, had a team-high 22 points.

IN OTHER GAMES AROUND THE LEAGUE…

Tyrese Maxey and Paul George put on a show as the Philadelphia 76ers earned a much-needed 121-108 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Maxey had 40 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in the win, while George made his mark from deep, going 6 of 9 en route to 33 points and eight assists.

Australian Josh Green scored 10 points and four steals on a losing team and demonstrated his body control with a particularly tough basket.

In Detroit, the Pistons beat the Miami Heat 125-124 in an overtime thriller.

Tyler Herro, who had 23 points in the loss, hit the 3-pointer to send it to overtime, but couldn’t knock down the game-winner as it was a great game from Jimmy Butler (35 points, 19 rebounds , 10 assists, four steals) That’s not enough to bring the Heat home.