Josh Giddy’s wild stats against the Cavaliers put him in Michael Jordan’s club

The Chicago Bulls drove a historic performance from Josh Giddei to a 127-111 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center on Wednesday. The 23-year-old Australian notched his sixth triple-double of the season, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in 34 minutes, plus two steals, a block and five three-pointers, tying his career high from beyond the arc.

Giddy’s performance put him in rare territory in Chicago history. He became the first player in franchise history to register a triple-double while hitting five or more 3-pointers, joining Michael Jordan as one of only two Bulls players to post more than a 20-point triple-double. His career total now stands at 24 triple-doubles, which ranks him 23rd all-time in the NBA and surpasses New York Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier, while just one behind Clyde Drexler. As part of Chicago, he is third on the all-time triple-double list with 13, behind only Jordan (28) and Scottie Pippen (15).

Giddy has been incredibly consistent this season. In his first 25 games, he became the first Bulls player to score 400-plus points, 200-plus rebounds and 200-plus assists, raising his averages to career highs of 20.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game. He has six triple-doubles in just 24 games, one fewer than he had in 70 games last season, which puts him alongside Nikola Jokic and Jaylen Johnson for the league lead.

After a hot 5-0 start, the Bulls have struggled mightily, winning just once in their previous nine games, but a win on Wednesday could be a turning point. Chicago shot 56.2% from the field, made 14 of 36 threes, and led by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter. Kobe White scored 25 points, and Nikola Vucevic finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. Seven Bulls players scored in double figures, with Tre Jones recording 11 points and 11 assists, and Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins and Isaac Okoro chipping in.

The leading player for Cleveland was Donovan Mitchell, who scored a record 32 points, and Jaylon Tyson with 21 points. Darius Garland had 15 points and six assists, and Jarrett Allen had 14 of his own. The Cavaliers fell to 15-13 overall, winning just three of their last ten games as injuries, including Evan Mobley’s calf problem, continued to affect the team.

Meanwhile, Chicago is now 11-15, but remains three games behind Cleveland in the Central Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference. Regardless, Giddy and the Bulls will look to carry this momentum into their next matchup against the Cavaliers on Friday in the second game of the home-and-home series.