Cleveland Cavaliers eye split with Chicago Bulls in finale of home-and-home set

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Jaylon Tyson of the Cleveland Cavaliers fouls Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls during the first half at the United Center.

Getty Images via AFP

CLEVELAND – The Bulls held serve in Chicago, winning the first half of their home-and-home set against the Cleveland Cavaliers behind a triple-double from Josh Giddey.

Cleveland will attempt to return the favour on Friday (Saturday morning, Singapore time),along with stopping their slide down the Eastern Conference standings.

Giddey moved into 23rd place in NBA history with his 24th career triple-double – 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists – on Wednesday, powering the ‍Bulls to ​a 127-111 victory.

The decisive triumph was ‍Chicago’s second win in a 10-game span and made it 6-15 since opening the season with five straight victories. The 16-point margin was the Bulls’ largest win since April 13 at ​the Philadelphia 76ers.

“This ​is kind of what we’ve been trying to get back to for a while,” said Giddey, who is averaging 20.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.9 assists. “We started the season off the right way, then went through obviously a rough stretch. This was a step in the right direction.”

At age 23, Giddey ‍is making a strong push for his initial All-Star selection. His six triple-doubles are one shy of his career-best total set last season for the Bulls.

In his ​first three pro campaigns with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he averaged ⁠13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists, but has exceeded those numbers across the board in both seasons with