Josh Giddey injures ankle in Chicago Bulls vs Toronto Raptors, scores, results, Ben Simmons no-look pass for Brooklyn Nets

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

Read on for our full NBA wrap-up!

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INJURY STOPS BIG GAME FOR GIDDEY

In what was shaping up to be one of his best games for the Bulls, Josh Giddey’s night came to a bitter end due to an ankle injury.

Giddey, one rebound and two assists shy of his second triple-double for Chicago with over a quarter left in Tuesday’s game in Toronto, had to be helped to the locker room by the training staff after injuring his ankle on a defensive close-out.

The Aussie turned awkwardly on his ankle while fighting a Gradey Dick corner three with 4:49 left in the third period.

Giddey immediately went to the ground clutching his ankle in agony before being helped to the dressing room in a cruel end to an otherwise encouraging performance.

He finished 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 a block in 23 minutes as a team-high +12 plus /minus.

Giddey started strong out of the gates with four points and three assists in the first period, including blocking Chris Boucher’s drive to the rim in a highlight-reel defensive play, helping Chicago get out to an early 23-15 lead.

Toronto started the second period on a 4-0 run before Giddey dampened the hosts’ momentum with a 3-pointer, playing with more confidence and building on recent form.

The Aussie did a little bit of everything in the second period, including crashing the glass and finding teammates, hitting two key free throws on a tough layup just before halftime that saw Chicago lead 53-50.

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

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

But things took an ugly turn when Giddey’s night came to an abrupt end for his defensive efforts in the corner, with the team ruling him out for the rest of the contest soon after.

The Bulls ended up winning Tuesday’s game 122-121, with Nikola Vucevic scoring 24 points while RJ Barrett had 32 points and nine assists for Toronto.

SIMMONS’ AMAZING NO-LOOK GAME A RARE HEIGHT FOR CLOSED NET

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

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 at the other end.

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

That set the tone for what was a strong start by Brooklyn, which opened up an early 7-0 lead as Simmons played another good defense to force a miss on a Darius Garland 3-pointer before pushing the pace in transition and found Cam Johnson for a triple on a no-look pass.

That was just one example of what Nets coach Jordi Fernandez talked about before Tuesday’s game, telling reporters that the Dennis Schroder trade would force Brooklyn’s offense to play at a much faster pace, with Simmons serving as the primary ball-handler .

“Dennis was among the 10 slowest point guards in the NBA,” Fernandez said before the game.

“Pace does not mean that you are better or worse. Ben is the 18th fastest, so right there is the answer.

“We will try to play faster, the ball will fly… he will push, he will throw forward and we will have more opportunities to get shots earlier on the clock, the higher the quality.”

Kustok credited Simmons with “suffocating” the defense early in the game, while the Australian also needed a defensive rebound as the Nets proved to be far from easy going against the Eastern Conference contenders.

But the game quickly turned in Cleveland’s favor as Brooklyn began to become turnover-happy, allowing the Cavaliers to get into an offensive rhythm after a slow start.

Simmons, while an obvious weapon in transition, was far less effective in the half-court offense, at one point knocking the ball to Johnson instead of trying to get the drive-and-kick going, and the Nets turned it over about shortly after.

That proved to be a consistent problem for Brooklyn with Simmons as the primary point guard and without Schroder, who was not only a high-volume pick-and-roll player with the Nets but also ranked 12th in the league in drives per battle, constant. put pressure on the rim.

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

Things were no better to start the second quarter, as the Nets opened the period 1-for-10 from the field before Simmons dished it out to Jalen Wilson, who made the arcing 3-pointer.

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

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

There was a moment to forget for the Nets later in the quarter when Simmons hit Noah Clowney in the head, all but summing up a sloppy game on both ends by 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 trade block, had a team-high 22 points.

IN OTHER GAMES AROUND THE LEAGUE…

Tyrese Maxey and Paul George showed up as the Philadelphia 76ers earned a much-needed 121-108 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Maxey had 40 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in the win, while George felt it from deep, going 6-for-9 on his way to 33 points along with eight assists.

Australian Josh Green had 10 points and four steals in a losing effort, showing his body control with a particularly tough bucket.

In Detroit, the Pistons outlasted 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 sink the game-winner as a huge Jimmy Butler (35 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals) game was not not enough to get the heat home.