Aussies Abroad: Hamstring halts Giddey

Josh Giddey has been forced to sit out Chicago's loss to Miami because of a tight hamstring, with the NBA club unsure when the Australian star will be cleared to return.

Giddey, whose hamstring strain snapped a hot run of form at the end of 2025, returned last week.

The Bulls, who have been managing his minutes closely, originally planned for Giddey to take part in their home clash with the Heat on Thursday (local time).

But the point guard was notably absent as the Heat prevailed 116-113 a day after he had returned to the starting line up in a three-point defeat by Indiana.

"Because of the past injury they want to make sure they can clear the tightness up because I think they worry about it going from one thing to the next," head coach Billy Donovan told The Chicago Sun-Times.

"I don't know when he'll return. There was no strain or a setback, anything like that. It's just a matter of how long it will take them to remove the tightness where he could just play without it."

Norman Powell scored 21 points and Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat.

Ayo Dosunmu had 23 points to lead the Bulls.

In Atlanta, Kevin Durant scored 31 points as the Houston Rockets beat the short-handed home side 104-86, ending the Hawks' four-game winning streak.

The Hawks held out two frontline starters with injuries. Centre Onyeka Okongwu suffered a dental fracture in Atlanta's win at Boston. Star forward Jalen Johnson was ruled out with left calf tightness.

CJ McCollum led Atlanta with 23 points. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 20 and Corey Kispert added 17.

Australian Dyson Daniels had a solid night, but was let down by his shooting.

Daniels finished with four points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

However, he only managed 2-of-12 field goals, and 0-of-3 from three-point range.

In Dallas, Kon Knueppel made two free throws with 4.1 seconds left for a career-high 34 points as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Dallas Mavericks 123-121, spoiling his Duke roommate Cooper Flagg's 49-point game.

Flagg, who turned 19 in December, broke the NBA record for points in a game by a teenager. Cliff Robinson set the previous record of 45 when also aged 19 for New Jersey against Detroit in 1980.

Flagg set career highs with 20 field goals on 29 shots, and also had 10 rebounds.

Knueppel grabbed an errant pass by Flagg near midcourt with seven seconds left and the score tied. He drove to the basket and was fouled by Flagg as the ball lodged between the rim and the backboard. Flagg's shot at the buzzer to send it to overtime hit the back of the rim.

Knueppel made eight three-pointers to set a rookie record for the Hornets, who have won five consecutive games.

Brandon Miller scored 23 points, his ninth straight game with at least 20 points, for Charlotte.

Australian Josh Green finished with two points, three rebounds and one assist for the Hornets from his 15 minutes of court time.

In Minneapolis, Anthony Edwards scored 26 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves matched a season high with 22 three-pointers in a 123-111 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In other results, the Philadelphia 76ers held on for a 113-111 home win over the visiting Sacramento Kings, the Washington Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks 109-99, the Denver Nuggets held on for a 107-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets, and the Phoenix Suns downed the Detroit Pistons 114-96.