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Giddey booed again but Thunder beat Mavericks in NBA

Jasper BruceAAP
Josh Giddey was booed again but scored 10 points as his Thunder beat the Mavericks in Dallas. (AP PHOTO)
Camera IconJosh Giddey was booed again but scored 10 points as his Thunder beat the Mavericks in Dallas. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AP

The away crowd booed Josh Giddey for a second-straight game but the jeering did not prevent Oklahoma City Thunder from running out 126-120 winners against the fast-finishing Dallas Mavericks.

Australian guard Giddey, 21, is being investigated by the Newport Beach Police Department after a since-deleted social media account claimed he had an improper relationship with a minor.

The NBA is also looking into the matter but Giddey has been permitted to continue playing as no criminal charges have been laid.

He chose not to comment on the allegations after they were made public.

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The Dallas home fans booed Giddey when the teams were announced before Saturday night's game (Sunday AEDT), and again when he touched the ball after play began.

Giddey (10 points, three rebounds) received particularly loud jeering after checking into the game again midway through the second quarter.

It came after the Minnesota Timberwolves' home crowd gave Giddey similarly hostile treatment in the Thunder's 106-103 loss earlier in the week.

One of the NBA's most potent offensive sides, the Thunder (13-6) led by as many as 24 points against the Mavs but were knocked off balance when Luka Doncic masterminded an NBA record 30-0 run in the fourth quarter. Their surge beat the previous high of 29 set by Cleveland against Milwaukee in 2009.

With 36 points, 15 rebounds and 18 assists, the superstar Slovenian racked up his 59th career triple-double, tying Larry Bird as the ninth-most prolific man for the statistic in NBA history.

But when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (17 points, three assists, nine rebounds) picked off a wayward Doncic pass late and streaked away in the final 40 seconds, it was a two-score game and pressure was back on Dallas.

Jalen Williams sealed the result with two late free-throws.

Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo's first triple-double of the season hoisted Milwaukee to a 132-121 victory over Atlanta.

Damian Lillard added 25 points and nine assists, and Cameron Payne had 18 points in 20 minutes off the bench as the Bucks rode a 33-23 fourth quarter to victory.

The Detroit Pistons' woes continued with a 110-101 defeat to Cleveland extending their losing streak to 17 games.

The Pistons (2-18) trailed by three points at the final change but conceded a 7-0 run to begin the final term.

The slide is coming perilously close to the Pistons' all-time longest losing streak - 21 games straddling two seasons in 1980. The Pistons last won in on October 29 (AEDT).

Max Strus and Darius Garland led the scorers for Cleveland with 22 points each.

Paul George's three-pointer in the final 10 seconds lifted the LA Clippers over Golden State 113-112 in Los Angeles.

After a time-out, veteran Draymond Green had the chance to regain the on the buzzer with what would've been the Warriors' 18th triple of the game.

But his shot missed and the intrastate rivals shared the spoils of their series 1-1.

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