Triple-double for Josh Giddey in OKC win

Rising Australian star Josh Giddey has joined the legendary Wilt Chamberlain as the only two NBA players to register triple-doubles in their first two matches at storied Madison Square Garden.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points and Giddey tallied 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who shot an impressive 62.5 per cent from the field in the 145-135 victory on Sunday (Monday AEDT).

It was OKC's fifth straight win at Madison Square Garden and you have to go all the way back to 1968 for the only other time a player had triple-doubles in their first two visits to the famous venue.

"Any time your name is within the company of (Chamberlain), one of the all-time greats, is special," Giddey said. 

"But basketball is a team game, so if those things contribute to winning and helping my guys around me be better, then it makes it worth it."

Lu Dort also had 24 points for Oklahoma City.

Six Knicks players scored in double figures, led by Cam Reddish, who had a season-high 26 points.

Oklahoma City set a season-high by scoring 43 points in the second quarter, then duplicated it in the third.

In the Thunder's last visit to MSG - in the 2022 NBA season - Giddey finished with 28 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds in a 127-123 overtime victory on February 14.

"We only come (to MSG) once (per season), so we've got to make the most of it," Giddey said.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid chalked up a career-high 59 points in the 105-98 defeat of the Utah Jazz.

The Cameroonian centre beat his previous personal best (50) with 68 per cent shooting accuracy from the field to help the Sixers erase a deficit that stretched to as many as 14 points in the second quarter.

"I've never seen a more dominating performance when you combine defence and offence," coach Doc Rivers said of Embiid's display.

Australian Matisse Thybulle again played extended minutes and came up with five steals, one shy of his personal best. The entire Jazz outfit had only three.

Australian Ben Simmons was a last-minute scratching from the Brooklyn Nets' match against the Los Angeles Lakers, the former No.1 draft pick reporting left knee soreness on game day.

The same knee complaint forced Simmons out of four consecutive games earlier this month before the 26-year-old made his return to the court against Dallas last week.

LeBron James spent a second straight game on the sidelines with a left adductor strain but the Los Angeles Lakers had little trouble overcoming the Brooklyn Nets 116-103.

Despite the best efforts of Kevin Durant, who came close to recording an 18th career triple-double, Brooklyn did not lead at any point of the game.

Lakers big man Anthony Davis recorded a double-double by halftime and finished with game-high numbers in points (37) and rebounds (18).