Aussie NBA star suffers hamstring injury in big loss

Josh Giddey has gone down with a hamstring injury in Chicago’s NBA loss to Minnesota.

After registering 11 points, four rebounds and three assists, the Australian guard was forced off court in the first minute of the third quarter.

The Bulls later confirmed he would not return for the rest of their home match at the United Centre.

Giddey threw a pass after dribbling down court, before clutching for his left hamstring.

It was a dirty night for Chicago, with fellow guard Coby White suffering a calf injury in the first quarter, and the Bulls eventually going down 136-101.

Giddey was averaging 19.5 points, 9.2 assists and 9.1 rebounds this season to put him in All-Star calculations.

The 23-year-old is ranked second in the NBA with seven triple-doubles this season.

He set a new record for the fastest triple-double by a Bulls player by completing the feat in 20 minutes, two seconds against Atlanta last week.

It comes after Australian basketball great Andrew Gaze declared Giddey was worth his new blockbuster $US100m, four-year contract extension.

“He’s a walking triple-double,” Gaze told AAP.

“(His season) has been as good as you could expect, I think, to a point where I know he just recently signed a very, very large contract but he’s playing, relative to other players, well above the value that he’s got.”

It was a similarly bad night for Denver star Nikola Jokic who limped off the court in Miami after appearing to hurt his left knee just before the intermission.

If he misses any time, it would be a massive blow to the Nuggets.

Jokic is a three-time MVP and certainly was in the early MVP conversation this season, having entered Monday averaging 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists.

In his absence, Denver went down 147-123 to the Heat.