That looked painful.
Oklahoma City Thunder star Josh Giddey wasn’t happy after he appeared to get hit below belt by Pelicans guard Josh Richardson in the Western Conference play-in game on Wednesday night.
With under eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Giddey was fired up after Richardson appeared to throw an elbow at his groin, which sent the Aussie guard crashing to the floor.
During the play, Giddey was trying to screen Richardson near half court, while Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was bringing the ball up the court.
Giddey immediately got up and charged in Richardson’s direction before he was held back by his teammate, Jaylin Williams.
Giddey appeared to point at Richardson and say, “Don’t do that bullls–t again” after the incident.
The 20-year-old Giddey was seen talking with a referee while both teams gathered in the middle of the court.
A smiling Richardson was seen clapping after the clash.
After reviewing the play, referees assessed Richardson with a flagrant foul and Giddey shot two free throws before the Thunder got the ball back.
The Thunder, who were trailing 101-100 at the time, went on to defeat the Pelicans in the play-in tournament clash, 123-118.
Giddey finished with a career-high 31 points, to go with nine rebounds and 10 assists in a brilliant postseason debut.
He became the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 30 points in a play-in or playoff game.
Giddey surpassed Derrick Rose, who set the record in 2009, by 12 days.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points.
“Survive and advance,” Giddey wrote on Twitter after the game.
“We did a great job of not getting rattled,” he said postgame. “Nothing ever phased us.
“It’s such a young group, but it’s such a composed team and that’s how you have to be down the stretch of tight games like that. This is as good as I could have imagined my first postseason game being.”
The Thunder roster has an average age of 23.
They will now play the Timberwolves for the eighth seed on Friday.
The winner will advance to face the Western Conference-leading Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday.
Giddey said the Thunder are expecting a “hostile” environment on the road against Minnesota.
“It’s going to be a similar environment — hostile, on the road, a do-or-die game,” he said.
“It’s going to be another test, but as Shai said — we’ve had a lot of close games and none of these moments rattle our guys. We’ll be ready for Minnesota.”