Australian teenager Josh Giddey put forward his best NBA performance to date in a 12-point loss to Philadelphia on Monday (AEDT).
The Thunder lost 115-103 to the 76ers, who are still missing wantaway Ben Simmons who was suspended for the season opener last week, and has since informed teammates he isn't mentally ready to play.
It was his fellow Australian Giddey who instead took centre stage and he was mightily impressive with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals in the defeated side.
The 19-year-old found himself in a tangle with NBA All-Star Joel Embiid – Simmons' highest profile Philly teammate who last week said "I don't care about that man" as the furore over Simmons' return to the 76ers reached fever pitch.
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Embiid chased the young Australian to the rim and aggressively blocked the Giddey shot, barrelling the teenager over, with Giddey then colliding hard with the padded base of the hoop.
Giddey looked injured for a few seconds before brushing it off, acknowledging Embiid, and then sinking his free throws.
Onlookers were impressed when, with his next possession, Giddey calmly drained a three-pointer from the corner of the court.
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https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/1452443707169443843?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Former Australian coach Brendan Joyce was livid at the heavy contact by Embiid on the teenager.
https://twitter.com/Brendan_Joyce12/status/1452462289097879552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Giddey was asked by media post-game about his clash with Embiid.
"It was OK. Good contest at the rim I guess… Embiid's a big boy," Giddey said.
"But nothing came out of that, I'm fine."
It was Giddey's third NBA game and his best so far.
"The first two games I was bad. Tonight I just wanted to get into the groove early," he said.
Observers on social media were impressed with the young Aussie.
https://twitter.com/CrainNBA/status/1452444260477849608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/CrainNBA/status/1452443896101982210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/AlexGrantOz/status/1452444628825690113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/ScubaStv/status/1452445211288690691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/1452446651965231109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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