Josh Giddey reduced to spectator as Aussie is benched in NBA playoffs

Josh Giddey was relegated to the bench for crunch time in his NBA playoffs debut as top-seeded Oklahoma City were almost run down by an undermanned New Orleans. The Australian third-year point guard played just 20 minutes and wasn't sighted in the final 10 minutes of a see-sawing, first-round Western Conference meeting with the Pelicans. After 20 lead changes and 11 ties the Thunder prevailed 94-92, CJ McCollom's off-balance effort to win on the buzzer missing for the eighth-seeded visiting side who were without leading scorer Zion Williamson (hamstring). It was the Thunder's first post-season game at home since 2019, Giddey's side the youngest top-seeds in NBA history with an average age of 23.9.