‘Security took him out’: Josh Giddey clashes with NBA fan

A visibly frustrated Josh Giddey clashed with a fan courtside during Chicago’s 123-116 loss to the Hornets in Charlotte on Saturday with security then removing the heckler in the closing stages of the contest.

With 1:16 left on the clock and the Bulls trailing 119-112, a fan wearing sunglasses got under the skin of Giddey prior to a Chicago in-bound play.

The fan called out, taunting the Boomers gun, as he danced and “flipped the bird”.

Giddey marched down the court to confront his agitator, with the referee getting between the two men before security finally arrived and removed the offender to the jeers of the Spectrum Centre crowd.

“He just said something I didn’t like, and I went over to him – that was it,” Giddey said after the game.

“Security took him out and that was the end of it.”

The point guard appeared on target to bag his fifth triple-double haul of the season but didn’t get the opportunities he needed.

Giddey finished with 25 points (matching Coby White as the Bulls’ top scorer) and 11 rebounds, but just missed out on a triple-double with nine assists as his side sank to their third loss in the past four games.

Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic, who has been battling knee soreness, was limited to 13 points, although he did grab a game-high 14 rebounds.

Playing just his fifth game of season, Hornets guard Brandon Miller led the scoring with 27 points, including five three-pointers.

Miles Bridges and Collin Sexton both contributed 20-plus as the Hornets snapped a seven-game losing streak.

Charlotte held a five-point lead at half-time, and while the Bulls regrouped to lead 94-93 heading into the final term, the home side rallied again with Bridges scoring nine points as part of a 12-4 Hornets run.

It was the final NBA Cup group game for both teams, although they had already been eliminated from the tournament prior to the game.

Meanwhile, Dyson Daniels returned to his ball-stealing best as Atlanta swamped Cleveland 130-123 to end their quarter-final ambitions.

The Boomers guard’s steal streak was stopped at 70 consecutive games in the Hawks’ recent upset loss to Washington.

But “the Great Barrier Thief” was back in touch with three steals as well as nine assists and eight rebounds as the Hawks overhauled a two-point halftime deficit.

AAP