Giddey 'let slide' Landale flagrant in $1.15M Aussie clash

• Josh Giddey had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in a 125-117 win
• He let Jock Landale's flagrant foul slide because they are Boomers teammates
• It was Chicago's first home win and only their second of the season

Josh Giddey admitted it was "a big relief" for him and the Chicago Bulls to secure their first home win and only second of the season, 125-117 against Australian Boomers teammates Dyson Daniels and Jock Landale's Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, November 14, 2026 (AEDT).

The 24-year-old Victorian point guard also said he'll "let slide" Landale's flagrant foul on a drive to the bucket with 7:54 remaining, with Chicago up 98-90.

"A hard foul," Giddey said.

"We spoke about it. He already texted me about it as well. So, yeah, it was a hard foul. Should have got thrown out.

"It was like a headlock and threw me to the ground. We were kind of laughing about it as well. So if there was anyone else, I probably would have got up and had a word to him. Because it was Jock, I let it slide."

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Giddey had his first triple-double of the season (15 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists) and 32nd of his career, but it was the W that relieved some of the pressure on the 2-9 Bulls.

"It's a big relief," Giddey said.

"Obviously, I think we've given ourselves a chance in the last couple of games against really good teams, and I think tonight was more of a 48-minute kind of effort by the group.

"And yeah, that's a good team. That's a team that wants to make a deep playoff run. So to be able to close them out in overtime, they're a talented team. They got a deep roster.

"So they threw a lot of punches at us, we were able to handle it, and I thought we played a more complete game tonight than we have probably in the past."

The NBA Cup clash was a match-up between more than AUD $320M in Boomers talent. Giddey is in the second year of a USD $25M-a-year deal and Daniels is in the first year of his, while Landale is playing through the biggest single-year contract of his career at USD $14M.

It meant the Aussie vs Aussies clash was worth about AUD $1.15M between the three Boomers stars – Giddey and Daniels, $450,000 each and Landale $253,800.

Giddey's assist numbers are up, largely because the Bulls are starting to make more shots after a near diabolical start to the season.

"It was always going to come back to league average at some point," he said.

"We weren't going to shoot that bad for the entire season. So I think guys trust the work. We trust each other. We make the extra pass. We get good looks. So, yeah, I mean, it's a team kind of effort.

"I've said this kind of all year, we don't have a guy that we're going to just be able to give the ball to and let them go to work. We've got to be able to do it by committee. And I think we've done that these last few games. But I think that's the process we've got to trust, and the outcome will be what we want more often than not when we play the right way.

"So, yeah, we did it tonight. I thought we looked great. We moved the ball, shared the ball, and guys got open looks."

Giddey is also climbing toward his career averages, but turnovers remain a concern for the primary ball handler.

In 2026-27, he's averaging 3.3 turnovers per game, up from his career average of 2.8, while his assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.7 vs 2.3. The seven-turnover game against the San Antonio Spurs swelled his season total to 36 in 11 games. Without it, he has 29 in 10 games (2.9 a game, right on his career average).

"Defences will adjust, and they'll start to change coverages if shots start to fall," Giddey said.

"But I think it's just important for us when shots aren't falling, how do we respond? And I think that's something we've probably struggled with, and I'm included in that. When shots haven't fallen, we've probably let it impact how we play on the other side of the ball.

"So I thought tonight, when shots were going in, when they weren't going in, our defensive discipline didn't change throughout the whole game. And that's kind of the way it's got to be, especially for our group."

The Bulls are straight back on court on the second night of a back-to-back, away to Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center at 12pm AEDT today (Sunday, November 15, 2026)

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