When Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his 17th double-double while setting a Milwaukee Bucks franchise record with his 64 points on Wednesday, he wanted the game ball to give to his mother, noting the accomplishment.
But the host Indiana Pacers’ undrafted rookie Oscar Tshiebwe scored his first NBA points in the game, and the Pacers always honor that achievement with the game ball.
These two things set the stage for a postgame fracas that spilled over to the hall outside the Pacers’ locker room. It’s one more example of bad blood brewing between these two teams.
These two teams have already played each other three times, with the Pacers winning the first two matchups by a combined 11 points. And their last matchup was just less than a week ago in the NBA In-Season Tournament, so it’s likely that Milwaukee’s loss was still fresh in their minds.
So, in Wednesday’s game, Milwaukee led throughout and Antetokounmpo came out of the game in the fourth quarter with it seemingly in hand.
Instead, the Pacers clawed back. Antetokounmpo had to reenter the game late in the fourth quarter and that was why he was able to set a new career high in points.
But the biggest story coming from this game was about the altercation that happened after the game ended and it had everything to do with the official game ball. In the end, it appears that the Pacers didn’t take the actual game ball, they instead took the reserve ball, and the Milwaukee Bucks’ head of security took the real game ball.
Bucks and Pacers creating new NBA rivalry
With how these two teams have played each other this season, it appears we have the makings of the newest NBA rivalry. And everyone is chipping in to make it intense.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ TV announcing team Marques Johnson and Lisa Byington shared their thoughts, arguably unprofessional thoughts, a couple of times during the broadcast.
In the first quarter, with less than six minutes remaining, Tyrese Haliburton pushed the ball up the court for a dunk and then received a forearm shiver from Antetokounmpo. Johnson and Byington said that Haliburton is “one of the best floppers they’ve seen in a long time.”
Then with fewer than three minutes left in the first quarter, Johnson and Byington referred to Haliburton as a “wanna-be superstar”. This brings back memories of Wally Szcerzbiak calling Haliburton “a fake, wanna-be All-Star”. Again, this is all happening in the first quarter of the game and would set a tone for the physicality of the game.
With about nine minutes left in the third quarter of close game, Myles Turner used a physical move on Antetokounmpo to score his 20th point in the game. This would help set the table for the fireworks that would happen in the fourth quarter.
During the final quarter, with less than 12 minutes, Antetokounmpo tried to score only to be blocked by Isaiah Jackson and then the Bucks’ player was hopped over by Jackson and Aaron Nesmith.
About two minutes later, Nesmith and Antetokounmpo would be tangled up again. This time Nesmith laid a hard foul on the Bucks player, throwing him to the ground, which incited a scrum between the two teams and a very upset family member. This play would eventually lead to Bobby Portis’ ejection.
Bad Blood spills over after the game
After the game, when Antetokounmpo confronted Haliburton and Pacers’ assistant coach Lloyd Pierce on the court about wanting the game ball, Antetokounmpo raced to the Pacers’ locker room. He is again denied the game ball. A scrum broke out and Pacers’ GM Chad Buchanan received an elbow from a Bucks player that bruised his ribs.
But this show wasn’t over. During Damian Lillard’s postgame press conference, he shared his thoughts and some insight on the league.
These two teams will play each other again in two weeks, on New Year’s Day in Milwaukee and then two days later in Indianapolis.
You should probably expect more fireworks.