(CNN) — Giannis Antetokounmpo was concerned in a heated publish-match altercation with the Indiana Pacers immediately after dropping a vocation-superior and Bucks franchise-record 64 details in Milwaukee’s 140-126 victory on Wednesday.
The ‘Greek Freak’ was sad that the Pacers took the recreation ball from his historic evening, leading Antetokounmpo to cost from the courtroom toward the visitors’ locker space in lookup of it.
Antetokounmpo was then involved in a fiery exchange with Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton when he came again out onto the court.
Just after the game, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle instructed reporters there experienced been a “misunderstanding” and that they had taken the sport ball to give to rookie Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his 1st formal NBA level in the contest.
“We always get the activity ball. We were being not thinking about Giannis’ franchise file,” Carlisle reported put up-recreation. “So we grabbed the ball and, a few of minutes later on, numerous of their players ended up in our hallway and there was a massive fracas or melee, whatsoever you want to contact it.
“I don’t feel any punches were being landed, but my standard manager got elbowed in the ribs by a single of their players, so he unquestionably has a bruised rib and who is familiar with if it is anything at all additional than that.
“Unfortunate condition. We really don’t need the official video game ball, there is two recreation balls there, we could have taken the other one particular, but it didn’t require to escalate to that.”
When questioned regardless of whether he managed to get the match ball, Antetokounmpo claimed he experienced “no thought.”
“I actually never know, I have a ball, but I do not know if it’s the sport ball,” he advised reporters. “It doesn’t experience like the match ball to me, it feels like a brand name new ball. I can notify. I played 35 minutes these days, I know how the recreation ball felt.
“The ball that I have – which I’ll consider and give to my mom for certain – I never know if it is actually the recreation ball, but it’s Okay, lifetime proceeds.
“It’s just unfortunate, I’ve hardly ever seen this before.”
The Bucks’ victory was their next in the area of a few times above the Pacers, capping off a triple-header in between the teams that started out with Indiana beating Milwaukee in the In-Time Match semifinals last Thursday.
Antetokounmpo stuffed the stat sheet on his career evening, adding 14 rebounds, three assists, 4 steals and a block to his 64 factors.
Damian Lillard chipped in with 21 details, 6 assists and 4 rebounds, although Khris Middleton extra 14 points, nine rebounds and 7 helps.
The Bucks are now 17-7 and second in the Jap Meeting, while the Pacers are fifth soon after falling to 13-9.
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