The Milwaukee Bucks looked to be in dire straits with just under three minutes left in their contest against the Dallas Mavericks. Giannis Antetokounmpo fouled out after colliding with Tim Hardaway Jr. on a three-point attempt.

With a chance to put the Mavs ahead by two over the Bucks who no longer had their best player available, Hardaway missed all three free throws – a familiar theme for a Dallas side that missed their last six free throws in a game they lost 106-105.

After the game, Giannis was asked about the critical foul that looked to be a death knell for the Bucks before his team rallied without him:

“Great foul. Great foul,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo humorously yet with a serious face on. “Did not mean to foul out. But at the end of the day, you've got to play basketball, you've got to compete. Try to block the shot. [They] went to the free throw line and missed three of them.

Some might say you don't have to contest that hard on certain plays and just make your opponent beat you with a make. But Giannis, the former Defensive Player of the Year, always plays hard to contest and believes his efforts were rewarded by the basketball gods.

“At the end of the day, the basketball gods repay you if you try to play hard. Just seeing the team still competing, still making plays down the stretch, still getting stops. It was amazing,” Antetokounmpo continued.

The Bucks have now won seven of their last eight games as they attempt to chase down the top-seeded Boston Celtics.