Wednesday night's matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers was expected to be tense given the fact that it was not that long ago when those two squads met in the semifinals of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. True enough, the contest was filled with drama that even spilled outside of regulation time, with Giannis Antetokounmpo looking to get the game ball after his historic performance.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle later explained the reasoning behind why his team took the ball, though, it's fair to expect Antetokounmpo and the Bucks not to buy it.
“There was a misunderstanding about the game ball. It was Oscar Tshiebwe's first official NBA point. We always get the game ball. We were not thinking about Giannis' franchise record. … Unfortunate situation,” Carlise said during the postgame press conference (h/t Bally Sports Indiana).
Oscar Tshiebwe, who is an undrafted rookie, was a college basketball legend, particularly with the Kentucky Wildcats and there's intrinsically nothing wrong with the Pacers wanting to get him the ball. However, Antetokounmpo just scored 64 points to establish a new career-high and franchise record for the Bucks in their 140-126 victory. Antetokounmpo surely would want to take the ball home as a perfect memento for the offensive outburst he just had at the expense of the Pacers.
On top of his scoring total, Antetokounmpo also recorded 14 rebounds, three assists, four steals, and a block.
Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, meanwhile, paced the Pacers with 22 points each.
The Pacers will look to recover from the loss when they play the Washington Wizards on the road this coming Friday.
Follow Us
Subscribe