Things were extremely heated on the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse after the final buzzer sounded on Tuesday night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo got into it with Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin at center court, which led to a scuffle that required the two men being separated, and then he got into an emotional exchange with Tyrese Haliburton’s father after the Milwaukee Bucks’ season-ending loss to Indiana.
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Antetokounmpo and John Haliburton met on the court after the Pacers’ improbable 119-118 overtime win over the Bucks on Tuesday. The two shook hands in a crowd of people, but immediately went forehead-to-forehead and started exchanging words. Eventually, the two were separated and parted ways. Antetokounmpo gave the elder Haliburton a thumbs up as he did so.
It’s unclear what was said, or if there was any issue between the two men, but the conversation was clearly an emotional one.
Another angle of the exchange showed John running out onto the court after the game ended and taunting Antetokounmpo with a towel — which Antetokounmpo confirmed was the case after the game.
“I don’t think my pops was in the right,” Tyrese said after the game, adding that he talked to his dad about the situation and was going to talk with Antetokounmpo eventually.
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Antetokounmpo was asked about the exchange, too, and went on a great emotional tangent where he talked about his own parents’ humble ways raising him and his siblings, and how “I believe in being humble in victory.”
“Coming to me and disrespecting me and cursing at me, I think it’s totally unacceptable,” Antetokounmpo said. “Totally unacceptable, OK? … It’s not respectful. I talked with him at the end, and I think we’re in a good place.”
Separately, Antetokounmpo and Mathurin got into it at center court. It’s unclear what initiated the incident, but it looked like Mathurin said something to Antetokounmpo and then grabbed him after a hug.
The altercations all followed Haliburton’s game-winning layup after he flew past Antetokounmpo in the final seconds of overtime. That gave the Pacers the one-point win and officially closed out the series.
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Antetokounmpo finished with a huge triple-double in the loss. He had 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists for the Bucks. Haliburton had 26 points and nine assists in the win despite shooting 2-of-10 from behind the arc. The Pacers will now take on the Cleveland Cavaliers, who swept the Miami Heat in their opening-round series, in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Though it’s not clear what to make of the various exchanges, it could be the final moment of the Antetokounmpo era in Milwaukee as the franchise heads into a critical offseason. Antetokounmpo has spent all 12 seasons of his NBA career with the Bucks, and he led them to a championship in 2021, but the team has been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round in three straight seasons now.
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Many are speculating Antetokounmpo could be traded this offseason to get somewhere where he can win a championship again. The Bucks don’t have any first-round picks in this upcoming draft, don’t have a solid young roster around him to work with and fellow star Damian Lillard could miss all of next season recovering from a torn left Achilles he suffered earlier in the series. Whether a trade happens for the two-time MVP remains to be seen.
Either way, the end to Tuesday night’s game — both before the final buzzer sounded and as Antetokounmpo made his way off the court — wasn’t great for the Bucks.
