The Indiana Pacers eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks from the NBA playoffs in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, and tensions boiled over afterward.
At the heart of it all was Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose confrontation with Bennedict Mathurin led to a shoving match between the teams. The two-time MVP and 2021 Finals MVP also appeared to get in a verbal altercation with Tyrese Haliburton’s father.
Antetokounmpo was asked about the incidents after the game and spoke at length about people being ‘disrespectful.’
‘I believe (in) being humble in victory. That’s the way I am,’ Antetokounmpo said. ‘Now, there can be a lot of people out there that are like, no when you win the game you got to talk (stuff) and it’s a green light for you to be disrespectful toward somebody else.
‘I disagree. I’ve won the championship. They haven’t.’
Antetokounmpo then addressed the incident with Haliburton’s father.
‘Coming in the floor and showing me his son’s towel, with (Haliburton’s) face (saying) ‘this is what we do. This is what we F’ing do. This the F we do,’ …. I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful,’ Antetokounmpo said.
‘I’m happy for him, I’m happy for his son, and I’m happy that he’s happy for his son,’ Antetokounmpo later added. ‘That’s how you’re supposed to feel. But coming to me and disrespecting me and cursing at me I think is totally unacceptable, totally unacceptable.’
Antetokounmpo ended his remarks saying he thought he and Haliburton’s father were in a ‘good place’ after speaking.
The Bucks won the NBA title in 2021, their first in 50 years, but have been going the wrong way since. They lost in the second round in 2022 and have bowed out in the first round three consecutive years. The future is murky with Damian Lillard likely to miss most if not all of the 2025-26 season after tearing his Achilles in this series.
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