GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO ERUPTED for a career-high 64 points as the Milwaukee Bucks avenged last week’s in-season tournament exit to the Indiana Pacers with an ill-tempered 140-126 victory on Wednesday.
Former NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo was in scintillating form, shooting 20-of-28 from the field with 14 rebounds, three assists and four steals as the clash between the two highest-scoring teams in the NBA lived up to its billing.
Milwaukee were dumped out of the in-season tournament semi-finals in Las Vegas last week by the Pacers and were clearly determined to avoid a repeat of that loss before their home crowd at the Fiserv Forum.
The simmering tension between the teams boiled over in the fourth quarter when Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith wrapped an arm around Antetokounmpo’s neck as he drove for the basket.
Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis flew in to defend his team-mate before being dragged away in an ugly melee that involved officials and coaching staff from both benches.
The acrimony flared again after the final buzzer, with Antetokounmpo and other Milwaukee players racing off the court to confront members of the Pacers team.
Antetokounmpo, whose 64 points marked a franchise record, later re-emerged back onto the court to remonstrate with Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said the post-game fracas was triggered over a misunderstanding about the game-ball, snaffled by the Pacers after their Congolese rookie Oscar Tshiebwe scored his first NBA point off the bench.
“We were not thinking about Giannis’s franchise record so we grabbed the ball and a couple of minutes later several of their players ended up in our hallway,” Carlisle said.
“There was a big fracas, melee whatever. I don’t think any punches landed but our general manager got an elbow in the ribs from one of their players.
“Unfortunate situation. It didn’t need to escalate to that.
“Third time we’ve played these guys in the past two to three weeks so things are heated and I understand all that. But for it to come into the hallway -– it didn’t need to happen that way.”
- Wemby rally falls short -
Elsewhere, Anthony Davis scored 37 points as the Los Angeles Lakers held off a dazzling late rally led by French prodigy Victor Wembanyama to edge past the San Antonio Spurs 122-119.
The Lakers, missing LeBron James after Tuesday’s defeat in Phoenix, looked to be cruising after leading for almost the entire game and opening up a 20-point advantage early in the fourth quarter at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center.
But a stunning fightback by the home team -– who erupted for 45 points in the final quarter -– left the Lakers clinging on towards the end of regulation before they eventually scraped home.
Number one draft pick Wembanyama, denied his much-hoped-for match-up with James, excelled down the stretch with 14 points including two back-to-back three-pointers and a free throw that helped San Antonio get to within one point with 22 seconds remaining.
The San Antonio rally fell just short however, with Davis nailing four straight free throws to give the Lakers a five-point cushion in the closing seconds, effectively sealing the game.
The Lakers improved to 15-10 to remain in fifth place in the Western Conference.
In other games, reigning MVP Joel Embiid bagged 41 points in Philadelphia’s 129-111 drubbing of the hapless Detroit Pistons (2-2-22).
In Phoenix, Devin Booker had 34 points and Kevin Durant 27 but were unable to prevent the Suns from falling 116-112 to the Brooklyn Nets.
Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green has been “suspended indefinitely” following his clash with Phoenix player Jusuf Nurkic that saw him ejected for the third time this season, the NBA said Wednesday.
The NBA said in a statement that Green had been handed an open-ended ban given his “repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts,” adding that he would be “required to meet certain league and team conditions” before he is allowed to return to play.
An indefinite suspension is an almost unheard of sanction by the NBA, which more commonly issues bans for a fixed number of games.
Examples of recent hefty suspensions issued to players include the 25-game ban handed to Memphis’s Ja Morant in June after he was seen flashing a gun in an online video, and the 30-game ban given to Charlotte’s Miles Bridges over domestic violence allegations.
Green was tossed from the Warriors’ 119-116 road defeat against Phoenix on Tuesday after hitting Suns player Jusuf Nurkic in the head to earn a flagrant foul.
The four-time NBA champion later apologized to Nurkic, saying he had accidentally struck the Bosnian after swinging his arm to try and win a foul call, believing he had been illegally held back.
“I thought he was pulling my hip, and I was swinging a way to sell the call, and made contact with him,” Green said.
“As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him.”
