Getty Thanasis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on against the Chicago Bulls.
The highly touted Boston Celtics versus Milwaukee Bucks game from Thursday night may not have lived up to initial expectations, but, during the blowout, there still proved to be a bit of excitement in the form of an on-court altercation.
Late in the fourth quarter, while down by 44 points, Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo took exception to a foul by Blake Griffin. In response, the 30-year-old retaliated with a headbutt to the former All-Star’s face.
Heading back to the sidelines, Jaylen Brown gave the humored Griffin his protective face covering, which he would then jokingly put it on.
Following the contest, Brown was playfully asked by a reporter about the exchange between him and his teammate and, in response, the All-Star laughed and issued a response on the altercation.
“I thought he needed some protection out there. Guys is headbutting guys, you know. Maybe the whole team needs masks,” Jaylen Brown said.
Antetokounmpo would ultimately be ejected from the outing as a result of the altercation, and the Celtics would go on to win by a final score of 140-99.
Mike Budenholzer Sounds Off on Celtics Offense
After having been walloped by the Boston Celtics Thursday evening, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer took part in the night’s post-game media session.
Here, he opened up on how the C’s carved his team up throughout the contest, crediting their highly versatile offensive approach.
“I mean, they execute,” Budenholzer said. “They cut hard, they screen hard, and they shoot them off the dribble. That’s probably the biggest thing. So, we got to look at it; we got to find a way to be better against the three-point line.”
Outside of their 140 total points, the Celtics managed to shoot 56.0% from the floor and 51.2% from distance.
With this win, Boston finds itself just two games behind the Bucks in the chase for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Issues Statement After Loss to Celtics
Milwaukee endured arguably their most problematic loss of the 2022-23 season Friday night against the Boston Celtics, losing by 41 points while on their home court.
Following the contest, Giannis Antetokounmpo issued an eye-catching statement, as he noted that Milwaukee has to improve heading into the postseason, as, in all likelihood, Boston is going to be one of the top teams they’ll need to get through in order to be in a position to advance to yet another NBA Finals.
“Know what the deal is? It’s not hard to understand,” Giannis said. “If you you’re not focused. If you don’t play hard, they’re gonna kick ass, simple as that. They did it tonight and won by 40. If you’re not locked in, if you don’t play hard, and if don’t go out there to make it tough for them, they’re gonna kick out ass. Simple as that. There’s no level of concern. It’s a fact. So now you have this in your head. And this is up to us to see how we’re gonna deal with it. Are we gonna go and play the same way? And if we play the same way, gonna have the same outcome. Gotta change some stuff. We gotta compete. Gotta have some pride, you know, and hopefully, we can do that; then, if we do that, we have a chance to win.”
“It’s not hard to understand if you’re not focused, if you don’t play hard, they [are] going to kick your ass simple as that.”
— Giannis Antetokounmpo on the #Bucks 41 point loss to the #Celtics
📺Full Interview: t.co/4UvF6EHNam
⚡️by @FanDuel & @AthleticGreens
In 25 minutes, Antetokounmpo went on to post 24 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. With this victory, the Celtics have officially won the season series against the Bucks 2-1.