Milwaukee Bucks past the Indiana Pacers In The Final

 

Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped a career-high 64 points while leading the Milwaukee Bucks past the Indiana Pacers 140-126. The win came after the Pacers beat the Bucks in the semifinals of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas last week. Antetokounmpo had 14 rebounds, shot 20-of-28 from the field, and went 24-of-32 from the free-throw line, setting a career-high for attempts at the stripe. He had 26 of his points in the fourth quarter and came back in to make a layup, a pair of free throws, and a late dunk to put the Pacers away when they went on a small run late after it seemed like Antetokounmpo and the rest of the starters would be done for the night.

The game, however, got very heated on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum — and a brief altercation broke out after it ended over who got to keep the game ball. The incident reportedly began when Bobby Portis was ejected during the game, and tensions rose over the game ball late. Despite the altercation, Antetokounmpo's performance was impressive, and he is now responsible for two of the top three single-game scoring records in Bucks history, both of which came in 2023.

Key Takeaways

• Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped a career-high 64 points while leading the Milwaukee Bucks past the Indiana Pacers 140-126.
• An altercation broke out after the game over who got to keep the game ball, reportedly due to tensions rising over the game ball late and Bobby Portis being ejected during the game.
• The win came after the Pacers beat the Bucks in the semifinals of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas last week.

Bobby Portis was ejected during the game, then tensions rose reportedly over the game ball late

During the game, tensions boiled over multiple times. In the fourth quarter, Bucks forward Bobby Portis was ejected after he stepped in to defend Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo drove to the rim early in the final period when Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith grabbed him and threw him to the ground in the lane. The play didn't look intentional, but rather as if it got away from Nesmith after he fell for a shot fake.

Before Nesmith and Antetokounmpo could separate, Portis came flying in trying to shove Nesmith. That sparked a small altercation that required the two players being separated. Antetokounmpo's younger brother, Thanasis, lost it on the bench, too, and had to be held back.

Both Portis and Nesmith were hit with flagrant fouls in the incident, as was Obi Toppin, and Portis was ejected for his flagrant 2. Portis finished with 19 points after shooting 8-of-13 from the field in 23 minutes.

Things erupted after the game ended, too, when the Pacers apparently took the game ball and left for the locker room. Antetokounmpo was seen yelling at Haliburton and others before he and his brother took off down the tunnel, where a separate incident had broken out. Eventually, the elder Antetokounmpo returned to the court and gave a normal interview with Bally Sports Wisconsin.

According to Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes, the Pacers took the game ball to give it to rookie Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first regular-season career points on Wednesday. Bucks security later retrieved the ball — well, a ball — for Antetokounmpo.

“I have a ball, but I don’t know if it’s the game ball,” Antetokounmpo said. “It doesn’t feel like the game ball to me, it feels like a brand new ball. I can tell. I played 35 minutes today, I know how the game ball felt … I’ve never seen this before.”

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said the incident was "unfortunate," and there was simply a "misunderstanding about the game ball." Carlisle also said Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan was elbowed in the ribs during the altercation.

"We were not thinking about Giannis' franchise record, so we grabbed the ball," he said, via FieldhouseFiles' Scott Agness.

Tshiebwe scored in the in-season tournament championship game, though that game didn't count toward regular-season stats.

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