New footage has emerged of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s postgame standoff with the Pacers over a game ball on Wednesday. The footage revealed that players taunted the Greek Freak as he attempted to take the ball from Indiana in the tunnel.
The clip shows what was said in the interaction before Antetokounmpo stormed into the court to confront Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce and guard Tyrese Haliburton.
A security guard repeatedly yells ‘Get out of here,’ in a crowd of arena staffers and Pacers players.
Shooting guard Buddy Hield then repeatedly instructed his team to ‘Keep it’ as the bottleneck broke and the Pacers walked towards their locker room. Center Myles Turner also echoed Hield’s instructions.
‘You want the ball?’ An unidentified Pacers player said. ‘You’re not getting that ball.’
New footage emerged of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s interaction with the Pacers in the tunnel
The footage shows Indiana shooting guard Buddy Hield instructing teammates to keep the ball
Center Myles Turner and unidentified players also chimed in on the heated verbal exchange
‘I like that, I like that,’ Turner responded.
A Bucks player, who was also invisible from the shot, yelled ‘Give him his f*****g ball,’ in the footage.
Antetokounmpo wanted to claim the game ball after scoring a career-high and franchise-best 64 points in Milwaukee’s 140-126 win. Antetokounmpo also tallied 14 points and three assists in just 37 minutes of play.
The Pacers, who hosted the game, had plans to keep it for Oscar Tshiebwe after scoring his first NBA point.
After a furious chase, Antetokounmpo received a ball from the Pacers but shared his doubt about it being the one used throughout the game.
Antetokounmpo furiously chased the Pacers in pursuit of the game ball after scoring 64 points
Antetokounmpo confronted Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce and guard Tyrese Haliburton
‘I have no idea. I’m not going to lie,’ said the two-time MVP. ‘I have no idea. I don’t know. I really don’t know. I have a ball, but I don’t know if it’s the game ball. It doesn’t feel like the game ball to me. It feels like a brand new ball. I can tell. I played, what, 35 minutes today. I know how the game ball felt.
‘The ball that I have, which I’ll take and I’ll give it to my mom for sure, but I don’t know if it’s actually the game ball.’
Another clip from the broadcast suggests that the entire episode was a massive misunderstanding. The footage shows an unidentified Bucks staff member collecting the game ball from an official immediately after the final buzzer.
Damian Lillard trailed Antetokounmpo with 21 points, four rebounds and six assists for the Bucks. Meanwhile, Turner and Haliburton led Indiana’s losing effort with 22 points each.
The Bucks and Pacers will meet again in back-to-back games scheduled for the 1st and 3rd of January.