Things went haywire on Wednesday night after the final buzzer of the Milwaukee Bucks’ 140-126 win over the Indiana Pacers. At the center of it all was Giannis Antetokounmpo who was infuriated after the Pacers decided to take his game ball away from him.
Well, technically, it wasn’t Giannis’ ball. However, you can’t really say that he didn’t deserve to take it home after dropping a career-high 64 points in a historic performance.
Things Got Ugly After Milwaukee Bucks Took Down Pacers
Video footage of an altercation in the tunnel made its rounds on social media after Giannis himself charged the Pacers locker room to try and retrieve the ball. Multiple reports indicate that cooler heads prevailed and that nothing went overboard.
Former NBA All-Star turned podcaster Gilbert Arenas says otherwise, though. According to Arenas’ source, there was actually a physical altercation in the tunnel involving the players and the coaching staff of both teams:
“There was really smoke in the back between the Pacers and Bucks during and after the game,” Arenas’ co-host Josiah Johnson said on a recent episode of Gil’s Arena. “… A Pacers coach pinned a Bucks player to a wall and a Pacers player — who may or may not have went to the same university as [Arenas] — put hands on a Bucks coach for talking too much s**t.
“The Pacers got the best of the Bucks twice this season. Bucks players kinda feel a way about it, they’ve been talking a lot. Apparently after this game, the Pacers didn’t want to shake hands with the Bucks. Tyrese Haliburton, being the astute, light-skinned gentleman that he is, did stay on the court and talked to a bunch of people.”
“A Pacers coach pinned a Bucks player to a wall and a Pacers player put hands on a Bucks coach for talking too much shit.”
Sources tell Gil’s Arena what went down in Milwaukee 👀 pic.twitter.com/8GVpA7n56S
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) December 14, 2023
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle revealed after the game that an unnamed Bucks player elbowed Indiana general manager Chad Buchanan, who himself sustained some sort of rib injury.
Tying that revelation in with the above report points to the notion that the post-game interaction between the two teams appears to have turned violent.
Who Is the Pacers Player Who ‘Put Hands’ on a Bucks Coach?
In his report, Johnson dropped a not-so-discreet clue about the player who supposedly attacked a Bucks coach. According to Johnson, the said Pacers player “may or may not have went to the same university” as Arenas.
Well, Arenas played his college ball for Arizona and the only player on Indiana’s roster who is a former Wildcat is second-year forward Bennedict Mathurin.
It will be very interesting to see if the league takes any action on this altercation.
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