Bucks beat Pacers, Antetokounmpo scores franchise-record 64 points
Giannis Antetokounmpo drives to the basket against the Indiana Pacers. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE - Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a franchise-record 64 points to help the Milwaukee Bucks outscore the Indiana Pacers 140-126 on Wednesday night.
Antetokounmpo broke the team record of 57 set by Michael Redd in 2006 in a 113-111 loss to the Utah Jazz. Antetokounmpo’s previous career high was 55 in a 123-113 victory over Washington in January 2023. He had 54 at Indiana on Nov. 9.
Antetokounmpo was 20 of 28 from the field, made 24 of 32 free throws and had 14 rebounds.
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Antetokounmpo was tackled by Aaron Nesmith on a play underneath with 10:10 remaining, setting off a brief heated exchange involving several players. Nesmith was called for a flagrant-1, and Nesmith and the Bucks’ Bobby Portis were assessed technical fouls.
Antetokounmpo hit both free throws, and Khris Middleton hit a jumper on the next possession to put the Bucks up 108-96. Portis was called for a second technical and ejected with 9:13 remaining, finishing with 19 points.
Antetokounmpo scored seven straight for the Bucks to push the lead to 118-100 with 6:26 left.
Damian Lillard added 21 points for the Bucks. Lillard’s second 3-pointer with 8:06 left in the third quarter was the 2,451st of his career, moving past Kyle Korver for fifth place in NBA history.
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Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner had 22 points apiece for the Pacers, who beat the Bucks 128-119 in the semifinals of the In-Season Tournament on Thursday night.
Antetokounmpo scored on a drive to put the Bucks up 96-80 with 3:40 left in the third period, but the Pacers to 101-94 entering the final period.
Antetokounmpo had 21 points in the first half to pace the Bucks to 70-63 lead.
Giannis, Pacers ball dispute
Antetokounmpo exchanged heated words with members of the Indiana staff and raced toward the Pacers’ locker room Wednesday night as the teams squared off in a hallway in a dispute over the game ball.
After the Bucks' 140-126 victory, Antetokounmpo had an animated discussion with Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton and other Pacers before rushing from the court toward the Indiana locker room in search of the ball.
The Bucks wanted the game ball for Antetokounmpo. Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said the Pacers took the ball for Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first official NBA point.
Giannis Antetokounmpo exchanges words with Tyrese Haliburton following a game at Fiserv Forum on Dec. 13. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
That led to a confrontation between members of the teams in the arena hallway. Afterward, there still was confusion over who had which game ball.
"I have no idea. I’m not going to lie," Antetokounmpo said. "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."
One video appears to show the actual game ball being collected by a member of the Bucks' staff. Carlisle said the Pacers apparently have a reserve game ball they took after the game.
Bucks guard Cameron Payne said he was one of the players who went down the tunnel.
"Man wanted that ball," Payne said. "I’m following my team, helping my teammate out. It was just a lot of commotion, honestly. He just wanted his ball, man."
Carlisle said a number of the Bucks were in the hallway near the Indiana locker room and a confrontation occurred, with Indiana’s general manager getting elbowed in the ribs.
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"What happened after the game was unfortunate," Carlisle said. "There was a misunderstanding about the game ball. ... We were not thinking about Giannis’ franchise record, so we grabbed the ball.
"A couple of minutes later, several of their players ended up in our hallway, and there was a big, I don’t know what to call it — a fracas, melee, whatever. I don’t think any punches were landed, but my general manager got elbowed in the ribs by one of their players. He certainly had a bruised rib and who knows if it’s anything more than that. Unfortunate situation.
"We don’t need the official game ball. There’s two game balls there. We could have taken the other one, but it didn’t need to escalate to that. Really unfortunate."
Carlisle cited the teams playing three times in the last few weeks and said that things were heated between the teams. Indiana knocked off Milwaukee last Thursday night in the semifinals of the In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas.