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Adrian Griffin shrugs off altercation with Giannis Antetokounmpo in loss to Boston

Griffin assures all is well between him and Giannis.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
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The Milwaukee Bucks faltered in their highly anticipated duel with fellow Eastern Conference giant Boston Celtics on Monday night.

The Bucks bowed to the Celtics, 116-119, in a game that was highly talked about as Milwaukee faced its former point guard Jrue Holiday for the first time since letting go of the heady playmaker in a major offseason deal.

Added drama

The contest became more interesting when Milwaukee coach Adrian Griffin and Giannis Antetokounmpo got into an animated discussion midway through the third period.

Antetokounmpo had just committed a dribbling violation when Griffin pulled him out of the game. Coach and Giannis exchanged words while the two leaned against the scorer’s table facing the court.

The Greek Freak remained at the scorer’s table before he was sent back in on the next immediate stoppage.

Nothing serious

Griffin just shrugged off the incident, insisting there was nothing serious with what happened.

“He just wanted to stay in. I wanted him to get a breather. That’s all. I told him to stay at the table for one possession, and he got right back out,” said Griffin.

Giannis came into the game fresh from back-to-back 40-point games but didn’t make much impact in the bout. Antetokounmpo finished with just 21 points on a 7-of-20 shooting from the field. The Greek, however, had 13 boards, five assists, and two steals in the loss.

The loss ended Milwaukee’s season-high five-game win streak and made them fall to 10-5 on the season. 

Adrian Griffin sees “a lot of positives” in the loss to the Boston Celtics

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.