© Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
Adrian Griffin shrugs off altercation with Giannis Antetokounmpo in loss to Boston
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.
