© David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
"We are surrounded by bullies" - Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Milwaukee Bucks' ability to withstand rough play
Things got a little testy when the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls clashed on Friday night. The contest, won by the Bucks, 113-97, featured heated exchanges with Bulls center Nikola Vucevic getting tossed after committing a flagrant foul 2 in the final period.
The Bucks overcame the physical plays and went to chalk up the one-sided win for their fifth-straight win—their longest winning streak under coach Doc Rivers.
Milwaukee bullies
After the game, Giannis talked about the Bucks’ ability to withstand rough plays and warned that they, too, can play physically.
“Bullies? We are surrounded by bullies," Antetokounmpo said. “Hey man, it feels good. Not to disrespect the game in any way, but I feel like I have a lot of passionate players, from Bobby, from Pat, from Jae, from AJ, from Beasley, from everybody. Brook. We have passion in us, and we want to win. And sometimes, you know, we might shove and push. Or be more physical than usual. But it’s good to have a team like that. We’re kind of trying to change the narrative around here,” Giannis said.
Tempers flared early in the fourth when Vucevic sent a driving A.J. Green crashing to the floor with a hard foul. Patrick Beverley and Bobby Portis Jr. took exception to the hard foul and rushed to confront the Chicago player before they were separated.
“I was trying to get downhill, make a play. That’s really about it. I’m glad 'BP' and Pat 'Bev' had my back. It’s basketball. I’m fine, man. It’s all good. It’s all good,” Green said.
Early in the game, Chicago’s Andre Drummond and forward DeMar DeRozan had fouls reviewed for hostile acts. DeRozan was assessed a Flagrant 1 for knocking Portis to the floor after the Milwaukee forward had secured a rebound.
Lillard also took an elbow to the head from Vucevic. Ayo Dosunmu also sent Beverley flying with a shove. DeRozan and Caruso were also whistled for technical fouls for thrash-talking.
Not backing down from rough play
Beverley, known for his pesky plays, just shrugged off the heated exchanges.
“I just think the game of basketball is a physical game, obviously. I didn’t know how big the Milwaukee Bucks vs. the Chicago Bulls was until tonight. It’s how the game is, though. It’s played physical. You’re going to get hit. I like to be the guy who go out there and hit people instead of getting hit. So, that’s it,” Pat said.
Rivers has no problem with physical plays. He said the Bucks have players who can ignite physical plays, but there should be limitations.
“We have instigators, for sure," Doc said. "But it only is good if you can do that but you don’t get caught into it. I thought tonight it was right on the edge, and then we backed off. I was happy that that (Vučević) review took an hour because it allowed everybody to kind of get their composure back. You don’t want that, either.”
