Bucks Zone

Referee crew chief explains Giannis Antetokounmpo’s two technical fouls

Chief referee insists Giannis’ two technical fouls were warranted.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

As far as the chief of the referee crew that officiated the Milwaukee Bucks-Detroit Pistons game on Wednesday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo deserved the two technical fouls that subsequently ejected him from the game.

Crucial calls against Giannis

In a Pool Report interview conducted by Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal, Crew Chief Rodney Mott explained the two technical fouls that Giannis got—one in the second quarter and another one in the fourth period.

“On the play, Giannis drives to the basket, and he thinks he gets fouled. Then he approaches the game official and uses profanity, which is an unsportsmanlike technical foul and was issued at that time,” Mott explained the first technical foul on Giannis.

Giannis’ second technical foul came at the nine-minute mark of the third. It came after Giannis collared a defensive rebound, dribbled to the end of the court, and completed an emphatic one-handed dunk over Detroit’s Isiah Stewart.

Mott said Giannis did an unsportsmanlike conduct shortly after the dunk that merited a technical foul.

“After the dunk, Giannis turns to his opponent and taunts him, and a taunting technical foul was called an unsportsmanlike. And he was ejected from the game, per rule, because two unsportsmanlike technical fouls, you are ejected from the game,” Mott said.

No Giannis, no problem

The ejection left Antetokounmpo in disbelief as he heavily contested the call. He even sat on one of the courtside seats, and it took a while before he left the playing court.

While 'The Greek Freak's' ejection was a big blow, it seemed to have lit a fire under the Milwaukee squad as they put on an epic comeback in the fourth quarter to pull off a 120-118 win. Milwaukee trailed by as many as 10 points in the fourth, but the Giannis-less Bucks fought back.

Dame Lillard scored 18 of his 34 points in the fourth period, while Brook Lopez sank a crucial triple and pulled off a crucial block in the closing minutes that enabled the Bucks to escape with the win.

The Milwaukee Bucks rally past the Detroit Pistons

Published
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.