"There was just a misunderstanding" - Tyrese Haliburton on postgame confrontation with Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis got into it with Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton.

© Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers may now have a full-blown rivalry going after numerous incidents marred their game on Wednesday night. This included a conversation between Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Pacers’ rising star Tyrese Haliburton, where the former intensely confronted the latter over the game ball that he wanted to secure in commemoration of his 64-point game.

Nothing but a misunderstanding

Haliburton was standing on the sidelines chatting with Bucks aces Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton when Giannis came out from the hallway that led to the Pacers locker room and confronted the Oshkosh native.

“From my understanding, there was just a misunderstanding after the game. For some reason, he wanted to confront me. I was just standing out there,” Haliburton said after scoring 22 points and dishing out seven assists in the Pacers loss.

Giannis and Haliburton had heated exchange following Bucks-Pacers 😳

It involved Pacers taking game ball away after Giannis' 64-point game pic.twitter.com/zsSGraLQVi

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 14, 2023

Just intense competition

The Pacers had already beaten the Bucks twice this season. The Pacers’ latest win over the Bucks, in particular, was painful as it denied Milwaukee the opportunity to become the first champion of the In-Season Tournament. The Bucks took the losses personally and came out with a lot more fire in their eyes and passion in their soul to snatch the victory.

Giannis was especially more forceful in his forays to the rim, racking up a career-high and new franchise record 64 points. Haliburton chalked up the extracurricular activities - which included receiving a forearm shot to the chest from Giannis - to the intensity enveloping the match-up.

“We beat them twice, so they came out with some fire today, and they took care of business. They're a great team, and they did what they had to do today. It's just competing at the end of the day. I think it was some high emotions, a lot of testosterone going around out there. Like I said, just competitors competing at the end of the day.”

Giannis with an obvious and unnecessary forearm to Haliburton and then the Bucks broadcast team had the audacity to say “Haliburton is one of the best floppers.” pic.twitter.com/rijYyaLJVu

— Alex Golden (@AlexGoldenNBA) December 14, 2023

Rick Carlisle on postgame fracas with the Milwaukee Bucks: "It didn't need to escalate to that"