THE Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday night, and Giannis Antetokounmpo felt he was disrespected along the way.
The Indiana Pacers defeated the Bucks in Game 5, and the two teams got into a tussle after the game.
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Tyrese Haliburton hit a go-ahead layup with just over a second left in overtime, ultimately giving the pacers a 119-118 win.
However, after the buzzer sounded, Giannis could be seen arguing with Haliburton’s father.
“I believe in being humble in victory,” Antetokounmpo said after the game.
“A lot of people out there that are like, no, when you win the game, you talk s— and it’s a green light for you to be disrespectful towards somebody else. I disagree.”
Giannis had a massive night, scoring a 30-point, 20-rebound, 12-assists triple-double.
However, his team turned the ball over twice in the final 29 seconds of overtime to allow an 8-0 run from the Pacers.
Giannis stood in disbelief for a bit before John Haliburton got onto the court and went face-to-face with him.
They had to be pulled apart by security.
“Losing the game, emotions run high,” Antetokounmpo said.
“Having a fan — which at the moment I thought it was a fan, but then I realized it was Tyrese’s dad.
“Which I love Tyrese. I think he’s a great competitor.
“His dad coming on the floor and showing me his son — a towel with his face on [it], [saying] ‘This is what we do. We do this.’
“I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful.”
Haliburton didn’t know what happened during the celebrations until he got to the locker room.
When he spoke to the media after the game, he acknowledged that his father was in the wrong.
2025 NBA Playoff matchups
Western Conference:
Play-In Tournament:
- No. 7 Golden State Warriors vs No. 7 Memphis Grizzlies
- No. 9 Sacramento Kings vs No. 10 Dallas Mavericks
First Round:
- No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs No. 8 seed
- No. 2 Houston Rockets vs. No. 7 seed
- No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers vs No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves
- No. 4 Denver Nuggets vs No. 5 LA Clippers
Eastern Conference:
Play-In Tournament:
- No. 7 Orlando Magic vs No. 8 Atlanta Hawks
- No. 9 Chicago Bulls vs No. 10 Miami Heat
First Round:
- No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs No. 8 seed
- No. 2 Boston Celtics vs No. 7 seed
- No. 3 New York Knicks vs No. 6 Detroit Pistons
- No. 4 Indiana Pacers vs No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks
“I don’t agree with what transpired there from him,” Haliburton said.
“Basketball is basketball and let’s keep it on the court. I think he just got excited, saw his son make a game winner and came on the court, but we had a conversation.
“He needs to just allow me to play basketball and stay over there and I’ll come to him to celebrate.
“But the emotions of the game got excited there. I talked with him. I’ll talk with Giannis.
“I don’t think my pops was in the right at all there.”