By Stefan Djordjevic / info@eurohoops.net
The Milwaukee Bucks grabbed a 126-113 win over the Washington Wizards last night but that the wasn’t the main story coming out of the game.
It was the ejection of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second quarter as he was called for a flagrant foul two after head-butting the opposing Moe Wagner. Giannis spent ten minutes on the floor, logging 12 points and nine rebounds.
That was Antetokounmpo’s fourth career ejection with one of those coming in the playoffs. The Bucks have one seeding game left to play and in all likelihood, their star player will sit it out with suspension.
“Terrible action. If I could go back, turn back time and go back to that play, I wouldn’t do it. But at the end of the day, we’re all human, we all make mistakes. I think I’ve done a great job all year, in my career at keeping my composure and focus on the game, but at the end of the day, we’re human and make mistakes. But at the end of the day, you learn from it, keep playing good basketball and keep moving forward,” Giannis said after the game.
The scuffle with Wagner came after the German drew an offensive foul from Antetokounmpo but Giannis explained that it wasn’t really Wagner specifically that got him to lose his calm.
“I don’t think I was frustrated with Wagner. I think it was just a whole build-up of dirty plays in my mind. Guys tripping me, guys falling in front of my feet, fouling me, hitting me, all that. But I have nothing against Wagner, it wasn’t just him. It was just, in my mind, all the games I’ve played, guys hitting me, so I just lost it for a second.”
It was a mistake without a doubt but learning from it and going forward is what’s most important: “As I said, if I could go back I would have changed it, tried to stay in the game, but I’ve got to live with it. Bad mistake by me. Learn from it. I’m happy that we were able to play good basketball, happy that we were having fun, happy that we’ve won the game and just gotta keep going into the playoffs.”