Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t in a giving mood Saturday during Game 3 of the the Milwaukee Bucks’ second-round NBA playoff series against the Boston Celtics.
The Bucks superstar levelled Celtics counterpart Jayson Tatum in the second quarter. Tatum was coasting toward the Bucks’ basket for what looked like an uncontested dunk, but Antetokounmpo chased him from behind and attempted, in vain, to block the slam. Antetokounmpo’s contact with Tatum sent the latter into the stanchion and ultimately to the floor.
Celtics fans might have been feeling nervous when Tatum stayed down on the floor for a few seconds, but he relieved their worst fears by sinking the ensuing free throw.
Referees reviewed video of the incident and concluded Antetokounmpo didn’t commit a flagrant foul on Tatum.
FOX Sports’ Skip Bayless emphatically disagreed with their assessment, comparing Antetokounmpo’s foul to the one Memphis Grizzlies star Dillon Brooks committed against Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II Game 2 of their teams’ playoff series. The NBA suspended Brooks one game for the foul.
“Throw Giannis out,” Bayless wrote in an all-caps tweet. “Suspend him a game. What was the difference is what he just did to JTatum (Who hurt his left wrist/hand on the fall) and what Dillon Brooks did??? Giannis blasted Tatum in the face with his elbow! Oh, that’s right, Giannis is a superstar and Brooks is Brooks.”
It’s not happening, Skip. On to the next outrage.
