Giannis and Doc Rivers speak on another early playoff exit for Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Doc Rivers speak on another early playoff exit for the Bucks following their Game 5 loss to the Pacers on April 29, 2025.
The Milwaukee Bucks‘ playoff series against the Indiana Pacers was filled with bad blood.
It then was no surprise that seconds after the series ended in crushing fashion for the Bucks with a 119-118 overtime loss, a game in which they blew a late seven-point lead, that multiple scuffles broke out.
The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin had words for each other and needed to be separated.
The two hugged first but then it quickly escalated as Mathurun pushed Antetokounmpo away and grabbed the Bucks star’s jersey.
The entire teams and and security had to come and separate all parties.
Watch Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bennedict Mathurin fight in overtime
Watch Giannis and Tyrese Haliburton’s dad postgame
But before all of that, Antetokounmpo and Tyrese Haliburton’s dad had words for each other as well.
It began with John Haliburton, who sat courtside at the game, rushing onto the court moments after the Pacers win and waving a flag featuring his son’s face on it in Antetokounmpo’s face, apparently trying to troll and gloat over the Bucks star.
Bucks veteran Pat Connaughton came rushing over to offer some separation.
Moments later, it appeared Antetokounmpo was going over to offer John Haliburton a handshake but things intensified again.
Connaughton and others again came in to try to diffuse the situation after Antetokounmpo and John Haliburton were face-to-face.
In his post-game interview, Antetokounmpo offered his explanation on what happened.
He said John Haliburton was in his face with a flag and “coming to me and disrespecting me and cursing at me.”
He called Haliburton’s dad’s actions “totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable, OK?”
“I believe being humble in victory. That’s the way I am. Now, there can be a lot of people out there that are like no, when you win the game you gotta talk (expletive) and it’s a green light for you to be disrespectful toward somebody else. I disagree.”
Tyrese Haliburton delivers game-winning basket in Pacers comeback win over Bucks
Tyrese Haliburton has had many heated exchanges with Bucks players during the chippy series.
But Haliburton gets the last laugh again against the Bucks. Haliburton, an Oshkosh native, first scored the Pacers’ final six points in regulation to force overtime at 103 after the Bucks had a four-point lead with around 50 seconds left.
The Bucks then had a seven-point overtime lead with 40 seconds left before Haliburton again delivered.
He scored the Pacers’ final five points, first on a three-point play at the basket with 17 seconds left after a Bucks turnover. And then with the Bucks leading leading at 118-117, the Bucks lost it again with 10.1 seconds after Gary Trent Jr. couldn’t hold onto the ball.
That set up Haliburton’s heroics and his game-winning basket with 1 second on the clock.