Giannis and his Bucks teammates speak on game-winning shot over Pacers
Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee Bucks teammates speak on his game-winning shot over Pacers on Nov. 3, 2025 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers expressed frustration over how Giannis Antetokounmpo is officiated, stating he is not getting enough foul calls.Antetokounmpo took a hard fall after a block by Pascal Siakam, grabbing at the same knee he had surgically repaired in 2023.Rivers believes opposing teams are using overly physical and sometimes dangerous tactics to defend against Antetokounmpo.
INDIANAPOLIS — In the official NBA scorebook, Indiana forward Pascal Siakam blocked a shot by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo with 1 minute, 31 seconds remaining in the Bucks’ 117-115 victory over the Pacers on Nov. 3. But it was the how that stat was created that got to Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, however. Siakam collided with Antetokounmpo with force, knocking the 7-footer hard to the ground.
Antetokounmpo took a moment after the play, seated on the baseline, and grabbed at his left knee. It had been bothering him since he collided with New York’s Mikal Bridges on Oct. 28, causing him to miss a game on Oct. 30. It is the same knee he had surgically repaired in the summer of 2023 after years of wear and tear, most notably his now-famous injury in the 2021 Eastern Conference finals.
After the Pacers game, Rivers was asked if he had gotten an update on Antetokounmpo’s knee. What followed was a slight pressure release that had built up over nearly two weeks of literally flagrant defensive tactics against Antetokounmpo.
“The update is call the foul. That’s the update,” Rivers said. “Giannis drove to the basket and got completely wiped out. Watch the video. I mean, he got completely wiped out. And it’s a no-call.
“It’s amazing the difference of how Giannis is officiated because − even one of the refs even said, ‘Well, yeah they’re hitting his arms but he’s playing through it.’ I said, OK, it’s still a foul! He’s strong enough to play through it. He’s not going to let it stop him, but it’s still a foul. I thought he got fouled so many times.
“And then their last play, what I was upset at, like, people complain about Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) pushing off? That last play Siakam just a complete forearm, threw a guy out of the way. Right in front of the official. He’s almost challenging him. Like, we gotta be consistent with calls.
“The great example. If Giannis did that, it’s going to be an offensive foul. So, I didn’t like how the game was called in that regard. Listen, Giannis got strangled last game (vs. Sacramento on Nov. 1) and it was nothing. They gave him a flagrant (Nov. 3) because of the last game.
“I just think the way he gets officiated is not right. I get it. It’s hard. It’s like guarding a fast Shaq (O’Neal). It’s brutal. You can make a case, and I’m sure they do, hell, we could call a foul every time.
“Well, if you do, they’ll stop fouling. That’s my answer all the time.”
Rivers referenced a first quarter flagrant foul on the Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith, who chased Antetokounmpo down from behind and knocked him out of the air with a hard foul across the arms. Sacramento’s Russell Westbrook grabbed Antetokounmpo around the top of the shoulder and neck and head from behind as he tried to lift off, but that play was called a common foul.
Antetokounmpo was on the receiving end of a flagrant foul by Washington’s Bub Carrington in the opener on Oct. 22, which sent the Bucks’ star spinning out of the air and onto the court — and he came up holding, flexing and shaking out his right wrist and hand.
In-between were games against Cleveland and New York, where opposing players avoid flagrant fouls by not “winding up” to hit Antetokounmpo, but they emphatically try to rip down on his shoulders and arms to prevent him from going airborne and getting to the rim.
After the Cavaliers fouled Antetokounmpo 11 times on Oct. 26, Rivers had this to say about some that appeared to be intentional, and without a true play on the ball:
“You should write that, that’s what I would do,” he began. “I would write that and then tell all the reporters re around the league to write that. That’s what I would do. I’m not saying you should do that but I’m just saying if I was you, that’s what I would do. Because it is a dangerous play. I always worry about the shoulder because what happens, they wrap you up and you’re pulling up and you tear a shoulder. There’s no flagrant to that. I’ll be looking forward to reading it.”
Antetokounmpo has led the league the last three seasons in free throw attempts per game, and he is averaging 10.8 per contest in his first six games. He is currently second to New Orleans’ Zion Williamson (11.4).
For his part, Antetokounmpo has rarely complained about how he’s defended and whether or not he gets as many whistles as he should. He also didn’t want to insinuate he is in danger after taking multiple hard fouls against the Pacers.
“Didn’t get no fouls,” Bucks guard Cole Anthony said. “I still don’t understand that. I’m not gonna lie − I don’t understand how he’s not taking the most free throws on the court every night. But, yeah, you know, it is what it is. We kept our composure. But definitely a nice taste of that Pacers-Bucks rivalry or whatever you want to call it.”
Antetokounmpo has drawn 54 fouls in his six appearances heading into the Bucks game at Toronto on Nov. 4, but his coach and teammates have felt the sting of seeing their best player take far more hits than that, and some that have put one of the game’s best players at risk for serious injury.
“Just trying to protect him as much as we can,” Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. said of how he reacts as a teammate when Antetokounmpo takes his shots. “There’s a certain force; they try to do anything they can to stop him because they can’t stop him straight up or with a double team, so you have to do theatrics and other things to try to get him off his pivot, try to get him off his mindset.
“He stayed focused, he stayed locked in, it’s all good.”