Things got chippy at the end of the Chicago Bulls’ battle with the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.
Up 110-103 with roughly 7 seconds left on the clock, Giannis Antetokounmpo grabbed the rebound off the Kevin Huerter miss. The Bulls chose to let the Bucks run the clock out, but the Greek Freak chose otherwise. Returning from an eight-game absence, Antetokounmpo ran right down the open court and left his feet for an emphatic windmill slam. The boos started to rain down from the United Center crowd.
As Antetokounmpo walked back up the court, Nikola Vucevic met him to exchange a few words. Coby White joined in shortly after, only for Bobby Portis and the Bucks’ bench to come storming center court. Just like that, an NBA scuffle was underway.
Coaches and officials stormed in to separate the two teams. It took a little over 20 seconds for the crowd to disperse. Coby White, Gary Trent Jr., and Bobby Portis seemed to be the ones doing the majority of the pushing and shoving.
Take a look:
Benches clear at the end of regulation 😳 pic.twitter.com/Q0S2SXT4Zr
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) December 28, 2025
The “unwritten” NBA rule typically states that a player doesn’t settle for the wide-open exclamation point at the end of a game. And this was precisely the point several Bulls made after the game.
“You shouldn’t have dunked the ball,” Coby White said when asked what he told Antetokounmpo (h/t Joe Cowley). “It’s just disrespectful to the ball. I didn’t even say much. I just said, ‘bro you’re better than that.’ And it kind of just broke out … Y’all won the game. They are over with. What you got to do that for? The game is over with. I think it’s a respect thing.”
Agreeing that it’s typically not a decision you see a player make at the final buzzer, Nikola Vucevic opted for a more comical response.
“I’m assuming Giannis was mad about that report that came out [about how] the Bulls didn’t want to trade for him, so he just wanted to prove a point. That was that,” Vucevic said (h/t Will Gottlieb).
Dec 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Isaac Okoro (35) defends Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images
As for Billy Donovan, he opted for the politically correct summation of the late-game events:
“I would try to never focus on another team. They got to be responsible for how they want to do it,” Donovan said. “I would say etiquette across the league is generally when the game is out of reach and not going to take a shot, everybody kind of holds the ball and the clock runs out. That’s what normally takes place.”
Of course, the man of the hour had a much different feeling about what transpired. Antetokounmpo didn’t joke about trade rumors or debate the unwritten rules. Instead, the two-time MVP spoke about his team’s current positioning in the Eastern Conference and stressed the importance of fighting until the final whistle.
Here is the transcribed quote, courtesy of The Athletic’s Eric Nehm on X:
What, we’re 11th in the East? … Just gotta keep finding our identity. And if that is to get a little bit of scrappy at the end, so be it. We’re not the champs. Why should we play the clock out and have respect and fair play? We’re fighting for our lives right now. This is real talk, I’ve been 13 years in the league, if we keep on losing, brother, probably half of the team’s not gonna be here. We’re not going to make the playoffs,” Antetokounmpo said.
“I really don’t care. At the end of the day, I just want to be available, be healthy, and help my team win. And if that’s what has to happen for them – everybody – to wake up and understand we’re fighting for our lives and we gotta get our hands dirty, so be it.”
The controversial dunk for Antetokounmpo put him at 29 points on 10-15 shooting from the field and 8-10 shooting from the free throw line. Playing only 25 minutes on a minutes restriction, he took full advantage of the Bulls’ weak interior defense every second he was on the court.
When all is said and done, that is what matters most. Five-game win streak or not, the Bulls are going to continue to face an uphill battle until they can solve some glaring issues on the defensive end.