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Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has been criticised after clashing with employees at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Saturday (AEDT).
Fresh off a 110-102 defeat at the hands of the Sixers, Antetokounmpo stayed out on the court to practice his free throws, after going just 4-of-15 from the charity stripe.
But things weren’t straightforward for the two-time MVP, with a ladder crashing to the hardwood after a back-and-forth with employees.
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Sat, 19 Nov
Saturday November 19th
According to The Athletic, the drama began when Sixers role player Montrezl Harrell and a coaching staff member, Jordan Love, told Antetokounmpo he couldn’t shoot on the court.
Harrell reportedly took the ball from Antetokounmpo, which prompted the Bucks star to leave the court, retrieve two balls, and come back out to finish his shooting drill.
When Antetokounmpo returned though, a Wells Fargo Center employee had placed a ladder in front of the basket he was looking to shoot at.
A visibly frustrated Antetokounmpo was seen speaking to employees, before pushing the ladder to the ground.
“Giannis full of s*** for this!!! Real Talk,” former NBA player Kendrick Perkins tweeted in response to the video.
“This isn’t f***ing Milwaukee,” Harrell reportedly shouted at Antetokounmpo, according to The Athletic. “Get that s*** out of there.”
Fans and pundits alike weighed in on Twitter.
It didn’t go well for Antetokounmpo after the ladder was removed, with the Bucks star missing four straight from the free throw line.
“I never try to disrespect anyone, in any way shape or form,” Antetokounmpo told The Athletic.
“I feel like today was just unfortunate event that took place. I think people did not respect the fact that sometimes players want to get some extra work in. I think it’s unprofessional to kick somebody off the court or take the ball or whatever the case might be. Or put the ladder in front of somebody while he’s trying to do his job. We get paid to do this. They didn’t just pick us. We get paid.”
Joel Embiid scored 32 points and out-duelled Antetokounmpo to lead the injury-depleted hosts to the victory over the Bucks.
The Sixers, missing James Harden, Tobias Harris and Furkan Korkmaz going into the contest, lost Tyrese Maxey to a foot injury at halftime.
Maxey delivered 24 points before he limped out late in the second quarter. Georges Niang came off the bench and scored 17 points, but it was Embiid’s 19 second-half points that propelled the 76ers past the Bucks, who led 62-55 at halftime.
Embiid — coming off 42-point and 59-point performances — added 11 rebounds and eight assists as the Sixers notched a third straight win.
Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
AROUND THE COURTS
The Boston Celtics rolled to a ninth straight victory while Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic notched another milestone with his 50th career triple-double.
The Celtics improved their league-leading record to 13-3, their latest long-range barrage burying the Pelicans 117-109 in New Orleans.
Each of Boston’s five starters scored in double figures and each drained at least two of the Celtics’ 20 three-pointers — Derrick White connecting on six.
Jaylen Brown paced the Celtics with 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. White added 26 points and star forward Jayson Tatum scored 19 for the Celtics, with Al Horford adding 18 and Grant Williams 12.
New Orleans cut a 13-point deficit to six midway through the fourth quarter. But despite 17 turnovers, including nine in the third quarter, the Celtics were able to turn it up a notch and snap the Pelicans’ three-game winning streak.
Meanwhile in Dallas, Doncic delivered another gem in a 127-99 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Doncic scored 33 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists and at 23 years and 263 days old in his 279th game became the second-youngest and second-fastest NBA player to 50 triple-doubles.
Oscar Robertson was 23 years and 32 days old when he achieved the feat in his 111th career game.
It marked the 25th time that Doncic has scored at least 30 points in a triple-double. He’s got four 30-point triple-doubles in 14 games this season.
His Friday exploit came against a Nuggets team missing two-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, who missed a second straight game due to Covid protocols.
In Memphis, Jaren Jackson’s 25 points and 12 rebounds led the Grizzlies in a 121-110 victory over Oklahoma City, but it could prove a costly win after Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant departed late in the contest with a left ankle injury.
Morant and John Konchar scored 19 points apiece for Memphis, who were up 106-100 with just over three minutes remaining when Morant was hurt and helped off the court.
Australian Josh Giddey was Oklahoma’s best, finishing with 20 points, 11 assists and six rebounds on a day Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled to get going.
The Cavaliers needed two overtimes to put away the Charlotte Hornets 132-122 in Cleveland.
Darius Garland scored 41 points and Donovan Mitchell added 34 for the Cavs, who saw their 10-point lead erased in the final 52.4 seconds of regulation as Charlotte poured in four three-pointers — two of them from Terry Rozier.
After Charlotte failed to capitalise on a chance to win in the first overtime, Cleveland dominated the second extra session.
It went to overtime in Washington, where the Wizards edged the short-handed Miami Heat 107-106.
Bradley Beal scored 27 points, Kyle Kuzma added 21 and Kristaps Porzingis added 20 with 17 rebounds for the Wizards, who out-scored Miami 3-2 in the extra period to squeak out the win.
Kyle Lowry had a triple-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists and Max Strus added 22 points for Miami, who had just seven healthy players and had Gabe Vincent in uniform, despite a knee injury, to meet the eight-player roster minimum.
The absentees included Miami’s top three scorers in Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.
It was close in Chicago, where Jalen Suggs’s three pointer with five seconds remaining gave the Orlando Magic a 108-107 victory over the Bulls.
Later, Golden State got back to winning ways, downing the New York Knicks 111-101 to improve to 7-9 on the season.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers secured their fourth win of the season with a 128-121 takedown of the Detroit Pistons.
Without LeBron James again, Anthony Davis led the way with a massive 38-point, 16-rebound performance, while Russell Westbrook added 10 points and 12 assists off the bench.
NBA SCORES
MIAMI HEAT 106 — 107 WASHINGTON WIZARDS (OT)
CHARLOTTE HORNETS 122 — 132 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (2OT)
MILWAUKEE BUCKS 102 — 110 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
ORLANDO MAGIC 108 — 107 CHICAGO BULLS
INDIANA PACERS 99 — 91 HOUSTON ROCKETS
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 110 — 121 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
DENVER NUGGETS 99 — 127 DALLAS MAVERICKS
BOSTON CELTICS 117 — 109 NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
PHOENIX SUNS 133 — 134 UTAH JAZZ
NEW YORK KNICKS 101 — 111 GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
DETROIT PISTONS 121 — 128 LOS ANGELES LAKERS
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