Giannis Antetokounmpo was thrown out of the Bucks' 120-118 win over the Pistons on Wednesday, and the two-time MVP was livid about his ejection.
Antetokounmpo was tossed after a seemingly innocuous dunk in the early stages of the third quarter. He drove to the hoop and was able to slam the ball in with ease, as he so often does, over Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart.
Why was Giannis Antetokounmpo ejected?
Evidently, the officials took exception to Antetokounmpo's stare-down of Stewart after the play, as the Bucks star did mean-mug the Pistons big man with a flex from a close distance after the dunk.
"After the dunk, Giannis turns to his opponent and taunts him, and a taunting technical foul was called an unsportsmanlike," referee Rodney Mott explained in a postgame pool report.
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Normally, Antetokounmpo may have been able to brush off the technical foul he received in wake of that play. However, he had already received a technical foul earlier in the contest for directing profanity at a game official, which is an automatic technical, per Mott.
"He was ejected from the game, per rule, because two unsportsmanlike technical fouls, you are ejected from the game," Mott said.
Still, Antetokounmpo was exasperated by his dismissal from the contest. He spent time jawing with Mott, Mitchell Ervin and Scott Twardoski before eventually sitting in an empty courtside seat while refusing to leave the court.
Giannis has been ejected after receiving his second technical foul. 🤔#FearTheDeer | #NBA pic.twitter.com/UKuAIJJrU7
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) November 9, 2023
That was the extent of the Greek Freak's protest. It lasted just about a minute before he was able to cool off and head to the locker room after being separated from the officials by his teammates and members of the Bucks staff.
Antetokounmpo didn't speak after the game following his ejections. That said, coach Adrian Griffin defended the Greek Freak and said he didn't think a second technical foul should have been called.
"It's an emotional game. He made a phenomenal play," Griffin said, per WISN.com. "It was exciting, emotional and I thought he moved on fairly quickly. So, I was surprised with the second technical, but that's up to the league to decide."
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Meanwhile, Damian Lillard described the play as a "bad tech" and also expressed that he believed Giannis should have remained in the game.
The Bucks led by 13 points when they lost Antetokounmpo for the game but were still able to eke out a two-point victory. Thus, while his absence was impactful, they were still able to earn their third straight win of the 2023-24 NBA season.
"It's another huge night as far as finding a way to win," Griffin said. "I thought it was a gusty victory. A lot of guys stepped up."
