GIANNIS JUST MADE HISTORY

Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s 64 points came on only 28 FG attempts. It’s the most points with fewer than 30 FGA in a game in NBA history.

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo exchanged heated words with members of the Indiana staff and raced toward the Pacers’ locker room Wednesday night as both teams squared off in a hallway in a dispute over the game ball following the Milwaukee Bucks star’s franchise-record 64-point performance.

After Milwaukee’s 140-126 victory, Antetokounmpo had an animated discussion with Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton and other Pacers before rushing from the court toward the Indiana locker room, seemingly in search of the game ball. Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said after the game that the Pacers took the ball for Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first official NBA point in the game.

That led to a confrontation between members of the teams in the arena hallway. Carlisle said several Bucks players, including Antetokounmpo, came into the Pacers’ tunnel looking for the ball and that a scuffle ensued. He said Pacers GM Chad Buchanan was elbowed in the ribs by one of the Bucks players.

The postgame incident overshadowed a dominant performance from Antetokounmpo, who broke the team record of 57 points set by Michael Redd in 2006 in a 113-111 loss to the Utah Jazz. Antetokounmpo’s previous career high was 55 in a 123-113 victory over Washington in January 2023. He had 54 at Indiana on Nov. 9.

“He’s an unstoppable player. You can’t guard him one-on-one. You’ve got some really good guys surrounding him, but at the end of the day, it’s all him,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “His talent. His ability. His will. He has an incredible will to win, and he’ll do whatever it takes to win. I’m just coaching the game and one of the coaches told me, ‘Yeah, Giannis has 50. I had no idea.’ But wow, what a great performance.”

Antetokounmpo was 20 of 28 from the field, made 24 of 32 free throws and had 14 rebounds in 37 minutes.

He became the first player in NBA history to make at least 20 field goals and 20 free throws in a game while shooting at least 70% on each. It’s also the most points with fewer than 30 field goal attempts in a game.

And so, it was a giant misunderstanding.

You can see a member of Bucks security grab the true game ball.https://t.co/F824XKW8Jp pic.twitter.com/0yQGRS38xF

— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) December 14, 2023