Milwaukee Bucks

The basketball took a backseat Tuesday when Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo head-butted Washington Wizards forward Moritz Wagner, and he revealed he simply reached a tipping point before doing so.

"I think it was just a whole buildup of dirty plays in my mind, guys tripping me, guys falling in front of my feet, holding me, hitting me," Antetokounmpo told reporters (around one-minute mark). "I have nothing against Wagner, it wasn't just him."

Milwaukee won the game 126-113 but only after its MVP candidate was ejected for head-butting Wagner in the second quarter. Wagner drew a charge, and Antetokounmpo head-butted him while the Bucks challenged the call.

Giannis also expressed regret for his actions and said he wished he didn't do it.

"This is nothing new," Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "Giannis has been dealing with this for a long time. He is the MVP. He normally is phenomenal and today was a slip-up. In some ways it could be one of the best things that happened today as a learning moment. We will all remember that we have to keep our cool—players and coaches."

Antetokounmpo finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in 10 minutes of action before the ejection.

It remains to be seen whether the NBA will punish the leading MVP candidate, but it could hold him out of Milwaukee's final seeding game Thursday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

That game doesn't mean anything to the Bucks, who are locked into the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed, but it has massive implications for the Western Conference playoff race. The Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs are all tied for the No. 9 seed and a half-game behind the eighth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers.

There will be a play-in tournament between whichever two teams finish in the Nos. 8 and 9 spots for the final postseason position.

On paper, a matchup with the East-leading Bucks appeared daunting for the Grizzlies, but no Giannis would surely make things easier. Milwaukee may also rest or limit its other regulars as well with the playoffs approaching.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo channeled his inner John Starks on Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards, and not in a good way.   

The reigning MVP was called for a charge after Mo Wagner got in his way in transition, and Antetokounmpo went after the Washington forward almost immediately after the whistle. As the two got into each other's faces, Antetokounmpo leaned his head in and made contact with Wagner, drawing a quick ejection barely four minutes into the second quarter.

It was a moment reminiscent of Starks' 1993 headbutting of Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller, which became a focal point of the rivalry between the Pacers and New York Knicks, as detailed in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks.

Tuesday marked just the third time in his career Antetokounmpo had been ejected, according to Spotrac.com. The last incident came during a game against the Denver Nuggets in 2018. 

Antetokounmpo exited Tuesday's contest with 12 points, nine rebounds and one assist in 10 minutes of playing time. 

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will not play Monday night against the Toronto Raptors after undergoing oral surgery.  

Antetokounmpo was listed as out for Monday's game after previously being listed as probable "due to a toothache," per Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel.

The reigning league MVP suffered a knee injury earlier this season but has been durable throughout his career. He appeared in at least 72 games in each of his first six seasons in the league and at least 80 in three of them.

When healthy, he is one of the best players in the league.

Antetokounmpo is a one-time MVP, three-time All-NBA selection, two-time All-Defensive selection and four-time All-Star who can take over a game as a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses with his ability to power his way into the lane as a versatile playmaker and who can play essentially every position.

He is the primary reason the Bucks had the best record in the league at 53-12 when the 2019-20 season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic and are on the shortlist of realistic titles contenders in the NBA's campus-like environment in Orlando, Florida.

Milwaukee doesn't have anyone else on its roster capable of replicating what he does, although Khris Middleton, George Hill and Donte DiVincenzo can carry the offense at times.

Still, the Bucks almost surely need Giannis healthy if they are going to parlay their impressive regular season into a championship.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the reigning NBA MVP and the favorite to win the award again this year, but Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic looked like the best player in the world in Saturday's 136-132 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Doncic finished with 36 points, 19 assists and 14 rebounds in the overtime victory and had a few highlight-reel plays along the way:

It was enough to earn high praise from Antetokounmpo after the game.

"Talented, really talented. One of the most talented guys I've ever played against," the Bucks forward said, per Matt Eppers of USA Today. "He's making the whole team better, and he's going to keep getting better. As long as he's making his team better, they're going to be tough to beat."

The Mavericks (42-30) are currently just the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, but they will be dangerous in the playoffs and especially scary in future seasons. After winning the Rookie of the Year Award last year, the 21-year-old Doncic is averaging 29.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game in 2019-20.

Production like that will put him alongside Antetokounmpo in the MVP race for years to come.

The Milwaukee Bucks clinched the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed Thursday with a 130-116 win over the Miami Heat despite being down 17 points at halftime.  

After the game, reigning NBA MVP and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo shared a few thoughts about his team's upcoming road to the Finals, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps:

"I think the biggest challenge for us is ourselves. How are we going to play? How hard are we going to play? Are we going to play for one another? Are we going to defend hard? Are we going to be able to rebound the ball? Are we going to be able to make the extra effort? Are we going to dive on the floor?

"It's all about us. It's all about us."

The 55-14 Bucks sport the league's best record after accomplishing the same feat with a 60-22 mark last season.

The Bucks cruised to the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics in the opening two rounds, but the eventual NBA champion Toronto Raptors upset the Bucks over six games in the conference finals.

This year is setting up similarly with the Bucks holding the No. 1 seed and the Raptors sitting at No. 2. Toronto has been on fire during the restart, going 3-0 and arguably looking like the best team at Disney World.

Milwaukee has been hit-or-miss inside the NBA bubble, going 2-2 thus far. One loss included a defeat to the short-handed Brooklyn Nets, who were without their top three scorers in Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert, among other players.

But Milwaukee has proven to be the league's most dominant team at its best. No outfit comes close to its 10.8-points-per-game differential for the season, and that's with the Bucks sometimes resting starters in the fourth quarter of blowouts.

Ultimately, Milwaukee should be the favorite to win the NBA title entering the postseason, but a host of talented teams will likely make its path difficult.

For the second straight year, the Milwaukee Bucks will have the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

They'll just have to hope the result is better than a year ago.

The Bucks clinched the top-seed advantage Thursday with a 130-116 win over the Miami Heat. The Bucks held a 6.5-game lead over the Raptors coming into the seeding games in Orlando, Florida. 

Milwaukee (55-14) has been running away with the best record in basketball for months and currently sits four games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers (51-16) in the win column for the best record in basketball. 

Much like last season, the Bucks are led by the overwhelming MVP favorite in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has taken another leap forward in 2019-20. Antetokounmpo is averaging 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists, with advanced numbers that put his season among the best of the last 20 years.

Khris Middleton also made his second straight All-Star team and is perhaps the most underappreciated secondary star in the NBA. With a deep, well-constructed roster around them, the Bucks are an even more formidable group than they were a year ago.

"It's not hard," coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters about keeping the team motivated. "I mean, it's I guess part of what makes coaching either maddening or a lot of fun. You can always push them to be better and there's always things we can do better, and when we lose, there's things that we do well and it's not all terrible. So hopefully we walk that line of keeping our guys, you know, hungry and growing and improving and recognizing when they do things well also."

Motivation in the postseason should be even easier. The Bucks were up 2-0 on the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals before losing four straight games to the eventual champs. Antetokounmpo, in particular, struggled as the Raptors built a wall in the paint to keep him from finishing at the rim. Part of his improvement this season has been a refinement of his jumper, which is still a work in progress.

Milwaukee Bucks guards Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton will both miss Friday's game against the Boston Celtics after testing positive for COVID-19 and arriving late to the NBA's bubble in Orlando, Florida, according to Eric Woodyard of ESPN.

Both players have cleared the league's protocol for returning and took part in Thursday's practice, but head coach Mike Budenholzer explained they both still needed more time:

"It's a little bit of conditioning, a little bit of just rhythm and everything. Everybody else is getting ready to play in a live game and have had 10 to 12 to 14 days of probably 5-on-5 every other day and individual work and all that, so I think giving Bled and Pat a couple of 5-on-5 sessions at a minimum and getting some 3-on-3 in other situations or days. They just need to play, so I think that's a big hurdle, and with playing will come both conditioning and their rhythm, so we're going to make sure they get some of that before we put them in an NBA game."

Bledsoe and Connaughton each missed the Bucks' three exhibition games in Orlando and will now miss the first seeding game Friday. Milwaukee's next game is scheduled for Sunday against the Houston Rockets.

The Bucks can remain patient thanks to their standing going into the restart. They have the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and a 6.5-game lead ahead of the Toronto Raptors in the No. 2 spot. 

This margin could allow Milwaukee to spend the eight seeding games focusing on staying healthy and getting everyone up to 100 percent in time for the start of the playoffs on August 17.

Being without the two guards could still be significant considering their impact in the rotation.

Bledsoe was the team's No. 3 scorer at 15.4 points per game, adding 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds in 27.2 minutes per game. The 6'1" point guard was named first-team All-Defense last season.

The 6'5" Connaughton mostly came off the bench, averaging 5.1 points in 18.3 minutes per game.

"Obviously, both Eric and Pat are great players that bring a lot to the team defensively, both of them, and offensively," Giannis Antetokounmpo said of his teammates.

The Bucks will be thin in the backcourt until they return, but Donte DiVincenzo, Wesley Matthews, Kyle Korver and George Hill can handle the extra playing time when needed.

The NBA restart taking place in a bubble has separated a lot of players from their families, but Giannis Antetokounmpo has benefitted from spending time with his brothers, Thanasis and Kostas.

The Milwaukee Bucks star discussed the situation with ESPN's Rachel Nichols over a game of Uno with his brothers:

"Going through this pandemic, it was really tough for everybody, but one positive that came out of this was we had the chance to be together for two-and-a-half months," Giannis said of his brothers. 

While Giannis and Thanasis play together in Milwaukee, Kostas is on the Los Angeles Lakers. This usually keeps them apart during the regular season, but both teams are staying in the Grand Destino hotel for the restart.

Giannis joked the three of them should have a television show during their time in the bubble.

The Milwaukee Bucks' starting point guard has arrived at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Milwaukee shared video Wednesday of Eric Bledsoe arriving at the NBA's campus-like environment prior to the league's restart:

Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Bledsoe previously tested positive for COVID-19 but was asymptomatic. Players, staff and media who arrived in Orlando, Florida, need to remain isolated in their hotel rooms until they produce two negative tests at least 24 hours apart, according to the NBA's health and safety protocols.

According to Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bledsoe now needs to quarantine for two days until he can join the team.

Velazquez also pointed out the Bucks are now short just one player and are awaiting guard Pat Connaughton, who also tested positive for COVID-19.

On July 5, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Milwaukee shut down its team practice facility following a round of COVID-19 testing. The shutdown happened before the Bucks traveled to Orlando.

On the court, Milwaukee has the league's best record at 53-12. While Giannis Antetokounmpo is the primary driving force behind the success and appears well on his way to a second straight NBA MVP, Bledsoe is someone who can take advantage of the space created by the superstar.

He is third on the team in scoring (15.4 points) behind the MVP candidate and Khris Middleton and is also averaging 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from three-point range.

Milwaukee is scheduled to play its first of eight seeding games July 31 against the Boston Celtics.

A day after LeBron James made his MVP case by telling reporters "I've shown what I'm capable of doing," his biggest challenger is refusing to focus on the award at all.

During a media session Tuesday, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said his main concern is bringing a title back to Milwaukee.

"I know there's going to be a lot of people out there talking about the MVP," Antetokounmpo said, per Ben Golliver of the Washington Post. "That's not my main focus. Get better. Win games. Help my team play good basketball. Go and try to win the big trophy; the last time we did that was 1971."

The Greek Freak become the first Bucks player to win the award since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1974 and is still somehow getting better. 

Just take a look at what Antetokounmpo did in 2018-19 versus 2019-20:

2018-19 Averages

27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 57.8 percent FG%, 25.6 percent 3FG%, 32.8 minutes.

2019-20 Averages

29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 54.7 percent FG%, 30.6 percent 3FG%, 30.9 minutes. 

Antetokounmpo continues to grow his skill set and is committing his fewest fouls (3.0) since his rookie season when he started just 23 games. 

The overall depth and effectiveness of what the reigning MVP can do on the court rivals anyone who has previously won the award. 

Of course, the biggest difference this season will come down to games played. Before the NBA went on hiatus on March 11, Antetokounmpo had 57 contests under his belt. The league announced Tuesday no games from the NBA restart will count toward awards, and this year's voting, currently underway, will wrap up July 28.

That will likely help Antetokounmpo's case, as any rusty performances in Florida may tilt his season stats. 

Regardless, it's out of Antetokounmpo's hands now, and he can remain focused on his main goal: an NBA championship.