Lopez ejected for standing up for Giannis
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t quite sure what was happening, only that Brook Lopez had gotten face-to-face with Trey Lyles with 15.4 seconds left of the Milwaukee Bucks’ 133-124 victory over the Sacramento Kings Monday night at the Golden 1 Center.
Antetokounmpo was dribbling the ball up the court to run out the clock when Lyles began poking at the ball, drawing a foul. Lyles then pushed Antetokounmpo, drawing the ire of Lopez.
“Then I just saw Brook being upset and he is usually is not that upset,” Antetokounmpo said. “He was yelling ‘don’t do that again, don’t push him like that.’ Then I realized ... he pushed me in my back. Obviously I appreciate Brook having my back and that’s my guy, not just on the court, off the court, for life he’s my guy.”
Added Lopez, “That’s all I was doing. The game was over. Giannis is dribbling out the clock. I don’t know what that guy was doing messing with Giannis, doing too much. Like I said, the game was already over. So, I just wanted to go out there and protect my guy.”
The Bucks’ 7-footer and the 6-9 Lyles exchanged words before Lyles pushed Lopez in the face, and the two tangled all the way to the scorers table.
“It was nothing personal,” Lyles told Sacramento media postgame. “But, a bigger guy walks down on me I’m not really one for talking. It takes a lot for me to get out of character. Just not going to go for that.
“It’s at the end of the game, then why initiate it?” Lyles said. “If you’re going to do that, then you have to be ready for the repercussions of it. I’m not saying it’s right by any means, but what happened is what happened.”
Both players were assessed technical fouls and ejected.
In the Bucks locker room, Lopez’s teammates were not surprised he reacted the way he did.