Pacers, Bucks get heated over game balls (yes, game balls); Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 64

MILWAUKEE -- One man scored more points in a single game than any other player on a franchise that also employed Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Another scored his first points as an NBA player -- or at least the first that will actually count.

The Pacers and Bucks tried to secure game balls as keepsakes for those players, and because there is one game ball and at least one reserve ball, they now each have one. But a misunderstanding over who has which ball led to a confrontation in the tunnel near the Pacers' locker room after the game -- which according to Pacers coach Rick Carlisle led to general manager Chad Buchanan taking an elbow to the ribs -- and a heated on-court argument between the teams' All-Stars.

The dispute is still outstanding so the Jan. 1 rematch should be interesting.

Bucks forward and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a franchise record 64 points in the Bucks' 140-126 win over the Pacers on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum. Pacers rookie forward Oscar Tshiebwe made a free throw in the fourth quarter. The Pacers grabbed a game ball for Tshiebwe to celebrate the occasion. The Pacers believe the game ball they got was the reserve ball. Video taken from the broadcast shows that a Bucks staff member took the game ball from an official seconds after the game ended, though it doesn't show any chain of custody after that. Antetokounmpo has a game ball, but says he isn't sure the ball he has is the real one.

"I have no idea," Antetokounmpo said. "I don't know. I really don't know. I have a ball, but I don't know if it's a game ball. It doesn't feel like a game ball to me. It feels like a brand new ball. I can tell. I played, what, 35 minutes tonight? I know how the game ball felt. The game ball I have, which I'll take, and I'll give it to my mom for sure, but I don't know if it's actually the game ball. But it's OK."

Antetokounmpo didn't seem OK with it in the moments after the game, however, and neither did several of his teammates. Antetokounmpo, his brother and teammate Thanasis, Bucks guard Cam Payne and injured forward Jae Crowder all ran into the tunnel to confront the Pacers about the ball.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that the Pacers had taken a ball for Tshiebwe, the former Kentucky All-American who was called up from the Indiana Mad Ants in late November when center Jalen Smith injured his knee. Tshiebwe scored in the In-Season Tournament finals against the Lakers on Saturday, but that point doesn't count toward regular season statistics and exists only as part of the stand-alone event.

In his postgame press conference, Carlisle was not yet aware of evidence that the Pacers had the reserve ball and not the game ball. He said the Pacers would have been willing to take the reserve ball and that the confrontation didn't need to escalate as much as he said it did.

"It was Oscar Tshiebwe's first official NBA point," Carlisle said. "We always get the game ball. We were not thinking about Giannis' franchise record. So we grabbed the ball and a couple of minutes later some of their players ended up in our hallway. There was a big, I don't know what to call it, a fracas, a melee, whatever. I don't think any punches were landed, but my general manager got elbowed in the ribs by one of their players. He certainly has a bruised rib and who knows if it's anything more than that. Unfortunate situation. We don't need the official game ball. There's two game balls there. We could have taken the other one. It didn't need to escalate to that. Really just unfortunate."

Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan confirmed that he took an elbow to the ribs, but said he thinks he'll be fine. He declined to comment or explain in any more detail what happened.

Antetokounmpo said he did not see that elbow. However, shortly after he came out of the tunnel, he had a heated discussion with Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and assistant coach Lloyd Pierce.

"From my understanding, there was just a misunderstanding after the game," Haliburton said. "For some reason (Antetokounmpo) wanted to confront me. I was just standing out there."

After his press conference, Carlisle and Pierce saw video circulating on social media of the Bucks staff member grabbing the ball and felt vindicated. The staff member in question is Danny Carter, the Bucks' assistant director of team security.

"Turns out that their security guy had grabbed the real game ball used in the game initially," Carlisle said. "They already had it."

Antetokounmpo still isn't convinced, and also argued that the Bucks should have kept both game balls anyway because of the achievement of one of his teammates. Bucks guard Damian Lillard surpassed retired sharpshooter Kyle Korver for fifth place on the all-time 3-pointers list with his 2,451st career 3-pointer. Next up on the list at fourth is Reggie Miller with James Harden at No. 3, Ray Allen at No. 2 and Stephen Curry at No. 1.

"Dame is fifth of all-time," Antetokounmpo said. "I scored 60. At the end of the day, the ball they gave us, I offered it to Dame. I scored 60, he's scored multiple times 60, he's scored 70. He should have the ball. At the end of the day, I don't think it's fair. I understand when you score your first point in the NBA, you want to have the ball or whatever the case may be. But the end of the day, you're talking about the guy who just jumped over Kyle Korver on the list. I feel like we should all stop what we're doing and appreciate greatness."

There was also some level of controversy over how Antetokounmpo broke the Bucks' record. The Pacers emptied their bench with 5:54 to play and the Bucks leading by 17 points, bringing in Tshiebwe and fellow rookies Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard along with seldom-used forward Jordan Nwora. Antetokounmpo didn’t come out until after he broke the franchise record with 58 points with 3:25 left in the game. The Pacers' third unit rallied back to cut the deficit to 10 points and Antetokounmpo checked back in and didn't check out until the game was over.

Carlisle was asked if he was surprised that Antetokounmpo stayed in for all of that.

"No point commenting on it," Carlisle said. "I think it's pretty obvious what the answer is."

The incident creates fuel for future Pacers-Bucks matchups. The Pacers won the first two games this season, one being the In-Season Tournament semifinals, but they still have two games left to play, one on Jan. 1 in Milwaukee and the other on Jan. 3 in Indianapolis.

"Dudes were fired up," Haliburton said. "We beat them twice, so they wanted to come out and beat us. There was competition, just a lot of stuff going on."

But in Carlisle's mind, there was too much.

"Things were heated with the competition and I understand all that," Carlisle said. "But for it to come into the hallway, it didn't need to happen that way. ... The words 'unfortunate' and 'unnecessary,' I keep repeating. I think that explains enough. Unfortunate and unnecessary."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers, Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo have dispute over game balls