Rick Carlisle revealed why the Pacers wanted the game ball in loss to Bucks
In what turned out to be a bizarre ending after a historic performance by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Indiana Pacers rookie Oscar Tshiebwe was indirectly at the center of a postgame fracas.
Antetokounmpo produced a franchise-record 64 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the 140-126 victory over the Pacers. He surpassed the previous franchise record of 57 points set by Michael Redd in 2006.
The situation began to unfold after the game when Antetokounmpo attempted to locate the ball used in the game. A team official with the Pacers appeared to take the game ball, which prompted Antetokounmpo to run into the tunnel to their locker room to retrieve it.
He returned to the court a few moments later without the ball and was seen having a heated conversation with Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and assistant coach Lloyd Pierce.
He eventually left the court for the Bucks’ locker room.
Giannis goers sprinting down the tunnel and then returns a minute later to go off on Lloyd Pierce and Tyrese Halliburton demanding they get the game ball back as one of the Pacers took it pic.twitter.com/MocZ4VPNBi
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) December 14, 2023
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle revealed that there was a miscommunication regarding the game ball and that the team wanted to keep it to celebrate Tshiebwe, who scored his first career NBA point in the contest after hitting a free throw late in the fourth quarter.
What happened after the game was unfortunate. There was a misunderstanding about the game ball. It was Oscar Tshiebwe‘s first official NBA point, so 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, several of their players ended up in our hallway and there was a big fracas. I don’t think there were any punches landed, but my general manager (Chad Buchanan) got elbowed in the ribs by one of their players. … We don’t need the official game ball; there are two game balls. We could have taken the other, and it didn’t need to escalate to that.
Tshiebwe, who is signed to a two-way contract, made his first appearance with the Pacers on Wednesday. He has played almost exclusively in the G League with the Indiana Mad Ants, averaging 18.9 points, 17.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in seven games.
The game balls are often saved by players or teams for various accomplishments on a given night. In addition to Antetokounmpo setting the Bucks’ record, and Tshiebwe scoring his first point, Damian Lillard passed Kyle Korver for fifth on the all-time 3-point list.
Antetokounmpo said that he knew the Pacers took the ball after the game. The Pacers eventually delivered it to the Bucks, but Antetokounmpo questioned if it was the actual game ball.
“I have a ball, but I don’t know if it’s the game ball,” Antetokounmpo said. “It doesn’t feel like the game ball to me. It feels like a brand-new ball. I played what, 35 minutes today? I know how the game ball felt. The ball that I have — which I’ll take and give to my mom, for sure — I don’t know if it’s actually the game ball, but it’s OK. Lives continue.”
The Pacers had won the two previous games against the Bucks this season, with the last meeting taking place in the semifinals of the in-season tournament. The contest on Wednesday featured eight total technical fouls, one flagrant foul and one ejection (Bobby Portis).
They will meet again on Jan. 1 in Milwaukee and Jan. 3 in Indianapolis.
