The Indiana Pacers got steamrolled by Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, as the Greek Freak poured on 64 points, setting a new franchise record in the process.
However, that’s not what the headlines will be about.
Instead, the headlines will discuss what happened after the game, as Antetokounmpo was on a warpath to get back the game ball that he believed should belong to him.
The two-time MVP stormed back to the locker room, screamed at everyone on the floor, and, perhaps most notably, got into a heated altercation with Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton.
Giannis and Haliburton had heated exchange following Bucks-Pacers 😳
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 14, 2023
It involved Pacers taking game ball away after Giannis' 64-point game pic.twitter.com/zsSGraLQVi
Reports indicated that the Pacers snagged the ball to give to rookie Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first NBA points in the game (a single free-throw), but Antetokounmpo eventually got the ball back.
Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT did most of the reporting on the subject, tracking the story as it happened in real-time and providing updates on the situation.
However, once it was all said and done, Haliburton took to Twitter to give his two cents on the situation. But instead of providing an explanation, he decided to tweet a meme of Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat.
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) December 14, 2023
Instead of “The Cat in the Hat,” however, the image he tweeted read, “The Cap on this App,” likely inferring that some of the information that was put out about the situation was untrue.
Now, it’s completely unknown exactly what Haliburton is referencing, but that’s probably by design, as the Pacers star probably doesn’t want to start any problems.
That said, the entire situation was super weird.
Head coach Rick Carlisle backed up the story that the Pacers were trying to get the ball to Tshiebwe, noting that they didn’t even think about Antetokounmpo’s game.
Because of that, the context of Haliburton’s tweet becomes even more peculiar, as it’s unknown as to what he’s talking about with the meme.
Regardless, it seems as though the ball was eventually given to Antetokounmpo. All in all, there seems to be a very real rivalry brewing between the Pacers and Bucks. (And it very much rules.)