It is safe to say that the Bucks-Celtics series has lived up to expectations. We have seen a bruising physical battle between these two heavyweights in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals and unsurprisingly, things have gotten a bit chippy.
Giannis Antetokounmpo especially has been very physical all series and Game 4 was no different. In one particular instance, he got tangled up with Marcus Smart and a somewhat comical sequence ensued.
There are a lot of moving parts here, but it seemed like Smart was trying to help Giannis up, but the Greek Freak didn’t seem too interested in accepting the gesture and even appeared to kick his face. He also held on to Smart and the Defensive Player of the Year claimed that Giannis held on to him to prevent him from getting back into the play.
"…I'm trying to help him up. He's doing a good job of making sure I don't get back into the play by holding me down."
Marcus Smart on getting tangled up with Giannis Antetokounmpo pic.twitter.com/YzYfB4LpGv
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 10, 2022
“I was boxing him out, he jumps over my back, it was a no call…He kicked me in my face. And then when I tried to help him up he put his hand down, then put it back up, then put it back down. I was like ‘im done, im not gonna keep playing this game with you'”
Considering the Greek Freak’s history, it is hard to accuse him of anything too malicious here, but there’s no doubt that there’s little love lost between these sides after such physical encounters. We saw Giannis taunt Horford after a dunk and the latter returned the favor with a thunderous jam later in the game, with both players receiving technicals after their respective baskets.
The extra edge to the games has made this the most interesting of all the semi-finals, even with Bucks All-Star Khis Middleton being absent thus far. We are now all tied up at 2-2 and we can expect some fireworks as these teams head back to Boston for Game 5.
