Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin has downplayed any notion of friction between him and Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two had a heated sideline exchange. "He wanted to stay in, I wanted to give him a breather. That's all it was. And then I told him to stay at the table for one possession, and he got right back out there," Griffin said after the game. Meanwhile, Giannis simply said "no" when asked to give an explanation of the exchange.
Giannis had a 21-point double-double in the three-point loss to Boston. While the Celtics led whistle to whistle, they allowed the Bucks to rally from a nearly 20-point deficit to lose by three. It's been a common theme for the 12-3 Celtics - taking their foot off the gas just a few minutes too early and risking snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. With the loss, the Bucks fell to 10-5 on the season. However, they still comfortably lead their division.
Holiday Rematches The Bucks
Furthermore, Wednesday's game marked Jrue Holiday's first game against his old team. While he did not speak with reporters after the win, Holiday did speak on his offseason trade during warmups. "A warning would've been cool. But other than that, I'm in the best place that I can be to compete against them, which is for the top team in the East and, hopefully, the top team in the league," Holiday said of the surprise trade. However, he clarified that he didn't hold any sort of grudge towards his former team. "I think that they got what they wanted, so I can't be mad at that," he added.
However, Holiday was fairly quiet in the game, dropping just 5 points and 8 rebounds. It marks his lowest points output of the season and the second time in three games he has failed to hit double digits in any statistical category. Up next for the Bucks is a game against the Wizards on Friday. Meanwhile, Boston face the Magic on the same day.
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