Giannis Antetokounmpo just lost what might wind up being his final game as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks in utterly heartbreaking fashion. Despite finishing Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists, the Bucks blew leads at the end of both regulation and overtime to get eliminated in the first round of the postseason.
A wide-open dunk by Tyrese Haliburton sent the game to overtime, and then Gary Trent Jr. fumbled a pass out of bounds to set Haliburton up for a game-winning layup as the Pacers pulled out an improbable 119-118 victory.
The common thread in this collapse, of course, was the exceptional play of Haliburton for Indiana. Haliburton has been quite vocal throughout the series, getting into a confrontation with Damian Liilard on the bench in Game 1.
“We don’t have to sit here and act like it’s any secret,” Haliburton said after Game 1. “We don’t like them, they don’t like us and that’s just what it is.”
So after the series ended on Tuesday, it wasn’t a surprise to see Antetokounmpo confront someone named Haliburton. What was unexpected, though, was that it would be Haliburton’s dad, John Haliburton, who got into it with the Bucks star as the two shared heated words after Game 5 before getting separated.
The cameras caught the beginning of their interaction, and it seems as though the elder Haliburton was the initiator.
After the game, Tyrese Haliburton told reporters that he didn’t think his dad was “in the right” in the situation.
Antetokounmpo elaborated when asked about the situation, saying that Haliburton’s father approached him with a towel featuring his son’s face, shouting, “This is what we do! This is what we f—in do!” Antetokounmpo also referenced his mother and his late father, who he believes always acted in a humble manner following his victories, including when he won a title in 2021.
“I’m happy for him and I’m happy for his son. That’s how you’re supposed to feel,” Antetokounmpo said. “But coming to me and disrespecting me and cursing at me. I think it’s totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable.”
The Bucks superstar concluded his answer by saying that he believes things have been patched up with Haliburton and his family.
“I talked with him at the end,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think we’re in a good place.”
The Pacers have now eliminated the Bucks from consecutive postseasons. They also knocked them out of the In-Season Tournament in 2023, and there was an infamous game in which the two sides fought over the game ball, as the Bucks wanted it for Antetokounmpo after scoring a franchise-record 64 points while the Pacers wanted it for Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first NBA points of any kind. As Haliburton said, these teams emphatically do not like one another.
With tempers flaring after a season-ending loss, that animosity apparently extended to family members. This might be the end of the road for this version of the Bucks, who are facing serious questions about their future with Damian Lillard expected to miss the 2025-26 season due to a torn Achilles, but wherever Antetokounmpo is playing, his issues with the Haliburton family will likely endure.
