"Keep it": Alleged leaked audio from Pacers locker room shows Myles Turner, Buddy Hield get into heated argument with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
Tensions rose right after the game between the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks when the Pacers took away the game ball following Giannis Antetokounmpo's career game. Antetokounmpo quickly stormed to the designated road team's dugout to confront the Pacers.
A video from Twitter user 'Legendz' gave an inside look at what transpired in the Pacers' locker room. In the video, security guards at Fiserv Forum restrained Antetokounmpo, who was trying to retrieve the game ball from the Pacers.
Legendz then seemingly quoted Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, telling a third Indiana Pacer not to give the game ball to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Hield was heard saying:
"Keep that ball."
Turner echoed Hield's words and repeatedly said,
"Keep it! Keep it! Keep it!"
An unknown Indiana player then told Antetokounmpo that he would not get a hand on the game ball, saying:
"You want the ball? You're not getting that ball."
Turner applauded his teammate, saying:
"I like that!"
Another Bucks player joined Antetokounmpo in the Pacers' dugout and told them:
"Give him his f****** ball."
However, the Pacers did not give in, so when Antetokounmpo went back to the hardcourt, he told his fellow Bucks:
"Go get the f****** ball... I just want you to know you need to go get it."
Oscar Tshiebwe's first NBA point 'spoiled' Giannis Antetokounmpo's career game
The Bucks avenged their NBA In-Season Tournament semifinal loss to the Pacers in style with a 140-126 win.
After their loss, the Indiana Pacers acknowledged the performance of Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first NBA point from the free-throw line. The team decided to keep the ball for the 24-year-old, denying the Milwaukee Bucks forward from getting his hands on the ball after his record 64-point game.
“What happened after the game was unfortunate," Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. "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."
“A couple of minutes later, several of their players ended up in our hallway, and there was a big, I don’t know what to call it - a fracas, melee, whatever. I don’t think any punches were landed, but my general manager got elbowed in the ribs by one of their players.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo broke the Milwaukee Bucks' single-game record of 57 points, set by Michael Redd in 2006. Antetokounmpo came close to breaking Redd's 57-point mark twice this year, with a 55 in January and a 54 just last month.
The Greek Freak also became the first NBA player with 20 field goals and 20 free throws with a 70 percent or more clip in each of them. He went 71 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line.