The Milwaukee Bucks continued their frustrating season with a 139-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. It was their 18th loss in the past 27 games, and when they trailed 76-45 at halftime, they were greeted with a chorus of boos from fans inside Feather Forum.
Surprisingly, he also booed late in the game after their star player Giannis Antetokounmpo took a shot in the paint and was fouled.
advertise
Antetokounmpo gave the crowd a thumbs up twice and booed.
Antetokounmpo has done this before, but before on the road in front of opposing fans — not his own. He told reporters after the game that he couldn’t remember being booed by home fans before.
“I definitely respond with boos. When I get booed, I respond with boos. I’ve been doing that all season. You [reporters] No one has been with me on the road,” Antetokounmpo said. “Every time I get booed, I boo back. “
The fact that the boos came from his own fans didn’t affect Antetokounmpo’s decision to react.
Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts during the third quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Feather Forum. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
(Patrick McDermott via Getty Images)
“No, no, it’s okay. It’s okay, I play basketball for my teammates,” he said. “I play basketball for myself and my family. When people don’t believe in me, I don’t tend to be with them. I tend to go against them. I tend to do what I’m here to do, what I’m good at, right?
“I think I’m like a maverick. I’ve always been that way so it’s not going to change now, it doesn’t matter if I’m home or away. But yeah, I’ve never been involved in anything like this before and I don’t think it’s fair. I don’t. But everyone has their own opinions to do them. Want to do; when we’re not playing hard, losing games or maybe not working hard, I’m not going to tell them what to do or how to act. That’s how we should be, I don’t think anybody has the right to tell me how to behave on the basketball court and I’m basically the leader in everything.”
The Timberwolves were playing without the suspended Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards, who was sidelined with an injury. Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers cited leg fatigue as a reason for his team’s poor performance. However, Antetokounmpo disagrees.
advertise
“I don’t think it’s a dead leg,” he said. “Are we tired? Yes, a little bit. We had a day off yesterday. I don’t understand why.
“It’s not a dead leg. I would never say I didn’t have a leg. I would say I could have done better. My effort wasn’t there. Maybe I wasn’t as focused as I should have been. And then when I look at myself and I look at the team as a whole, we could have done better, but I don’t think it was a dead leg. That’s not an excuse.”
The 17-23 Bucks return to action Thursday to begin a two-game road trip in San Antonio before facing Atlanta on Monday afternoon.
The Bucks sit just outside of an Eastern Conference play-in spot, but their recent performance has put them in deep trouble. Fans’ frustration will continue, especially as Antetokounmpo’s future with the team remains unclear.
