logo
More trash talk, more double technicals. Pacers, Bucks really don't like each other

More trash talk, more double technicals. Pacers, Bucks really don't like each other

Milwaukee's Bobby Portis Jr. was called for a taunting technical foul with 7:12 left in the third quarter of Game 4 of its NBA playoff series against the Indiana Pacers.
Indiana's Aaron Nesmith drove to the basket and was fouled. As Nesmith lay on the floor with the ball, Portis approached him and tried to take the ball from him.
Players from both teams traded words and were separated by the officials.
Later in the third quarter, Ryan Rollins and Indiana's Jarace Walker each got a technical.
Milwaukee's Kevin Porter Jr. and Nesmith each got a technical foul in the second quarter after exchanging words during a dead ball the prompted coaches from both teams to separate them.
Portis and Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton playfully chatted in first-half action.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Thunder's Game 3 turnover failings have put playoff run in danger again
Thunder's Game 3 turnover failings have put playoff run in danger again

New York Times

time40 minutes ago

  • New York Times

Thunder's Game 3 turnover failings have put playoff run in danger again

INDIANAPOLIS — The last time the Oklahoma City Thunder had any level of control in Game 3 of an NBA Finals suddenly trending against them, they were up 95-91 with 8:45 left and had just forced a missed layup that probably should've ended in a defensive rebound. But Chet Holmgren couldn't grab it in a crowd, Lu Dort accidentally helped tap it over to Andrew Nembhard and Nembhard immediately hit a 16-footer. Advertisement But that wasn't the most deflating part of the sequence. Alex Caruso grabbed the ball as it went through the net. He took one wandering step out of bounds and flung a rushed inbound in Jalen Williams' direction. It made it about four feet before TJ McConnell, standing directly in front of Caruso, leaped up to steal it and then dropped in a layup. A defensive rebound would have meant a four-point lead and possession. But within five seconds, Wednesday's game was instead tied, beginning a fourth quarter snowball that would end in a 116-107 Pacers win and a 2-1 series hole for the Thunder. Had that McConnell leaping steal been an outlier, it wouldn't have been such a postgame talking point. That egregious of an inbound error happens occasionally — maybe a handful of times per season to any given team. But the Thunder were victimized three separate times in Game 3 by the same player on the same type of sneaky steal most often seen in youth basketball. 'Sucked,' Williams said. 'Bad, unforced turnovers.' This game flipped to open the second quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took his first rest of the night with the Thunder leading 32-24 after 12 minutes. He'd return three minutes later with the Thunder down 37-36. McConnell was the spark plug of that minus-nine stretch. It included two of his three inbound steals. The first came to open the quarter. McConnell set up Pascal Siakam for a layup, baited Cason Wallace into an interception and then pinged an offensive rebound over to Bennedict Mathurin for a layup — again creating four points in a flash. 'I call them pick-sixes,' Caruso said. 'It's a live-ball turnover in your third of the court and they score. It can add up to eight, 10, 12 points, which might be the difference in the game.' The second of McConnell's inbound steals came a couple of minutes later while Gilgeous-Alexander was still on his brief but detrimental rest. He found Aaron Nesmith for a layup and again jumped the passing lane and ripped an unaware Williams before he could gain control of Wallace's pass, throwing it off Wallace out of bounds to generate an extra possession that charged up the arena. Advertisement 'Those plays hurt,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'Because they're very controllable. You can take your time. You make mistakes in basketball, no matter the stage. We definitely had opportunities to cover those things up. But you also don't let plays like that happen. It just goes back to being tighter, being more focused, being more forceful all night. Things like that really hurt.' The Thunder only averaged 11.7 turnovers this season, the fewest of all 30 NBA teams. They're only averaging 12.0 in the playoffs, third-fewest among the 16 qualifying teams. They terrorize your offense, but also succeed because of their ball security, beginning with Gilgeous-Alexander, who only averaged 2.4 turnovers this season, fewest among the NBA's top-14 scorers. But that was a major problem in Game 3. Their offense was careless and scattered. Those three McConnell inbound steals counted for three of the Thunder's 19 turnovers. In their previous 18 playoff games, they never committed more than 16. Gilgeous-Alexander had six of those 19 turnovers, more than he'd committed in a game since December. That included the detrimental 'pick-six' type, as Caruso mentioned, a live-ball giveaway that gifts the other team two points and revs up the crowd. Here is the worst of the night from Gilgeous-Alexander. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was asked postgame whether those live-ball turnovers, particularly the McConnell inbound steals, were inexcusable. 'In terms of inexcusable, everybody is out there competing and trying,' Daigneault said. 'I'm not going to place blame on those plays. I just thought their overall tone was better than ours for the majority of the game. I thought we had some really good stretches, but we just made one too many mistakes and had one too many possessions on both ends of the floor where they were more tied to their identity than we were. Obviously, those (turnovers) are costly plays.' Advertisement The Thunder gave up 40 second-quarter points and didn't force a turnover in the 12 minutes. Their bench was outscored 49-18. After a strong third quarter, they were outscored 32-18 in a fateful fourth when their offense came to a halt and their defense had too many lapses, including from Gilgeous-Alexander late, sagging too far off Nesmith and closing out too slow, leading to a dagger 3. This all combined to deliver the Thunder their second danger point in these playoffs. Like the Nuggets series — which began with a home collapse in Game 1 and a tight Game 3 loss in Denver — they are down 2-1, staring down the barrel of a crucial Game 4 road test Friday night against a confident team and a frothing crowd. 'You're probably just slightly more frustrated with (this 2-1 deficit),' Caruso said. 'You just put in so much effort and so much into the game to not come away with a win when you have a chance, especially on the road, it definitely stings a little. That's part of the playoffs. That's part of the finals.' (Photo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

Today in Chicago History: Bulls win 1st championship — and Michael Jordan named MVP of NBA Finals
Today in Chicago History: Bulls win 1st championship — and Michael Jordan named MVP of NBA Finals

Chicago Tribune

time42 minutes ago

  • Chicago Tribune

Today in Chicago History: Bulls win 1st championship — and Michael Jordan named MVP of NBA Finals

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on June 12, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1966: In Humboldt Park, white Chicago police Officer Thomas Munyon shot Arcelis Cruz, a young Puerto Rican man, in the leg. The incident ignited two days of rioting along Division Street that sprang from deep frustrations over bad police relations, poor schools and uncaring landlords. On the first day of unrest, the Tribune reported, three squad cars were burned, 35 people were arrested and 19 people were injured. Stores along Division Street were looted and set on fire. A firebomb was thrown into Schley Elementary School. Firefighters had a hose wrested from their hands as they tried to extinguish the flames of a burning police car. A Tribune photographer was robbed of his camera, beaten and kicked, until neighborhood residents rescued him. The nearby St. Mary's Hospital treated both civilians and police officers. The violence subsided after a heavy rainfall and hundreds of police officers were placed on patrol in the area. 1991: The Chicago Bulls won the first NBA championship in the team's 25-year history with a 108-101 victory in Game 5 of the NBA Finals over the Los Angeles Lakers. MVP Michael Jordan scored 30 points, Scottie Pippen had 32 and John Paxson added 20. The Bulls won three straight on the road at the Forum. Chicago Bulls beat Los Angeles Lakers for NBA title in 1991'(The championship) means so much,' said Jordan, in tears after the game, talking to a national television audience. 'Not just for me but for this team and this city. It was a seven-year struggle. It's the most proud day I've ever had.' 2019: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law sweeping abortion rights legislation that established the procedure as a 'fundamental right' for women in Illinois. Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.

After missing last year's playoffs, Bennedict Mathurin counted down the days. It was worth the wait
After missing last year's playoffs, Bennedict Mathurin counted down the days. It was worth the wait

Indianapolis Star

time43 minutes ago

  • Indianapolis Star

After missing last year's playoffs, Bennedict Mathurin counted down the days. It was worth the wait

INDIANAPOLIS – A page-a-day calendar sat in the Pacers' training room last year. A marker for Bennedict Mathurin. Every day after undergoing surgery to repair the torn labrum that ended his season and kept Mathurin out of Indiana's surprising run to the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers guard would walk by the calendar and rip off a page. 'He was counting down the days to being cleared sometime in August, and then to begin 5-on-5 with our guys in September, and then to begin training camp, really, with his eyes firmly set on an opportunity in the playoffs,' Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. Mathurin finally reached the peak of his hike in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, pouring in 27 points off the bench to lead Indiana to a 116-107 win over Oklahoma City in front of a raucous Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd Wednesday night. The Pacers have spent the entire season telling anybody who would listen that a healthy Mathurin would make a big difference in the postseason. 'You're seeing why,' Indiana point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. Mathurin's march to this point has been anything but smooth. Carlisle prefers to play Mathurin off the bench, partly because his style of play isn't a perfect fit with the Pacers' style and partly because Mathurin gives the team's second unit a bona fide scorer, but the role has not been easy. Injuries forced Mathurin into the starting lineup for most of the first two months, giving him a chance to establish himself in a starting role, only to head back to the second unit when Aaron Nesmith was fully ready to return to the lineup in February. He can be an imperfect fit for this Pacers team, and as a result, his playing time in the playoffs has been spotty. Mathurin has been given 11 minutes or fewer four times in the playoffs, including three times in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks. Mathurin also has four games of 20 points or more, none bigger than Wednesday night's lethal performance, the third-highest scoring performance for any player coming off the bench in NBA Finals history. A performance that initially seemed like it would be one of the nights Mathurin was used sparingly. Mathurin sat out the entire first quarter, watching as Oklahoma City jumped out to a 32-24 lead that felt too much like Indiana's other slow starts in this Finals. The Pacers needed a spark when Mathurin entered the game at the beginning of the second quarter. 'Mathurin jumped in there and was immediately aggressive,' Carlisle said. 'This is the kind of team that we are. We need everybody to be ready.' Oklahoma City's defense can be suffocating, taking away an offense's best shots with its pressure, taking away the lane. Early in the series, Mathurin spent too much time driving into traffic, a problem that plagued the entire Pacers offense. But Mathurin is also the kind of player who can make the Thunder pay for the types of shots they're willing to let teams take. 'He did a great job of coming off handoffs, reading the pocket, rising up for the mid-range,' Haliburton said. 'This is a defense that will give that up; analytically, that's not the best shot. I thought he did a great job of hunting that, getting downhill.' Playing off another brilliant bench performance from T.J. McConnell, Mathurin helped bring the Pacers roaring back, taking a 39-36 lead on a Mathurin 3-pointer midway through the second quarter and setting the tone for a back-and-forth game that Indiana eventually won. 'It's a group of guys who play extremely hard, and I think that's exactly what we needed, to get the fans back on their feet,' Mathurin said. Mathurin ended up playing 22 minutes after missing the entire first quarter, and he kept finding ways to get to his spots. Mathurin knocked down 9-of-12 shots, 2-of-3 from 3-point range and knocked down 7-of-8 free throws, playing an efficient brand of basketball while handling the contact and physicality Oklahoma City presents defensively. Indiana entered Game 3 knowing the offense needed to get into the paint. Mathurin plays with the physicality that can get him into the paint and get him to the free-throw line. 'Pretty much just shooting shots that I like,' Mathurin said. Mathurin's brilliance can be spotty. But Wednesday night's game was a reminder of what he brings to the Pacers, what Indiana was missing during last year's magical playoff run. Mathurin spent last year's playoff run rehabbing his shoulder, focusing on being a presence for the Pacers the next time the team made a deep run. Now, the best game of his young career has Indiana two wins away from an NBA title. 'As much as this is a dream right now, I'm not trying to live in my dream,' Mathurin said. 'I'm trying to live in the present and make sure the dream ends well, which means winning the next game and winning a championship.' Then Mathurin and the Pacers can tear off the final page.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store