Thanasis ejected after head-butting Blake Griffin pic.twitter.com/gaQSIiFX59
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 31, 2023
The incident took place late in Boston Celtics 140-99 win against the Bucks and happened when Griffin challenged Antetokounmpos attempt at a layup. In response, Antetokounmpo head-butted Griffin. The ensuing scuffle involved other players.
Griffin later seemed more amused than angry at Antetokounmpo for the head butt. While the referees were deciding what to do with the Bucks player, Griffin returned to the Celtics bench where Jaylen Brown jokingly asked for some extra facial protection for his teammate.
Brown had been wearing a mask since he suffered a facial fracture in February.
“Yeah, I thought he needed some protection out there,” Brown said after the game. “Guys headbutting guys, maybe the whole team needs masks.”
Antetokounmpo was later issued with a flagrant 2 foul and was quickly ejected from the last few seconds of the match.
The suspension is for one game and will see him miss the Bucks game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The NBA did not further the disciplinary actions for Antetokounmpo.
His missing out on one game is unlikely to affect how the Bucks does this season. He is not a regular part of the rotation. This season, hes averaged 0.8 points and 0.9 rebounds in 4.2 minutes per game while playing in 33 of Milwaukee’s 77 games.