ESPN
The Bucks and Sixers met on Wednesday night in a clash between two of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference, a matchup we very well may see in the conference semifinals should the Nets take the 1-seed in the East as expected. While the matchup didn’t feature one of the biggest stars as Joel Embiid continues to sit with a knee injury, it was a highly competitive, even if ugly game.
The Bucks struggled mightily on offense in the first half, scoring just 31 points and trailed by 14 at halftime, but came alive late to take what felt like a comfortable lead, before a run from the Sixers forced overtime at 93-93, a score straight out of a 2004 East playoff series. In that overtime period, Giannis Antetokounmpo took over to lead the Bucks to a win — although the Sixers would again cut it to as little as one late — going on a 7-0 run of his own that he capped off by taking a seat on the Philly court in triumph.
The reigning MVP took OVER in overtime!
A personal 7-0 run pic.twitter.com/Uc8tJbxKop
— ESPN (@espn) March 18, 2021
That drew boos from the Philly crowd and caught the attention of the Sixers, who weren’t pleased with Giannis’ celebration. Dwight Howard noted after the game that Giannis’ seated celebration made him want to deliver some justice, Texas Rattlesnake style, a mere day after 3/16.
Dwight Howard, somewhat lightheartedly, on Giannis sitting at half-court in celebration:
“I wanted to go and stone-cold stunner him.”
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) March 18, 2021
Dwight Howard said he wanted to “Stone Cold Stunner” Giannis Antetokounmpo when he sat down on the court during overtime, but didn’t because he already had a technical foul.
“We’ll see them again, and it will be a different result.”
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) March 18, 2021
He was, naturally, joking a bit, but the game was contentious throughout and Giannis and Dwight had a couple of minor run-ins. It is funny to see the Sixers a little ruffled by some antics that come straight out of the Joel Embiid playbook, but you always love it when its your guy and hate it when someone else does it. Hopefully we can see these two go at it at full strength come playoff time, because it’d be a series with great physicality and defense and each team would have a little testiness as well.
