Giannis Antetokounmpo ejected after headbutting incident

Giannis Antetokounmpo lost his temper in a game against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday at the NBA bubble in Florida.

The Milwaukee Bucks superstar was ejected in the second quarter for headbutting the Wizards’ Moritz Wagner.

The Bucks went on to win 126-113.

Antetokounmpo, who had 12 points and nine rebounds, wasn’t available for post-game interviews via the NBA’s Zoom conference call setup.

Bucks backup Sterling Brown, who scored 23 points, said he understood why Giannis Antetokounmpo reacted the way he did.

“He was fed up,” Brown said of the reigning NBA MVP who is among the favorites for the award this season. “There was a lot of dirty cheap shots that come his way. And he reacted. … (But) he gets a lot of cheap shots and garbage plays that come his way.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo loses cool

In the second quarter, Antetokoumpo was whistled for an offensive foul, and didn’t think that Wagner had taken a charge.

Instead of forgetting about the play, Giannis Antetokounmpo dwelt on it.

Here’s how The Associated Press described what happened next: “During a break in the action with Milwaukee challenging the call, Antetokounmpo approached Wagner on the way to the bench and started jabbering at him before headbutting him and drawing the ejection.”

Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer acknowledged that his team and the Wizards have had their share of heated exchanges on the court.

“This is nothing new,” Budenholzer said. “Giannis has been dealing with this for a long time. He is the MVP. He normally is phenomenal and today was a slip-up. In some ways it could be one of the best things that happened today as a learning moment. We will all remember that we have to keep our cool — players and coaches.”

Key performers

Brook Lopez paced the Bucks with 24 points on 9-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-5 on 3s.

Rookie Rui Hachimura led the Wizards with 20 points.