Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard just couldn't help himself while on the bench during Game 1 vs. the Indiana Pacers and managed to earn himself a technical foul despite not playing in the contest.
The Bucks were challenging a foul call on Giannis Antetokounmpo when things got a bit heated between Dame and the Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton, who Antetokounmpo fouled. At that point, there was just a minute and a half left in the fourth and Milwaukee was within 15 points of Indiana—still a large margin, yes, but much better than the near-30-point deficit they were rocking with at one point. All that to say, things were tense, and the Bucks obviously didn't want Haliburton to get up to the line.
It is unclear what exactly the pair was saying, but while the refs deliberated, both Lillard and Haliburton started going at it, later joined by the Bucks' Gary Trent Jr. and the Pacers' Pascal Siakam. At the end, both Lillard and Siakim were hit with technical fouls, and the original call stood.
Watch that below:
Dame had words for Hali during timeout 👀🍿 pic.twitter.com/4WpOKzunhr
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 19, 2025
The Pacers ran away with this first game 117–98, but there is, of course, plenty more action where that came from; Magic Johnson, for one, is betting on the Bucks.
We'll see how heated things get between these two rivals during Game 2 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as An Inactive Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton Had Words During Bucks-Pacers.
