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Bucks big man Bobby Portis has found himself on the receiving end of some criticism from NBA fans after his comments following a Game 2 loss to the Pacers. After picking up a big Game 1 win at home, Portis and the Bucks dropped Game 2 to the Pacers at home. The game saw the Bucks repeatedly try to come back from an early deficit to no avail.
The loss tied the series at one game apiece heading back to Indiana, where the NBA Cup finalists will look to hand Milwaukee their second straight first-round exit.
After the 125-108 loss in Game 2, Bobby Portis spoke to media members about the situation, explaining that when Indiana is up, it's all fun and games. When the team is losing, but he explained that the vibe among the Indiana Pacers players is very different.
“I mean, just quite frankly, they’re frontrunners, bro. Y’all can just tweet that or whatever it is, bro. When the sh** going good, they laughing, clapping all that. When it’s going bad, they not saying nothing. ...
"Guys always feel good when they're having a good game or hitting shots, everybody. I think that's just human nature and basketball."
Bobby Portis' comments caught the attention of the NBA community with NBA Central only posting part of the quote in question. Because of that, as some fans pointed out, it shouldn't be surprising that the Pacers aren't laughing and joking while losing.
Some fans cracked jokes about the situation, indicating that a team having less fun while losing shouldn't be surprising:
"They suppose to laugh after a loss?" - @PlayByPlayNews (Twitter)
"Its like that for every team…" - @BullsKickAss (Twitter)
"You expect them to be laughing and clapping when they losing?" - @CookedByRiley0 (Twitter)
One fan provided context to the situation, showing a clip of Bobby Portis engaging with several Pacers players, including Tyrese Haliburton. As the clip showed, Portis was clapping back at opposing players:
Other fans pointed out that when Bobby Portis and the Bucks were up in Game 1, they were doing plenty of celebrating of their own.
"Bucks were doing the same in game 1 lmao" - @GangCeltics (Twitter)
"He realize who he play for?" - @WheelerJaylen (Twitter)
"Bro had his eyes popping out of his head game 1 celebrating but when Indy celebrates it’s a problem" - @the2kmessiah (Twitter)
Some fans also made reference to comments previously made by Luka Doncic, indicating that it's easy to be tough when your team is up.
"'Everybody tuff when they up' - Luka Doncic 2022" - @WigginsWick22 (Twitter)
Looking at the history between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers on the heels of Bobby Portis' comments
Of course, as many members of the NBA community were quick to point out, the two teams have quite a bit of history with one another. Most notably, earlier this season the two teams were nearly at the heart of a massive brawl.
On Dec. 13, the two teams met in a highly anticipated inter-conference matchup that saw Giannis Antetokounmpo drop a career high of 64 points on the Pacers in an impressive win, Antetokounmpo sought to secure the game ball.
As he explained after the game, he wanted to do so to give it to his mom, however, the Pacers had other plans. The team quickly scooped up the ball for rookie Oscar Tshiebwe. Antetokounmpo first got into a verbal spat with Tyrese Haliburton, telling him to go and retrieve the ball.
When that didn't work, "The Greek Freak" attempted to charge the locker room in hopes of securing the ball. The situation saw Antetokounmpo receive a ball, but as he explained while speaking to media members, he had no way of knowing whether it was the game ball.
While the two teams then played in back-to-back games in January without another major incident, their first-round playoff matchup raised eyebrows. Given the past beef, many expected a series filled with intense competition even though Antetokounmpo has been sidelined for the first two games.
Whether the past situation played a role in Bobby Portis' comments, the potential return of Giannis Antetokounmpo is sure to inject more intensity into the series.
