Mike Dunleavy Jr. dirty fouls preceded Giannis Antetokounmpo ejection
Chicago Bulls guard Mike Dunleavy Jr. rose for a three-pointer late in the second quarter and the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo barreled in his direction, crashing into Dunleavy Jr. before he could stick a landing on the shot.
But Antetokounmpo didn't tackle Dunleavy Jr. as a preemptive strike. Prior to his flagrant foul and ejection, Antetokounmpo witnessed what few noticed during the course of the game. For reasons unknown, Dunleavy Jr. zeroed in on Michael Carter-Williams as a player to pick on during his team's Game 6 matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Dunleavy Jr. hit Carter-Williams above the shoulders and targeted his neck on multiple plays in the first quarter. The initial strike came when Carter-Williams drove the lane and jumped into traffic. Instead of simply contesting the shot, Dunleavy Jr. moved over in help defense and finished the play with a blow to Carter-Williams' neck. Look closely and you'll see Carter-Williams point to his neck and complain to officials about what should have been ruled a flagrant foul.
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[youtube: https://youtu.be/sDTdznm7KH4]
Dunleavy Jr. followed with another shot when he set a screen on Carter-Williams, who took things in his own hands after officials failed to heed his complaints.
[youtube:https://youtu.be/6GOFKiN6c-s]
Because the score became so lopsided as the game progressed, the young Bucks no longer had anything to lose. Chicago defeated Milwaukee 120–66, the fourth-largest victory in NBA history. They held a 58–28 lead when Antetokounmpo leveled Dunleavy Jr. just before halftime.
There's a chance league officials will review Dunleavy's action and retroactively hit him with some sort of punishment. The Bucks couldn't count on that assurance in the moment, however, and provided their own brand of justice, proving that one dirty play begets another.
