Bucks Zone

​​Brook Lopez rues getting ejected from an NBA game for the first time in his career

Splash Mountain got sent to the showers early for a kerfuffle with Toronto's Gary Trent Jr.
Matthew Dugandzic|
​​Brook Lopez rues getting ejected from an NBA game for the first time in his career
​​Brook Lopez rues getting ejected from an NBA game for the first time in his career

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Milwaukee Bucks

Tempers flared between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday as Bucks center Brook Lopez and Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. got into a scuffle with 6:40 remaining in the game. When the dust settled, Lopez was ejected for the first time in his 15-year NBA career.

Lopez was visibly frustrated after being removed from the game afterward, saying, “I can't expect the refs to get it right."

Got tangled up

The intensity was already nearing its boiling point when Lopez and Trent Jr. got tangled up after a basket by Jrue Holiday that put the Bucks up by three, 113-110, with 6:40 left in the match. As the two jostled for position, Lopez took off Trent's headband. As players from both teams rushed to separate the two, Lopez also shoved Raptors forward OG Anunoby.

After a review, Lopez was handed two technical fouls due to a couple of hostile acts—for removing Trent's headband and getting into it with Anunoby—and was ejected from the game. That marked a milestone for the veteran big man—albeit a dubious one—as it was the first time he had been ejected from an NBA game in his career.

“I can't expect the refs to get it right," Lopez said of his ejection. "If they're not going to get it right during the game, why are they going to get it right when they replay it, or any other calls. It's what it is.”

Red-hot second half

Before his ejection, Lopez had been having a terrific second half. He scored 15 of his 19 points in the third quarter and made three of his five attempts from beyond the arc.

Lopez has been on a hot streak from the deep of late. He has made 18 of his last 37 attempts from the three-point area and has been shooting 48% from deep since January 9th.

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.