LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida—Brook Lopez scored 24 points and Milwaukee beat the Washington Wizards, 126-113, on Tuesday night after Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was ejected in the second quarter for headbutting Moritz Wagner.
Wagner took a charge from Antetokounmpo, who didn’t like the call in what had become a physical game early on.
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.
Antetokounmpo, the reigning National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player, finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Sterling Brown scored 23 points and Frank Mason had 19 for the Bucks, which played their reserves extensively.
Rui Hachimura led the Wizards with 20 points, and Ish Smith added 19.
The game didn’t have any playoff implications. The Bucks have already clinched the top seed in the East, while the Wizards, who fell to 0-7 in the NBA bubble, have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
Antetokounmpo’s headbutt could draw a punishment from the league and keep him out of the team’s final seeding game against the Grizzlies on Thursday.
Harrison Barnes scored 25 points, including 12 in the third quarter, and the Sacramento Kings beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 112-106, on Tuesday night.
The Kings earned their second win in the NBA restart—each over the Pelicans.
Barnes said the competition in the NBA bubble “is something we have to learn from.”
With both teams eliminated from the playoffs, among the top starters given the night off were Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson and Kings leading scorer De’Aaron Fox.
The Kings’ only win in their first six games in the restart was a 140-125 victory over the Pelicans on Thursday, when Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a career-high 35 points. Bogdanovic had 16 points in the rematch.
“Those games are really tough to play,” Bogdanovic said, adding “especially when both teams are eliminated…. For our team it was a huge win after a couple bad days and elimination.”
Jahlil Okafor led New Orleans with 21 points. Lonzo Ball added 16 points while making four 3-pointers.
Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry said Ball had his best game of the restart.
“The biggest thing was I thought Alonzo played well and was almost back to where he was before we had the hiatus,” Gentry said. “I thought that was important.”
New Orleans is 2-5 in the bubble. AP
Image credits: AP