Brook Lopez and Trey Lyles got into a wild brawl in the final seconds of the Milwaukee Bucks’ 133-124 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
With about 15 seconds left, Giannis Antetokounmpo began slowly dribbling the ball to run out the clock. Lyles, as Antetokounmpo passed by him, reached in and tackled Antetokounmpo hard before pushing him away. As the game was essentially over, López did not appreciate the foul and immediately jumped up.
Lopez immediately got in Lyles’ face, and things escalated very quickly. The two started pushing and shoving each other while both teams got into a big scrum in the Golden 1 Center that saw the scorers tables fall.
It took a lot of people to finally get Lopez to let Lyles go.
The authorities eventually separated the group. Both López and Lyles were hit with technical fouls and ejected.
The Bucks then ran out the clock and held on for a nine-point victory.
Kings coach Mike Brown said, “I don’t know what happened, but we’re not taking issue with anybody. Trust me.” Via Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee, “And they’re all going to pat each other on the back there.”
Lopez finished the night with 23 points and eight rebounds. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 46 points and 12 rebounds. He also shot 19 of 28 from the field. Milwaukee has now won four of its last five.
D’Auran Fox led the Kings with 35 points and eight rebounds, and Kevin Huerter added 28 points. Lyle finished with six points and seven rebounds off the bench. The loss broke a three-game losing streak for Sacramento.
“It’s unfortunate. I think it was a great game,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said of the fight. Via Cameron Salerno of 247, “I was very impressed with Sacramento and the way they played. I won’t say anything about what did or didn’t happen.”