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Eric WoodyardESPN
Sparks were flying during Game 3 of the Milwaukee Bucks–Orlando Magic series.
With the Bucks holding a 19-point lead, Marvin Williams and the Magic’s James Ennis were ejected after an altercation with 5:39 left in second quarter.
Officials hit both players with double fouls as well as double technical fouls, which resulted in them being tossed.
The players boxed each other out aggressively under the rim, then had to be separated after exchanging pushes, with referee Kevin Scott in the middle.
Ennis then threw a closed-fist forearm shiver to get Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham off him as members of the coaching staff tried to intervene during the scuffle.
It was the fifth ejection of Williams’ career (second playoff ejection). Ennis had never been ejected before Saturday.
“Marvin’s toughness, Marvin’s competitiveness, our group, our edge, that’s important to us,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We certainly don’t want to ever not have that edge and not have that physicality, have the competitiveness, and hopefully you can stay in the game and things like that don’t happen. But Marvin is a pro, and we’re just fortunate to have him and his toughness.”
Milwaukee went up 2-1 in the series with a 121-107 victory. Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, and he was 12-for-14 from the field. He is the first player in NBA history with at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and 85% shooting on field goal attempts in a playoff game, per ESPN Stats & Information research.
Antetokounmpo scored 21 points while making all of his shots in the first half. He said he didn’t see the pushing match between Williams and Ennis because he was on the bench. It did serve as a spark for the team, though.
“At the end of the day, a guy sacrifices himself for the team and as I said previously, we’ve got to pick it up for him,” Antetokounmpo said. “What he did, he’s got to miss time for the team, so we were even more locked in and played harder because that’s what a good team does.”
