Remember when Michael Carter-Williams dunked in the definitive exclamation points on the Bucks’ streak-snapping home win over the Warriors on Saturday night? That was so great.
Remember when he then proceeded to stare, tauntingly, at Golden State’s bench as he ran back down the court? That was not so great.
Consider the bear poked.
Milwaukee was put on notice by Golden State late Wednesday night after the defending champs pounded the Phoenix Suns 128-103. Apparently, the Warriors were none too pleased at what they considered unsportsmanlike behavior by Carter-Williams and the Bucks.
Fortunately for Golden State but quite unfortunately for Milwaukee, which has lost two straight games since the big victory on Saturday, the teams face each other again on Friday in Oakland, Calif.
After the Warriors’ win over Phoenix, in which he scored 25 points, reigning MVP Stephen Curry made pointed comments about the Bucks, according to ESPN.com. "Oh, it was a nice celebration. We do remember that stuff. We were kind of laughing at some of the stuff going on. It was a big game for them. Friday will be a big game for us."
Uh-oh.
But that wasn’t all. Draymond Green also had some sharp words, especially for Carter-Williams, who had lost his job as Milwaukee’s starting point guard and came off the bench against Golden State. He’s since returned to the lineup and led the Bucks in scoring over the past two games.
"Michael Carter-Williams getting a dunk at the end of the game and looking at our bench, like, dude you lost your spot," Green said Tuesday on Bay Area radio station KNBR. "So, it’s not quite common that you should be looking toward someone’s bench yelling. You’ve got some ground to make up."
Uh-oh, part two.
And then Klay Thompson, who scorched the Suns with 27 points in the third quarter and had a season-high 43 for the game, added the final, piercing touch. The player who once said he thanked God every day the Bucks didn’t draft him said the rematch was "going to be fun" in Oracle Arena.
"There’s nothing wrong with the dunk, but the stare down, trying to talk nasty in the game like that," Thompson said. "And it’s like, ‘Alright, you’re going to see us next Friday and in our building, too.’
"We're looking forward to it, man. Obviously a team that gave us our one in the loss column, and we felt they could have won with a little more class."
Oh, dear.
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
