Bucks' Adrian Griffin downplays spat with Giannis Antetokounmpo - ESPN

BOSTON — Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and coach Adrian Griffin appeared to have a heated exchange when Antetokounmpo checked out of Wednesday's game midway through the third quarter, but neither had much to say about it following the Bucks' 119-116 loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

«He wanted to stay in, I wanted to give him a breather. That's all it was,» Griffin said afterward. «And then I told him to stay at the table for one possession, and he got right back out there.»

Antetokounmpo gave a one-word response when asked for an explanation of what took place:

«No.»

The exchange happened with 5 minutes, 58 seconds left in the third quarter, after Antetokounmpo had been called for a carrying violation. As he began walking to the other end of the court, he looked at the Bucks bench and shook his head, and then appeared upset that Bobby Portis was checking in for him.

Antetokounmpo then sat on the scorer's table and had an extended discussion with Griffin, one that ended with Antetokounmpo coming back into the game at the next dead ball.

Regardless of what happened between Antetokounmpo and Griffin, what happened on the court was easy for all to see. The Celtics jumped to a 10-0 lead and never looked back, leading wire to wire. They controlled the game for the first 44 minutes before allowing Milwaukee to come roaring back, as the Celtics tend to do down the stretch in games.

Boston, which is now an NBA-best 12-3, led by as many as 21 and shot 17-for-42 from 3-point range. Jaylen Brown had his best game of the season, scoring 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting to go along with 8 assists and just 1 turnover.

«I feel like I've been doing it all season long,» Brown said of his playmaking. «Definitely just