Chicago Bulls' Derrick Jones Jr. disputes flagrant foul on Bucks' Grayson Allen

CHICAGO — Fans at United Center may have reveled in Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr.'s flagrant foul on Milwaukee Bucks guard Grayson Allen on Friday night, but Jones insisted afterward that the foul was not intentional and denied being a dirty player.

Jones was given a flagrant foul 1 in the fourth quarter after delivering a hip check while trying to defend Allen on a drive to the basket and hitting Allen in the face with his elbow.

Jones said he was simply trying to «get a stop.»

«That's all that goes through my head,» Jones said after the game. «I'm not a dirty player. Honestly, I talked to every ref that was there today. I didn't think that was a flagrant. They said I hit him in his head. I didn't even feel it. I just felt him bump my hip and fall. That's all I felt.»

Allen had been the object of ire for Chicago fans all evening and was serenaded by boos from the sold-out crowd of 21,259 every time he touched the ball.

On Jan. 21, the last time the Bulls and Bucks matched up against each other, Allen committed a flagrant foul 2 on Bulls guard Alex Caruso, which resulted in Caruso suffering a fractured right wrist. Caruso has not played since.

It was the first time Allen had been called for a flagrant foul this season, and only the second time in his NBA career. Yet, he was suspended by the NBA for one game for the foul, which prompted the Bucks to release a statement defending Allen and disagreeing with the suspension.

On Thursday night, Bulls coach Billy Donovan insisted his team had left Allen's flagrant foul in the past, telling reporters, «We're not getting back what happened.»

However, Bulls center Tristan Thompson, who was a member of the Sacramento Kings when the incident occurred, said the Bulls were prepared