Paul George Breaks Down Bucks vs. Pacers Game Ball Drama, Explains Both Sides

Paul George can see both sides in the kerfuffle that ensued after the Indiana Pacers took the game ball following Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 64-point outburst, leading the heating superstar to confront Indy’s players and coaching staff, seeking out the ball.

The Pacers later said they took the ball for rookie Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first NBA points in the game, and George saw the logic in that.

“That’s definitely a thing. That’s most important,” George said on Podcast P about giving the game ball to a rookie after he scores his first point. “That’s your first basket. You should get the game ball. That triumphs everything. Everybody knows that.”

Reports later suggested that the Bucks took the official game ball and the Pacers took a reserve game ball, though Giannis was skeptical.

“I have a ball, but I don’t know if it’s the game ball. It doesn’t feel like the game ball to me,” he said after the game. “It feels like a brand new ball. I can tell. I played, what, 35 minutes today. I know how the game ball felt. The ball that I have, which I’ll take and I’ll give it to my mom for sure, but I don’t know if it’s actually the game ball.”

But George did find fault with the Pacers claiming the ball as a road team, and understood Antetokounmpo’s frustrations in that moment.

“That’s more of like a home team thing. For Indiana to take the ball, they’re a road team, that’s where the problem lies,” he said. “You don’t get that right to just take that ball. You’re the road team. The home team gets that ball.”