The Milwaukee Bucks need all the wins they can get after starting off the 2024-25 season on the wrong foot. Entering their Monday night clash against the Houston Rockets, the Bucks have a paltry 4-9 record — and what stood in front of them was one of the hottest teams in the association in the 10-4 Rockets. In the end, the Bucks managed to pull out a 101-100 win, thanks to Damian Lillard’s game-winning driving layup with just 3.2 seconds left on the clock.
However, the Bucks’ win did not come without its fair share of controversy. What set up Lillard’s layup was an emphatic block from Giannis Antetokounmpo against Alperen Sengun; as the Bucks retrieved possession and Antetokounmpo received the ball to initiate the offense, it definitely looked as though he stepped on the opposing baseline out of bounds line — which should have given the Rockets back the ball with a 100-99 lead in their possession.
Indeed, plenty of Rockets fans rushed to social media to express their infuriation over what looked like a blatant missed call that directly led to a Bucks win.
“Not only was Giannis out of bounds I don’t think he ever reestablished himself inbounds before Lopez passed him the ball. Ref on the baseline isn’t even watching the play🤦🏻,” wrote @jrhutch6 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I know I’m just triggering myself at this point, but did Giannis even re-establish himself inbounds? Besides the obvious of starting the possession while out of bounds, he was out prior to Lopez passing it to him and never even re-established, IMO. It’s not just the heel,” @BenDuBose added.
This is not the first time that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks have benefitted from a missed out of bounds call. But the Bucks need things to go their way for once, although it did come at the expense of a Rockets team that put up a valiant effort on the second night of a back-to-back.
Bucks once again benefit from shoe-related shenanigans
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It’s somehow the Bucks that are always at the forefront of some shoe-related shenanigans. It may be forgotten in the annals of history now given that it was a regular-season game, but back on December 29, 2017, Antetokounmpo also escaped punishment for an out of bounds infraction, which then led to a game-winner against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In the clutch, there have been egregious missed out of bounds calls. Who could ever forget the time when everyone who was in attendance knew that Kevin Durant was completely out of bounds as he tried to save possession, only for the officials to swallow their whistles?
Speaking of Durant, one of the Bucks’ major shoe shenanigans involved him. Back in the 2021 NBA playoffs, the Bucks survived Durant and the Brooklyn Nets in the playoffs after what would have been a game-winning three from Durant was called a two-pointer because his huge shoe stepped on the line.
The gifts keep on coming for the Bucks, and they need every bit of it right now considering how slowly they’ve started the 2024-25 season.