Bucks' Thanasis Antetokounmpo suspended one game by NBA after dustup with Blake Griffin

The Milwaukee Bucks will be without an Antetokounmpo for one game.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo was suspended for one game by the NBA on Saturday for head-butting the Boston Celtics' Blake Griffin during the Bucks' 140-99 loss earlier this week.

Antetokounmpo was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul on Griffin in the fourth quarter after a hard foul and words exchanged between the two and Antetokounmpo head-butted the Celtics player.

It was the latest dustup between Griffin and brothers Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo. During the 2021 playoffs, when Griffin was with the Detroit Pistons, Thanasis and Griffin had a similar confrontation after a hard foul. Giannis and Griffin had their own dust-up a few years earlier when Griffin stepped over the Bucks star after a foul.

The rivalry between the Bucks and Celtics has been spicy lately. The teams, who met in the second round last season with Boston winning in seven games, are battling for the top seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket heading into the final week of the regular season.

Thanasis and Celtics guard Marcus Smart had testy interactions when the teams played on Christmas Day this season.

The Bucks play the Philadelphia 76ers at Fiserv Forum on Sunday night.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Thanasis Antetokounmpo suspended after head-butting Blake Griffin