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Bucks guard Grayson Allen got the villain treatment in Chicago, where Milwaukee beat the Bulls, 127-106, on Tuesday night.
Things got chippy on the court at the United Center when Allen was knocked to the floor after a hard foul by Bulls center Nikola Vucevic under the basket.
Vucevic, who was fouled from behind by Bucks center Brook Lopez on the play, received a dead ball technical foul for the contact on Allen after a review by the officials.
Bulls fans celebrated the foul and cheered — Allen has become a Chicago enemy since he committed a flagrant foul 2 on Bulls guard Alex Caruso in January that resulted in a fractured right wrist for Caruso.
Allen, who h as a history of questionably dirty plays since his Duke days, was ejected from the game and later suspended one game.
After Tuesday’s game, Vucevic said he had no intention of fouling or injuring Allen on the play. Vucevic added that he spoke to Allen and a few Bucks players on the floor after the play to clarify his intentions.
“I got pushed a little bit, and as I tried to go and swipe at the ball, I think it just looked worse in the moment,” he said. “When you look at the replay, it’s not even that bad. I don’t even understand why I got a tech for it.”
Allen, meanwhile, didn’t take the foul personal.
“I didn’t make anything of it. I honestly didn’t hear the whistle and I don’t think he heard the whistle either,” Allen said. “I had the ball in my left hand, so I think he was coming across my body to make a play on the ball.”
On Tuesday, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said he believed Vucevic “crossed the line” with his foul on Allen and should have also received flagrant foul.
“The refs thought it was not enough to be flagrant. … Basically said they looked at it 4-5 times. He didn’t think there was a windup. He didn’t think [it met] whatever the criteria was.”
Last month, Allen was booed by Bulls fans at United Center in a 118-112 win over Chicago. The Duke product took a hard foul in that game by Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr., who clipped Allen in the head with his elbow while defending him under the basket. Jones received a flagrant foul 1.
The tension between Bulls fans and Allen might accelerate in the postseason, as the two teams could potentially meet in the first round of the playoffs. The Bucks are currently in the third spot in the East and the Bulls are the sixth seed.
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