Already down two of their stars, Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. got himself tossed from Game 4 against the Pacers in the first quarter on Sunday.
Portis mixed it up with Andrew Nembhard under the basket after the whistle and it led to the two shoving one another before they were separated during their Eastern Conference first-round series at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The two got tangled up and then it appeared that Nembhard may have shoved Portis first, which led to the retaliatory shove and swipe by Portis at Nembhard’s head with 5:01 left in the first quarter.
The Bucks had been down 17-16 to the Pacers at the time of the incident.
The first quarter ended with Milwaukee and Indiana tied at 33.
Portis was sent to the locker room for the rest of the night for hitting Nembhard above the neck, while Nembhard was only given one technical.
Portis played in all of seven minutes before being tossed and scored four points on 2-for-4 shooting.
He has been averaging 15.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game during the Bucks playoff run thus far.
The Pacers fans could be heard chanting “Bobby sucks” after the altercation.
Losing Portis was not what the Bucks – trailing in the series 2-1 – needed, already being handicapped due to the absences of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who were both out due to injury.
Lillard, who has been averaging 32.3 points, 5.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in the first round of the playoffs, has been dealing with an Achilles issue.
Antetokounmpo has been out since he strained his left calf on April 9.
Head coach Doc Rivers hasn’t ruled out a return for the Bucks superstar later in the series.
“I think there’s a chance for him to play in this series, I really do,” Rivers said, per ESPN.