Bucks guard Grayson Allen was involved in yet another controversial foul call in a game against the Bulls on Tuesday evening. This time, he was on the receiving end of the contact.
In the fourth quarter of Milwaukee’s 127–106 victory, Allen was driving to the basket when he was whacked hard by Chicago center Nikola Vucevic. The contact sent the Bucks’ guard to the ground and triggered an official review of the play.
Vucevic, who was fouled from behind by Milwaukee center Brook Lopez prior to swiping at Allen, was assessed a dead ball technical foul for the contact after a replay review.
After the game, Vucevic maintained that he did not intend to target Allen, who has been disliked by fans in Chicago since he committed a flagrant foul 2 on Bulls guard Alex Caruso in January that resulted in a fractured right wrist for Caruso.
“My intention wasn’t to foul or injure him or anything,” Vucevic said, per ESPN’s Jamal Collier. “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. When you look at the replay, it’s not even that bad. I don’t even understand why I got a tech for it.”
Vucevic revealed that he spoke to a few Bucks players on the floor after the play to clear up any confusion about his intentions on the foul. Allen did not harbor any ill will toward the Bulls center following the game.
“I didn’t make anything of it,” Allen said, per Collier. “I honestly didn’t hear the whistle and I don’t think he heard the whistle, either. I had the ball in my left hand, so I think he was coming across my body to make a play on the ball.”
Tuesday night wasn’t the first time that Allen has been on the receiving end of a hard foul in Chicago since the incident involving Caruso. Last month, Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. hit Allen in the face with his elbow after a hip-check and received a flagrant 1 for his actions.
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There remains no love lost between the city of Chicago and Allen. Every time the Bucks guard touched the ball on Tuesday, he was booed. When Vucevic’s committed the hard foul and sent Allen to the floor, the crowd cheered.
With the regular season coming to a close, the Bucks and the Bulls are in position to face one another in the Eastern Conference playoffs. If the standings hold, Milwaukee will clinch the No. 3 seed and Chicago will finish at No. 6, setting up an opening round matchup between the two Midwest franchises.
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