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Kyrie says foul calls 'getting ridiculous' after Giannis' 22 free throws

Maddie Meyer / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving wasn't impressed with how Game 3 was officiated Friday night following a 123-116 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo got to the free-throw line on 22 occasions, with eight of his attempts coming in the third quarter alone. With Milwaukee in the bonus early, Irving feels Boston's chances of creating any momentum were severely hindered.

"It's inevitable (to get caught up in a run of foul calls). A guy comes down almost six times in a row and gets free throws. What are you really going to do? It's slowing the game down," said Irving, according to The Washington Post's Ben Golliver.

"The run that you would hope to make in a quarter like that doesn't happen. He shot 22 on the game. It's getting ridiculous at this point. It's just slowing the f-----g game down."

Antetokounmpo is averaging 16.7 free-throw attempts across three games against Boston, which is 12.7 more than any Celtics player. Irving hopes the Celtics will better respond the next time they find themselves in foul trouble.

"(Reacting to calls) is something we can manage," Irving added. "When that does happen at that point in the game, we've got to collect ourselves and be ready to move on to the next play. We know how many free throws (Antetokounmpo) has shot per game. He's a great player in our league. We know how many times he goes to the basket and gets contact. We also know how many times we go to the basket and get contact.

"It's a playoff game. Guys are playing very aggressive. When you get into the bonus with eight minutes left in the third, it's a shocker. It will put something in your mind where you don't want to touch anyone. Any instance when you go into the bonus early on, it slows the game down."

The overall free-throw disparity for the two teams wasn't huge, with the Bucks taking 36 to Boston's 32. It was the second game in a row that Milwaukee took four more free throws.

Irving scored a team-high 29 points for the Celtics on Friday but missed 14 of his 22 shots in 42 minutes of action. Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 32 points on 13 shots to go along with 13 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and three rejections in 39 minutes.

Milwaukee regained home-court advantage with the victory and takes a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series into Monday's Game 4.

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