Grayson Allen was the center of attention for the third straight meeting between the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls.
The Bucks sharpshooter was fouled hard by Bulls center Nikola Vucevic as he drove to the basket in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's contest, resulting in a dead-ball technical foul for the latter.
Nikola Vucevic accidentally elbows Grayson Allen pic.twitter.com/T4r3Capejm
— Gustavo (@iamvega1982) April 6, 2022
"My intention wasn't to foul or injure him or anything," Vucevic said after the Bulls' 127-106 loss, according to 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 added that he spoke with Allen and his teammates to assuage any doubts about his intentions.
"I didn't make anything of it," Allen said. "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."
Bulls forward Derrick Jones was assessed a flagrant-1 foul after hip-checking Allen and simultaneously hitting the Bucks guard's face with his elbow when the two clubs squared off in March.
Jones denied that the contact was retaliation for teammate Alex Caruso, who sustained a fractured wrist from a flagrant-2 foul by Allen in January. Caruso missed nearly two months of action, while Allen was suspended one game for the incident.
Milwaukee and Chicago have both clinched playoff berths and will meet in the opening round of the postseason if the current Eastern Conference standings hold.
