CHICAGO - United center fans may have enjoyed Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr.'s major foul on Milwaukee Bucks guard Grayson Allen on Friday night, but Jones later insisted the foul was not intentional and a foul player. refused to be.
Jones was given a major foul 1 in the fourth quarter after delivering a hip check while trying to defend Allen on the drive to the basket and hitting Allen in the face with his elbow.
Jones said he was just trying to "get a stop".
"That's what's going on in my mind," Jones said after the game. "I'm not a dirty player. Honestly, I talked to every referee out there today. I didn't think it was a flagrant. They said I hit him in the head. I didn't even feel it. I just me Felt like he fell on my hip. That's all I felt."
Allen had been the rage of Chicago fans all evening and every time he touched the ball, the sold-out crowd of 21,259 was overwhelmed with booze.
On January 21, the last time the Bulls and Bucks were up against each other, Allen committed a clear foul 2 on Bulls guard Alex Caruso, which resulted in Caruso suffering a fractured right wrist. Caruso hasn't played since.
It was the first time Allen had been called out for a major foul this season, and only the second time in his NBA career. Nevertheless, he was suspended by the NBA for one game for a foul, which prompted the Bucks to defend Allen and issue a statement disagreeing with the suspension.
On Thursday night, Bulls coach Billy Donovan insisted his team had let go of Allen's fouls in the past, telling reporters, "We are not getting back what happened."
However, Bulls center Tristan Thompson, who was a member of the Sacramento Kings at the time of the incident, said the Bulls were prepared to play "chippy" in Friday's rematch.
"Take one of my dogs out like that, we'll have issues," Thompson told reporters in Atlanta on Thursday. "You have to set the tone. That's what Bulls basketball is all about, setting the tone. He impressed one of our boys, and I don't think anyone should forget about that."
"I think [it's] in the back of people's heads, and if people want to play chippy, let's play chippy."
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer did not react much when asked about Thompson's comments ahead of Friday's game, saying he had not seen them.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "Didn't register with me. Nobody told me anything."
Apart from the crowd reaction, Friday's game went off without incident. Allen was mocked for 31 minutes in Milwaukee's 118–112 victory and ended 2-of-6 off the field for seven points and four rebounds. Later none of the Bucks players took issue with Jones' hard foul on Allen.
Jones said he did not seek revenge for the drama in January.
Jones said, "I ain't even tripping. It's basketball." "I want to get a stop as much as they want to get a stop at the other end. We didn't like what happened in Milwaukee. It's clear we didn't like it. Nobody liked it. But I mean I'm not going to go out there and just try to get a guy out.
"I'm not who I am. If I find a mess in the process of trying to stop, so be it. But I won't kick that guy out. He's got a family to take care of. Why am I that way? should do?"