Milwaukee Bucks’ Malik Beasley knocks the ball from Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee and Boston combined for a record-low two free throw attempts Tuesday night, when the Celtics became the first team in NBA history to not shoot one.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo shot the only two free throws of the game, making one, with 19 seconds left in the first quarter of the Bucks’ 104-91 victory.
“I didn’t realize that until they told me just before I walked in,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said after the game. “It is weird, after the fact. I honestly didn’t really catch it throughout the game. I didn’t notice it.”
The Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks shared the previous record of one attempted free throw in a game. The Bucks committed just four fouls Tuesday, the fewest in league history.
The two combined attempts shattered the previous record of 11, set on Nov. 10, 2019, when Indiana shot five and Orlando had six.
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It was particularly surprising that this record occurred in a game featuring the Bucks and Celtics. Antetokounmpo entered Tuesday with an NBA-leading 780 free-throw attempts. Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard ranked seventh (494) and Boston’s Jayson Tatum was eighth (488) in that category.
Lillard noted that foul calls seem to have gone down across the league late in the season.
“It was weird, but it seems to be the trend,” Lillard said. “Fouls are not a part of the game no more. It’s like, I’ve had times where I thought I was getting fouled, and there’s been other times where I was surprised a foul didn’t get called on me, where I might bump somebody or get a piece of somebody’s arm and they don’t call it, and I’m like, ‘Man, they’re really just letting us play.’
“And then, like the other night, I fouled out with like two minutes left in the game. I fouled out twice in our last five games or something like that. I hadn’t fouled out in I-don’t-know-how-long before this. You’ve just got to roll with however the game is going. Tonight, I hardly remember any whistles.”