"Celtics stood on business tonight": Kendrick Perkins not willing to hear Giannis Antetokounmpo's philosophical takes after big loss

Former NBA champion turned studio analyst Kendrick Perkins called out Giannis Antetokounmpo with reference to one of his previous statements and expressed hope that he would not hear one like that again after the Milwaukee Bucks were torched by the Boston Celtics.

Perkins, a member of the Celtics' last championship team in 2008, turned to X, formerly Twitter, to roast Antetokounmpo:

"I hope Giannis doesn’t come with one of his, 'It’s bigger than basketball' speeches tonight. The Celtics stood on business tonight and kicked their a**! Carry the hell on."

Giannis Antetokounmpo's 'bigger than basketball' statement recalled

Kendrick Perkins was referring to Antetokounmpo's statement in 2020 during the NBA postseason bubble in support of the Milwaukee Bucks' protest due to the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Jacob Blake, an African-American, was shot seven times by police officer Rusten Sheskey on Aug. 23, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a town near Milwaukee, while the latter was trying to arrest the former following allegations of sexual assault by Blake's girlfriend.

Seen as police brutality – all the more so as Sheskey is white, which led to a conjecture that racial discrimination might have been in play – protests were seen everywhere in Kenosha in the days that followed as well as across major American cities.

The shooting incident, plus the ensuing protests, further sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, which became prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic in continuous protest for equality and against racial discrimination.

Over at the NBA bubble, the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to show up for warm-ups for their NBA Playoffs first-round game against the bubble hosts, the Orlando Magic, and the National Basketball Players Association eventually announced that all the games scheduled for that day were postponed in support for Jacob Blake.

Giannis Antetokounmpo said regarding the boycott:

"One thing that moved me as a human being was that, if you really want to accomplish something and get something done, you can. We were able to get his family's number within like 30 minutes. And, we came together as a team, went in a circle, talked to his dad and his dad was tearing up telling us how powerful what we did on that day was for him and his family, and that's bigger than basketball to me."

Giannis Antetokounmpo struggles against Celtics

Back in the present, Kendrick Perkins had all the reasons to roast Giannis Antetokoumpo following the Milwaukee Bucks' loss to the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday night.

While the "Greek Freak" finished with 21 points, he went 7-for-20 from the field, missing all of his three 3-point attempts, although he had 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals on the night.

Brook Lopez turned back time and led the Milwaukee Bucks with 28 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal, while Damian Lillard chipped in 27 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

However, Jaylen Brown's 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting was efficient enough for the Boston Celtics as they scored the tough home win.