"I called Tyrese Haliburton" - James Johnson labels Pacers-Giannis Antetokounmpo skirmish over game ball as 'cheap'

Newly re-signed Indiana Pacers big man James Johnson termed the skirmish between the team and Giannis Antetoukounpo last week as "cheap." The incident involved a postgame scrum for the game ball after the Bucks beat the Pacers 140-126 on Wednesday night.

According to Chris Haynes of the Bleacher Report, Antetokounmpo, who had a career-high as well as a franchise-record 64 points, was of the mindset that the Pacers had taken the game ball back to their locker room. Antetokounmpo initially went to the Indiana bench, where he appeared to exchange words with Tyrese Haliburton.

"When the scrum happened, I was upset," Johnson said. "I called Tyrese Haliburton right away. I was upset. I didn't like it. I thought it was cheap,"

According to The Indianapolis Star, Pacers coaches said that they had a reserve game ball and not the actual ball. In addition, Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said that the team took the reserve ball to give it to rookie center Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first NBA regular season point, a long-held team tradition.

James Johnson to bring toughness to the Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers signed James Johnson the day after the scrum in Milwaukee. According to Johnson, the timing of the signing was just a coincidence as communication had been ongoing for weeks and an agreement was already in process.

"All those people, they don't know what transpired before all that," Johnson said when queried regarding the timing of the signing which happened just after the incident with the Bucks.

The 36-year-old was an Indiana Pacer last season but had been out of the league for this season's campaign before the signing. He had been a crucial presence, particularly in the locker room. Indiana praised his grit, toughness and wisdom and desired those attributes, especially with their young squad.

"He helped us a lot last year. There was careful consideration to bringing him in for training camp, but there were 15 spots that were filled. Decided not to, knew that he was staying ready," Pacers head coach Carlisle said about bringing the 2009 first-round pick again.

The 14-year veteran toughness will be an important addition to the Pacers. Last season, Johnson averaged 2.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in the last season. The team will be more interested in his locker room and off-court contributions.