Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo 'just having fun' with sit-down celebration

 After Giannis Antetokounmpo hit a turnaround jumper in the lane to cap a personal 7-0 run and give his Milwaukee Bucks what turned out to be an insurmountable lead in an eventual 109-105 victory over the 76ers on Wednesday night, he celebrated by sitting down on the court inside Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center and staring straight into the camera with a smile on his face.

That smile remained as he walked back to the huddle and as the few fans allowed into the building showered Antetokounmpo with boos. But with a win in hand after a dominant performance -- 32 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in 43 minutes -- the smile was still on Anteokounmpo's face following the game when he was asked why he chose to celebrate that way.

"Is there something wrong with having fun?" Antetokounmpo said. "I don't think there's anything wrong with having fun. I just like to have fun. In the first half, I was not having fun. I kind of, you know, talked to myself at the half and said, 'No matter how bad the game is, you can't forget what you have to do, which is have fun.'

"Obviously, there's a couple times where I exaggerate, but I don't want to take anything back. I wasn't thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to sit down.' I was having fun. I was talking to my teammates -- I was talking to them. I was just trying to be in the moment. But I was just having fun."

Antetokounmpo kept his playful attitude later Wednesday, tweeting a photo of his sit-down celebration along with the caption, "Sit back relax and enjoy the show."

It wasn't nearly as much fun for the Sixers, who held the Bucks to 12-for-45 shooting in the first half overall, including 1-for-17 from 3-point range, and led by as many as 19 points, before blowing it late. Philadelphia fell out of first place in the Eastern Conference thanks to the  Brooklyn Nets winning at the  Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.

Sixers center Dwight Howard, in particular, took exception to Antetokounmpo's celebration.

"I wanted to go and Stone Cold Stunner him, but I had already got one tech," Howard said, referring to a move popularized by WWE wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. "It's basketball. He wanted to have fun, but we'll see these guys again. Today, we allowed them to get back into the game. We did it. We can't control that.

"But he had a hell of a game. Hit some tough shots late at the end of the game, reigning MVP, and he had a great game. I'm not one to talk trash or say anything negative, but we'll see them again and it'll be a different result."

There was one rather large presence missing from this game: Sixers superstar Joel Embiid, who sat on the sideline in loafers and a hoodie and remains out with a bone bruise in his left knee suffered in a fall on Friday during a win at the  Washington Wizards. But the energy and intensity on both sides felt reminiscent of a playoff game -- and was a reminder of what could be in store in June, when these teams would currently be scheduled to face off in the Eastern Conference semifinals.