MY ACCOUNT
The Chicago Bulls supporters booing Grayson Allen no longer bothers the Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard, who propelled his side to a 3-1 playoff series lead on Sunday.
Allen fell out of favour with the Chicago faithful after his flagrant foul on guard Alex Caruso during a game in January resulted in a two-month absence for the Bulls star.
The 26-year-old, formerly of Duke, has since been greeted with boos at any opportunity as the Bucks hit the road for the playoffs in Chicago, but that has been music to Allen’s ears.
He set a career-high in the playoffs in Game 3 when he scored 22 in a 111-81 triumph at the United Center, before surpassing that the following game with 27 points, including six three-pointers, in a 119-95 victory.
Allen is 18 of 24 from the field and 11 for 14 on three-pointers over the past two games, but it is the playful jeers from his own Bucks bench that has made the hostile atmosphere easier for him.
“They have so much fun doing it,” he told reporters of his team-mate’s decision to boo him in practice, the team hotel or film sessions.
“I think it’s honestly hilarious. They’ve kind of turned it into a fun thing. It makes hearing it out there during the game a lot easier too because they think it’s so funny.
“It’s not naturally comfortable for me. I am to the point now, anytime I go out and play basketball, I just remind myself to go out and have fun with this.
“My personality is naturally uncomfortable with the attention, the booing, the heckling. It’s not something I feed off of. I’m not going out searching for it.”
Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo is also enjoying his team-mate thriving under the pressure and playfully suggested the Bucks fans may have to try a new way of motivating Allen.
“He’s played amazing, maybe we got to boo him even more,” Antetokounmpo said. “Maybe Milwaukee fans, we got to boo him … nah, we’re not going to do that.”
Meanwhile, guard Jrue Holiday added: “When we booed him during the game, and he really started hooping, I think we just stuck with it.”
Allen also became the first Bucks player to score 25 points and knock down six 3s in a playoff game and first Milwaukee player with at least 25 points off the bench since Tim Thomas in 2003, according to ESPN.
And Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer was delighted to see Allen step up in the absence of Khris Middleton, who will miss the rest of this first-round series after sustaining an injury to his left knee.
“He’s kind of quiet, but confident,” Budenholzer said of Allen. “I think this is a confident group, a group that sees a player that can help them and appreciates his competitiveness.
“He’s just quiet, no bull****, and comes to play. I think our guys gravitate towards that type of mentality. It’s certainly been a good fit.”
It was not just his Milwaukee colleagues showering Allen with praise either, Bulls guard Zach LaVine was also quick to credit his opponent.
“You got to give [Allen] credit,” LaVine said. “He’s hitting shots. Obviously, we know what happened [with the Caruso injury]. At the end of the day, it’s basketball too. We understand it. But it’s not like we’re going out there saying, ‘That guy can’t beat us.’
“The Milwaukee Bucks can’t beat us and he’s part of their team. Them as a whole is beating us right now. You can’t just account for him. It’s everybody.”
Chicago have lost six straight home playoff games since beating Cleveland in Game 3 of the 2015 Eastern Conference semi-finals, losing that series in six. The Bulls will look to make amends in Game 5 on the road on Wednesday as they aim to keep the playoff series alive.
