Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was ejected from Wednesday night's game against the Detroit Pistons at the 9-minute mark of the third quarter after a ferocious dunk that gave the Bucks a 73-60 lead.

After he came down from the dunk, Antetokounmpo stared at Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart and he was assessed the technical from official Scott Twardoski.

Antetokounmpo couldn't believe the call and briefly sat down in a courtside seat before finally heading to the locker room. He then followed Twardoski briefly after the call looking for an explanation.

Antetokounmpo left Wednesday without speaking to the media, but his teammates didn't believe he earned that second technical foul.

Cameron Payne: I was surprised that he got ejected. I ain’t ever seen that boy get ejected, so I’m on his side.

Jae Crowder: He made like a little face and he took off running and he didn’t say a word. I think that’s why he was so frustrated, like you really threw me out and I didn’t say anything? Like, the first tech, I think he would say he deserved it. He deserved that first tech. The second one was like, he didn’t say a word, so how do you throw him out for that? He definitely stared, but I don’t know if that’s a tech. I don’t know about that one. But I just like the way the group banded together. I think that win right there builds a little character for our group, a little confidence for everybody else to rise to the occasion and that’s what we did.

Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said he wasn't given a reason for the second technical, but felt he should be more of a presence before it even gets to that point with Antetokounmpo.

“I think I just have to do a better job," Griffin said. "Giannis doesn’t complain to the refs. He’s really respectful to the refs and I think I’m letting him down in that sense. I think I need to be a little more, just vocal, during the games when he’s getting hit and kind of stick up for him a little bit better. I’ve been dropping the ball on that. It’s an emotional game. He made a phenomenal play. It was exciting, emotional and I thought he moved on fairly quickly. So I was surprised with the second technical but that’s up to the league to decide. I thought he made a tremendous play. Like I said, he’s extremely respectful to the game and to the fans and to the refs. I think I just gotta do a better job of protecting him.”

The two-time league MVP earned his first technical foul with 3:47 to go in the second quarter away from the ball, as Detroit's Cade Cunningham was called for a foul on Bucks point guard Damian Lillard.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo received a technical shortly after his brother left the court.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished his night with 15 points on 6 of 16 shooting. He also had nine rebounds and five assists.

Prior to the technical fouls called on the Antetokounmpos, Stewart and Jae Crowder had been given double technicals for an off-ball foul by Stewart following a Bobby Portis basket. Brook Lopez had also been hit with a technical while arguing a foul call in the second quarter.

Joining Twardoski, the game's umpire, on the officiating crew were crew chief Rodney Mott and referee Mitchell Ervin.

Official explains technical foul calls on Giannis Antetokounmpo to pool reporter

Mott addressed the whistles with a pool reporter after the game (questions in italics):

Explain why Giannis Antetokounmpo was called for a technical foul at the 3:47 mark of the second quarter. Looked like it was “off the ball,” as the play was a personal foul call on Cade Cunningham that sent Damian Lillard to the line.

MOTT:  On the play, Giannis drives to the basket and he thinks he gets fouled. Then he approaches the game official and uses profanity, which is an unsportsmanlike technical foul and was issued at that time.

Explain why Giannis Antetokounmpo was called for a technical foul at the 9:00 mark of the third quarter following a dunk and subsequently ejected.

MOTT: After the dunk Giannis turns to his opponent and taunts him and a taunting technical foul was called, an unsportsmanlike. And he was ejected from the game, per rule, because two unsportsmanlike technical fouls, you are ejected from the game.

How many times has Giannis been ejected?

It is the fourth career regular season ejection for Antetokounmpo and fifth overall:

• April 30, 2015 vs. Chicago (playoff game)

• Jan. 28, 2016 vs. Memphis

• April 1, 2018 at Denver

• Aug. 11, 2020 vs. Washington (in the "bubble")

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo ejected in third quarter vs. Pistons after dunk