Antonius Cleveland relishes hostile OAKA crowd, responds to Ataman's statements / News - Basketnews.com

Antonius Cleveland explained his reaction when Kostas Antetokounmpo blocked his shot in Maccabi's Game 2 vs. Panathinaikos. The American forward commented on Ergin Ataman's statements about the officiating and named the reasons that make this playoff series special.

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

With five seconds left on thePanathinaikos AKTOR Athens -Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv Game 2 and as the hosts were leading by as many as 16 (95-79), Antonius Cleveland attempted to finish the contest in spectacular fashion.

Player of the Game EFF 28 Kostas Sloukas Points 29 Accuracy 12-16 Rebounds 3 Assists 4

The American forward, author of 12 points and 3 rebounds up to that point, took off in an attempt to dunk the ball.

But Cleveland didn't reckon with Kostas Antetokounmpo's grit. The Greek big man met his opponent at the rim and blocked his dunk attempt, to the excitement of PAO's home crowd.

Right after the play and as the final buzzer sounded, Antetokounmpo stared Cleveland down, and the two started what looked like an altercation that almost escalated when other players got involved in an attempt to separate the two.

The tension continued in the tunnel and the aisle leading to the locker room area, where Ergin Ataman, Mathias Lessort, and Kostas Sloukas engaged in a verbal exchange with members of Maccabi's delegation.

"I don't know about [what happened in] the tunnel," Cleveland told the media after the game.

"Kostas [Antetokounmpoi] blocked my shot. The crowd liked it, and he wanted to stare me down. I'm actually important to my team. So, I didn't want to get into anything," the 30-year-old continued.

"It was an emotional game. We just wanted to keep our heads. But we'll see them again, we'll see them on Tuesday," he added.

Coming off a 3-year NBA stint that included 28 games with Dallas and Atlanta, Cleveland landed in Europe in February 2023 to join Hapoel Eilat. Five months later, he penned a 2-year deal with Maccabi, where he got the chance to make his EuroLeague debut.

However, the atmosphere in Games 1 and 2 at OAKA gave the veteran player positive vibes. Even though a crowd of 19.000 was pushing Panathinaikos to tie the series, Cleveland enjoyed the reactions and the interaction he had with fans.

Antonius Cleveland

MIN:13.8PTS:5.53 (52.56%)REB:1.81As:0.75ST:0.94BL:0.5TO:0.5GM:36ProfileEuroLeague2023/2024

"You know how the fans are," he said.

"You know the things that they say. It was just regular. There's no issue. I loved it! They stayed passionate, and I'm passionate. You gotta love it, it's playoff basketball -- European basketball. I'm a competitor.

People love their team, and I'm passionate about mine. They said some things to me, and I said some things back. It's all love. Basketball's a beautiful sport. It brings us all together," Cleveland argued with a big smile on his face.

The PAO-Maccabi series has provided fans and media with a lot of drama. On paper, it looked like the most balanced pairing among all EuroLeague playoff matchups this year.

But after the first two games in Greece and what transpired over the course of just three days, one cannot help but look forward to what's coming up.

Cleveland, for one, would gladly pay the price for admission to be able to watch what some might call the European version of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry. In fact, he's already told his friends back in the States how crazy it is.

"It's fine. Two great teams going at it," he affirmed.

"It looks crazy on TV, but it's a blessing to be able to play in front of all those fans. Even when they're yelling and cursing you out, you still got to love it. I'm thankful to just be here.

A lot of emotions involved, a lot of chaos with it. I love it. As a fan, I would surely be tuned in to our games. It has the most excitement and swagger. We got the best series for sure."

In Cleveland's first year with Maccabi, the forward hasn't been able to enjoy his team's playoff crowd.

The season has the Israeli squad moving from Tel Aviv to Belgrade for their EuroLeague fixtures, while another relocation between arenas in the Serbian capital will take place next week when they'll be hosting Panathinaikos in the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall for Games 3 and 4.

"We had just one home game in Tel Aviv, and it was crazy," Cleveland recalled, referring to Maccabi-Partizan for Round 1 (96-81 for the home team).

"I think our crowd will make the next games a little more special. It's been tough, but I think we adjusted. We're not making excuses. It's difficult. You get a home crowd like this in OAKA, that's what is all about. To have that taken from you is difficult.

But when in between those lines, when the ball is tipped, you got to focus on what you can do. Hopefully, we'll get 1.000 fans in there, and it's going to feel like it's 12.000," Cleveland stressed.

Initially, Wade Baldwin had expressed his desire to play in Game 2, but eventually his hamstring injury prevented him from doing so.

Now, ahead of the next contests, his status remains uncertain, as the player is currently undergoing treatment in Croatia.

Having Baldwin back would definitely be huge news for Maccabi. However, his condition will be re-evaluated next Monday, when he's expected to join the team's practices.

"He's a great player, one of our best players," Cleveland commented.

"We have enough depth to get it done. We believe in ourselves, and Wade believes in us. If he's able to come back, it will be good. If he can't come back, we'll still be good."

In the 4th quarter of Game 2, Cleveland and Jasiel Rivero spearheaded their team's comeback from -11 (60-71) to - 3 (68-71). Nevertheless, Kostas Sloukas and Mathias Lessort soon restored the order for the Greens, who scored 9 unanswered points down the stretch.

A big turnaround happened in the second quarter when Maccabi were leading 38-35, and Panathinaikos managed to score 8 points in 50 seconds.

A 3-point shot by Sloukas was succeeded by 5 points from the hands of Ioannis Papapetrou, who recorded his season-best game.

"I think they got like 8 points all in one possession," Cleveland reflected.

"That gave me them a little separation, but we fought back and cut it to three. They made shots. We came here, won Game 1, had the chance to win Game 2. At the end of the day, we have the chance to end it at home."

After Maccabi won Game 1, Oded Kattash correctly predicted that Panathinaikos would "come in stronger in the second game" and pointed out that his team should improve on its defense since they conceded 50 points in the first half. Alas, Maccabi allowed 51 in the first 20 minutes of Game 2.

"I think Sloukas hit a lot of shots. Papapetrou made some shots as well," Cleveland said.

"They did what they're supposed to do, they're a great team. We can't really beat ourselves up too much. We got to adjust, go back home, and take advantage of our home court."

Following PAO's loss in Game 1, head coachErgin Ataman made a series of statements against the game's referees. He went so far as to use the video to show certain plays where he thinks PAO didn't get the calls they deserved.

"This match was not clean," Ataman pointed out in his meeting with the media.

The Turkish coach's reaction brought a response from Euroleague Basketball, which expressed its opposition to his comments and the way he chose to communicate his complaints. Moreover, the league informed that disciplinary procedures have already been initiated against the coach.

In his post-game presser following Game 2, Ataman issued a lengthy rant about the entire situation, bashing the EuroLeague organization and revealing he received a threatening comment from a member of the Maccabi staff.

What does Cleveland think about Panathinaikos' complaints about the officiating?

"Ataman just wanted to, I don't know, put pressure on the refs," Maccabi's player maintains.

"That's not what we are about. We just play our game. Oded [Kattash] never does anything like that. I can’t speak for what his goal was. I think the referees had nothing to do with us losing tonight. Pana made some shots. We leave the refs and the complaints to the media to them. We just want to play ball," he pointed out.

Ataman also argued that Europe saw who's the better team after Panathinaikos' easy win in Game 2. But Cleveland is skeptical about the Turkish coach's real motives.

"Ataman said it? He got a lot to say," Cleveland smiled.

"He probably wants to get his guys going. They won tonight, I guess. It's 3-1 on the year. What does Europe think about that? We just play ball and keep our eyes straight."

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