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Ex-Hawk Pero Antic gets excited, rocks EuroLeague teammate in the face

Dan Devine
·Senior NBA writer
Pero Antic did not look both ways before pumping his fist, and an accident happened.
Pero Antic did not look both ways before pumping his fist, and an accident happened.

In general, being very excited while playing sports is a very good thing. With all due respect to Ian Kinsler, it’s much more fun to see players enjoying themselves in the heat of action and expressing how much the game means to them. Showing passion is great!

The one teensy-weensy exception, though: when your passion display winds up turning one of your teammates into a victim of a sneak-attack accidental duffing.

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With six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of a EuroLeague game between Turkish clubs Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce, former NBA lottery pick and Fenerbahce center Ekpe Udoh missed a free throw, but the ball went out of bounds off Efes. This excited Udoh’s teammate, former Atlanta Hawks center Pero Antic, who expressed his excitement by wheeling around with a fist pump.

Unfortunately for teammate Nikola Kalinic, whom Antic did not see (or, really, look for at all) before hauling off, his face wound up directly in the line of Antic’s friendly fire.

Perhaps more unfortunately for Kalinic: the passionate Antic immediately sought to make amends for his stray shot with a perhaps too passionate mid-game embrace.

Pero Antic wants to make Nikola Kalinic feels better. Nikola Kalinic does not feel better.
Pero Antic wants to make Nikola Kalinic feels better. Nikola Kalinic does not feel better.

We’re sure Kalinic appreciates your warm apologies, Pero. But maybe a little less warm next time.

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Sadly for Antic and the rest of his teammates, snuffed or unsnuffed, Anadolu Efes held on for an 80-77 victory behind 14 points from former Fordham University standout Bryant Dunston (who is the son of ex-Chicago Cubs second baseman Shawon Dunston) and 13 points and 5 assists from Uruguayan pro Jayson Granger. Anadolu Efes advanced to the EuroLeague playoffs with the win; Fenerbahce had already secured its spot before the loss.

Kalinic fought through the surprise clocking to finish with 12 points and three steals in 34 minutes. Antic grabbed four rebounds with a steal and an assist in his 16 minutes of work, but missed the only shot he fired … well, the only one that counted on the stat sheet, anyway.

Hat-tip to Whitney Medworth of SB Nation.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!