It's no secret Celtics guard Terry Rozier and Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe had some tension on the court as they battled it out in the first-round series of the playoffs, but now that the series is over, the two embraced each other after Game 7.
Boston went on to close out the series with a 112-96 win on Saturday night. After the game, Rozier was quick to give Bledsoe credit saying, "I've got to take my hat off to him."
“You got two guys that want to win, two chippy guys, two short point guards you know just out there having fun,” said Rozier (via the Boston Globe). “If it takes for us to go back and forth and jaw back and forth or battle, push each other, it’s whatever. That’s just part of the game, but at the end of the day, you know we talked after the game."
The two took jabs at each other throughout the seven-game series starting when Rozier referred to Bledsoe as "Drew," in reference to former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Rozier went on to suggest to reporters that he didn't really know Bledsoe's name after Game 1.
There was another flare-up in Game 5 after Bledsoe was called for a flagrant foul for shoving Rozier. In response, Rozier pushed back and got a technical.
And in Game 7 Boston fans started chanting "Who is Bledsoe?" The Celtics even aired a pump-up video of Drew Bledsoe. He said, "Hey, Boston, it's the original Bledsoe" and then encouraged the fans to get loud.
"Man, that was special," Rozier said in response to the video. "I don't know who thought of that, but that was nice. For real, I liked that."
Despite any mixed feelings throughout the series, Bledsoe assured reporters that everything was good between the two stars.
“I mean, it’s the playoffs. What do you expect, us to be out there shaking hands and giving out hugs the whole time?” Bledsoe said. “That [stuff] ain’t going to happen. He had a hell of a series, man, I got to take my hat off to him.”
