Amidst war of words, Millsap enjoying every minute of playoff series

Atlanta Hawks’ Paul Millsap draws a foul from Washington Wizards’ Marcin Gortat on his way to the basket in Game 3 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series on Saturday, April 22, 2017, in Atlanta. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Atlanta Hawks’ Paul Millsap draws a foul from Washington Wizards’ Marcin Gortat on his way to the basket in Game 3 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series on Saturday, April 22, 2017, in Atlanta. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Paul Millsap is having fun.

Despite being called a crybaby.

The Eastern Conference first-round playoff series between the Hawks and Wizards has featured one dramatic turn after another. It’s enough to make the most ardent soap opera viewer jealous. The NBA postseason often features physical battles and increased trash talk but this series has reached another level.

Millsap has been at the center of a firestorm with the Wizards’ Markieff Morris. Millsap said the Wizards were playing Mixed Martial Arts after a Game 1. Morris countered to say the Wizards would play Double MMA before Game 2. Following the Hawks’ 116-98 victory in Game 3 on Saturday, Morris called Millsap a crybaby. Millsap offered a short response when informed saying that Morris should “take your loss and go back to the hotel.” There have been many words exchanged between the two power forwards on the court as well.

Millsap said following a practice on Sunday that he would not speak about Morris.

“I can’t get away from it,” Millsap said of the attention to the dramatics. “Of course not. In a sense, I don’t want to. It’s fun. I’m enjoying this. It’s been an interesting series. It’s also been one of the most fun series I’ve been a part of. I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

Millsap was measured with his response to Morris’ crybaby comment on the postgame podium. He was seated next to Dennis Schroder, who couldn’t hide his disbelief both with a groan and facial expressions.

“Everybody knows Paul,” Schroder said of his reaction. “Everybody knows how he plays. He is competitive and he gives everything for the team. I was laughing about it because I know it’s not true.”

There have been moments in past Hawks playoff history. However, this one is starting to rival the 2008 series against the Celtics that featured Mike Bibby blasting Boston fans, Paul Pierce getting fined for an inappropriate gesture and Zaza Pachulia head-butting Kevin Garnett.

The Wizards lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1. Game 4 is Monday night in Atlanta. It’s hard to imagine that there won’t be more drama.

“There have been a few choices of words that are probably somewhat inflammatory, whether it be us or them,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think the actual games, both teams are pretty competitive, both teams are pretty physical. I think what is happening on the court is fairly customary for the playoffs.”

Millsap has been a force in the series. He is averaging 25.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 35 minutes. Budenholzer said he doesn’t believe the war of words is inspiration for Millsap.

“Paul is a unique player, a unique individual,” Budenholzer said. “His mindset. His approach. I don’t know that it fuels him but it’s certainly not reflective of how he’s carried himself for 10, 12 years in the league. He is a hard worker, does a bit of everything, is a great teammate. He is a competitive guy. He wants to win. If you were saying nice things about Paul, he’d still want to come back and win.”

Not all the players in the series think that the issues between the teams are personal or out of the ordinary. John Wall and Schroder have had several back-and-forth moments. However, nothing has reached the extent of Millsap and Morris.

“It’s the time of year that guys don’t want to lose,” Kent Bazemore said. “It gets physical. For the majority of guys in the league, this is how we played basketball growing up with your best friends chatting and talking trash. It’s all coming from a good place. I don’t think it’s any disrespect with the comments being made. It’s just good basketball. We want to beat them. They want to beat us.

“Paul lets his play do the talking. He doesn’t talk much. He showed that in Game 3. He was a man amongst boys the entire game.”