Shaq Earns Bragging Rights Over Reggie Miller After Winning In-Game NBA Bet

A pair of basketball legends turned broadcasters raised their personal stakes in Tuesday's NBA In-Season Tournament matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat.

Hall of Famers Shaquille O'Neal and Reggie Miller, who were both calling the game for TNT, made a playful wager early in the third quarter of the game. Shaq bet that Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo would sink both of his free throws when he went to the line. Miller wasn't so convinced. The "Greek Freak" was only three-of-six from the charity stripe at that point in the night. So the two former hoopers jokingly put some money on it.

"I guarantee you Giannis is going to make two right now," O'Neal said.

"Come on, stop it," Miller responded before the two drifted into financial conversation. "I saw that wad [of cash] in your pocket. Come on man, stop it."

"Do you want to bet it right now?" O'Neal asked.

"I can't match your waddage," Miller responded. "At all."

O'Neal, a notoriously poor free-throw shooter during his decades-long basketball career, noted that he thought the two-time MVP was in a shooting rhythm. While Miller, one of the premier sharpshooters in recent basketball memory, wasn't as convinced. But that didn't matter.

Antetokounmpo swished both shots. And "Shaqtradamus" took a victory lap by proclaiming that he is "always right."

There was plenty more on the line for the Bucks on Tuesday night aside from a tongue-in-cheek bet between friends. Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, point guard Damian Lillard added 32, and the Bucks rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Heat 131-124 and clinch a spot in the inaugural In-Season Tournament quarterfinals.

"The one thing we do have going for us is we know how to win the game," Lillard told reporters. "We know how to do the things to win a game."

Milwaukee closed out the game on a 16-6 run. Khris Middleton (17 points), Malik Beasley (16) and Brook Lopez (12) were among the other Bucks players in double figures.

Coach Adrian Griffin's team finished 4-0 in East Group B play with the win and will host the Wild Card New York Knicks next Tuesday. The winner of that knockout game will advance to play either the Boston Celtics or Indiana Pacers in the semifinals. But Milwaukee still has two regular season games to turn its attention to before that.

"Let's focus on Chicago and go from there," Griffin said postgame.

Milwaukee travels to Chicago to play the Bulls on Thursday, then hosts the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. The quarterfinals matchup with the Knicks is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET on December 5, with the game again airing on TNT.