Giannis Antetokounmpo says the Milwaukee Bucks are "fighting for our lives" in the NBA and cannot be afraid "to get our hands dirty".

The Bucks snapped the Chicago Bulls' five-game winning streak on Antetokounmpo's return to the court by claiming a 112-103 victory on Saturday.

The two-time MVP had been sidelined for eight games by a right calf strain, but scored 29 points and added eight rebounds to spur the Bucks to victory.

He punctuated the win with a windmill dunk at the final buzzer, which led to both benches emptying at the end of the game as some Chicago players took exception to that.

However, Antetokounmpo had only wanted to remind his side how important it was to find some urgency to the Bucks, who were 2-6 without him, as their playoff hopes look to be slipping away.

"We're 11th in the East," Antetokounmpo said after the win. "Got to keep finding an identity.

"And if that's to get a little bit of scrappy at the end, so be it. We're not champs. Why should we play the clock out and have respect and fair play? We're fighting for our lives right now.

I ain't no painter but you get the picture pic.twitter.com/ZylyJipGzl

— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) December 28, 2025

"This is real tough. I've been 13 years in the league. If we keep on losing, probably half of the team not going to be here. We're not going to make the playoffs. I really don't care.

"At the end of the day, I just want to be available, be healthy and help my team win. And if [a windmill dunk] is what has to happen for everybody to wake up and understand, we're fighting for our lives, and we got to get our hands dirty, so be it."

Overall, this season, Milwaukee are 3-11 when Antetokounmpo is sidelined, but 10-8 when he plays.

"Adding a top-75 [all-time] and top one, three or five player in the world to your team, it changes your dynamic entirely," Bucks forward Bobby Portis said.

"Just getting him [Antetokounmpo] back into the fold, it kind of made hooping easy for us. Guys in the right spots, you knew where your shots were going to come from.

"It just made hooping real easy, and everybody's energy was in the right place."