Kings forward Trey Lyles grabbed Brook Lopez by the throat when tempers flared in the fourth quarter of Monday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The altercation occurred with 15.1 seconds remaining in Milwaukee’s 133-124 victory over Sacramento in a battle between two of the NBA’s top teams. Lyles tangled with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and then fought off Lopez during a heated exchange that led to the ejections of Lyles and Lopez.

De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen joined the fray in an effort to separate Lyles and Lopez. Kings coach Mike Brown didn’t mind seeing a little fight from his team as it closes in on its first playoff appearance since 2006.

“I don’t know what happened, but we ain’t taking no s--- from nobody,” Brown said. “Trust me on that. They all going to have each other’s backs in there. That don’t mean we’re going to go out there and start something. We’re not, but we’re going to stand up for ourselves and each other.”

Antetokounmpo turned in a monster performance with 46 points and 12 rebounds amid a playoff environment in Sacramento with a sellout crowd of 18,111 at Golden 1 Center. The Kings only trailed by two with four minutes remaining, but the Bucks staged an 11-2 run to take control.

Antetokounmpo was dribbling out the clock in the final seconds when he appeared to intentionally cross in front of Lyles, creating unnecessary contact. Lyles shoved Antetokounmpo in the back after their arms got tangled, leading to the confrontation between Lyles and Lopez.

Lopez stepped up to Lyles. Lyles put his right hand in Lopez’s face and his left hand around his neck, resulting in a scrum and a review from officials, who ejected Lyles for “initial contact” and Lopez for a “fighting foul.”

“Just dribble the ball out,” Fox said. “There’s no reason to dribble around someone or dribble into someone, and Trey reacted, so that is what it is.”

Lyles agreed. “I think Fox said it pretty well,” he said. “It could have been avoided if you just dribble it out, but if you watch, I was just walking back with my head down and he crossed in front of me, reached from behind, kind of clamped down on my arm, so I pushed to get my arm off. He sold it a little bit. It was nothing personal, but a bigger guy walks down on me, I’m not really one for talking. I think it takes a lot for me to get out of character and I’m just not going to go for that.”

Lopez said he was just stepping in to protect Antetokounmpo.

“That’s all I was doing,” Lopez said. “The game was over. Giannis was just dribbling out the clock. I don’t know what that guy was doing, messing with Giannis, doing too much. Like I said, the game was already over, so I just wanted to go out there and protect my guy.”

Khris Middleton had 31 points and nine assists for the Bucks (49-19), who have the best record in the NBA. Lopez had 23 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

Fox had 35 points, eight rebounds and three assists for the Kings (40-27), who have lost 14 in a row to Milwaukee dating back to 2016. Fox had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in another stellar fourth-quarter performance.

Kings guard Kevin Huerter continued his hot shooting, scoring 28 points while going 10 of 17 from the field and 8 of 11 from 3-point range. Sabonis was tremendous as well, posting his 10th triple-double of the season with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists after being named Western Conference Player of the Week earlier in the day. Sabonis and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic are tied for second in triple-doubles, trailing only two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.

The Kings went into the game tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for second in the Western Conference. The Grizzlies beat the Mavericks on Monday, so the Kings had to beat the Bucks to maintain their hold on the No. 2 seed. That did not happen, so the Kings now find themselves at No. 3 in the West with 15 games remaining, 3 ½ games ahead of the No. 4 Phoenix Suns.

Antetokounmpo returned to the lineup after missing the previous three games with a hand injury. He was backed by Lopez, one of the best shot blockers in the league with an average of 2.5 per game and a leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.

Lopez’s imposing presence was clearly a factor in Sacramento’s gameplan as the Kings took seven of their first nine shots from 3-point range, going 4 of 7 while racing out to a 14-6 lead. They finished 21 of 50 from beyond the arc, connecting on 42%.

Antetokounmpo responded to the early barrage with force and aggression, attacking inside with a series of emphatic dunks. Antetokounmpo, who is marching toward his third MVP award, accounted for 13 of Milwaukee’s first 15 points. He outscored Sacramento 9-2 over a span of 2:50 as the Bucks came back to cut the deficit to one.

The Kings led 32-27 at the end of the first quarter. They went up by 15 midway through the second and led 62-53 after going 11 of 24 (.458) from 3-point range in the opening half.

Milwaukee came back to take a 77-76 lead on a free throw by Lopez with 4:41 to play in the third quarter. The Bucks went up by five on a three-point play by Antetokounmpo and carried a 90-87 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Kings momentarily reclaimed the lead on a basket by Fox with 9:07 remaining. The Bucks answered with an 8-0 run, but Huerter was hot and the Kings wouldn’t quit.

Sacramento went up 108106 on a 3-pointer by Huerter. The Bucks regained the lead as part of a 10-3 run that put them up 116-111. A three-point play by Barnes cut the deficit to two with 4:14 to play, but Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Lopez helped the Bucks outscore the Kings 11-2 over a span of 1:07.

Many wondered aloud if this was a possible preview of the NBA Finals given Milwaukee’s championship status under coach Mike Budenholzer and Sacramento’s resurgence under Brown. Brown seemingly alluded to that possibility while summing up the evening.

“It was a good test for us,” Brown said. “Especially down the stretch in a one-possession game because we made some mistakes that we probably won’t make — that we hopefully won’t make — if we’re ever fortunate enough to see them again. Our guys fought. They fought a little longer and they got the win.”