Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo exited early in the series-opening game against the Miami Heat on Sunday with a lower back contusion, and he did not return to action.
Giannis suffered the injury with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter and the top-seeded Bucks down 31-21. Eventually, Miami would pull off the road win to open the first round of the NBA playoffs by the score of 130-117. Needless to say, Giannis’ absence for the final three-plus quarters impacted the game’s outcome.
Unfortunately for the Bucks, it’s looking less likely that Antetokounmpo will suit up in what can be called a must-win at home Wednesday evening.
The Bucks released their first injury report for the game, tabbing Giannis as doubtful to start. This is somewhat interesting in that Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer expressed optimism after Tuesday’s practice that the Greek Freak would be able to go.
“We have 24-plus hours before game time, so he’ll get treatment,” said Budenholzer. “We’ll see how he feels. I think there has been a lot of progress and hopefully there’s more in the next day or so.”
