The Milwaukee Bucks are rolling right now, but they’d also like to have a fully healthy roster, too. Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo left Sunday’s 109-94 road win against the Brooklyn Nets in the fourth quarter after twisting his right ankle. The good news for Bucks fans, though, is Antetokounmpo doesn’t think his injury is serious.
* Recap: Bucks 109, Nets 94
“At first you feel the pain and then you’re like, ‘How bad is it?” Antetokounmpo told reporters after the game. “Is it going to be bad? I’ve twisted it twice in the last five games. But I just got to play through it. We’ve got the great medical staff that are going to take care of him and Delly. And hopefully I can be ready to go Tuesday vs. the Knicks.”
Antetokoumpo wasn’t the only Bucks player to suffer injury as backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova hurt his right ankle as well.
Antetokounmpo twisted his right ankle with about 7 1/2 minutes remaining, not long after the Nets had cut what had been a 28-point deficit to seven. While the Bucks held on and eventually went on an 8-0 to put the game away, Antetokoumpo, who was standing along the baseline near the bench after coming out, trying to get loose in case he was called on to return.
Ultimately the Bucks and interim coach Joe Prunty opted to keep him out of the game.
As for Dellavedova, his injury came with 10 minutes, 41 seconds left in the game. He collided with Nets guard D’Angelo Russell and the Nets’ guard was called for blocking on the play. Matt Velazquez of The Journal Sentinel has more on Dellavedova and Antetokounmpo’s injuries:
That play was also the last of the afternoon for Dellavedova.
Immediately and obviously in pain, Dellavedova grabbed at his right ankle. He was able to get up and limp off the court. On the sideline, Dellavedova pulled his jersey up over his face and let out a muffled scream of frustration. Accompanied by members of the team’s medical staff, he then went to the locker room where he was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain.
Dellavedova chose not to speak to the media after the game but was able to walk out of the locker room while wearing his own shoes rather than a walking boot. He will undergo further examination ahead of the team’s game Tuesday against the New York Knicks.
Just over three minutes after Dellavedova’s injury, Antetokounmpo hit the deck in the middle of a defensive possession, writhing in pain. He had stepped on the foot of Brooklyn’s DeMarre Carroll and twisted his right ankle.
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During the timeout, Jabari Parker helped Antetokounmpo get up and offered to support him to the bench, but Antetokounmpo shook him off and gingerly made his way to the sideline. The team’s medical staff checked him out and re-taped his ankle, but he never returned to the game, ending his day with 16 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes.
“Oh yeah, definitely; I’ve done it in the past,” Antetokounmpo said when asked if he could have returned to the game. “I remember two years ago I twisted my ankle here but I played through it. … I knew if the game was close I would definitely be back in.”
Ankle injuries have cropped up of late for Antetokoumpo. In Thursday’s 108-89 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Antetokoumpo suffered an injury to his left ankle in the final five minutes of the game as the Bucks were attempting a comeback of sorts. He came out of the game when the injury occurred and told reporters about his injury after the game.
After that game, Antetokoumpo had trouble putting weight on it and had a bit of a limp. But he ended up playing in Friday’s thrilling 92-90 win against the New York Knicks, scoring 29 points and nailing the game-winning bucket with 1.2 seconds left.
The Milwaukee Bucks have been in a groove under interim coach Joe Prunty, logging wins in six of the seven games he has coached. However, injuries have hampered Milwaukee a bit of late as it lost guard Malcolm Brogdon (who was injured Thursday vs. Minnesota) for the next six to eight weeks with a torn quadricep tendon.
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