Giannis Antetokounmpo has left the Milwaukee Bucks’ game Wednesday night and did not return after rolling his right ankle.
Antetokounmpo was injured in the second quarter against the LA Clippers. He appeared to get hurt when he tripped over teammate Shabazz Muhammad under Milwaukee’s basket. He stayed in the game for a brief period, but hobbled around the court while grimacing. He went to the locker room with about four minutes remaining in the second quarter and did not return.
The Bucks say Antetokounmpo has a right ankle sprain and was done for the game, which Milwaukee lost 127-120. On Thursday, the team announced via Twitter that Antetokounmpo is doubtful tomorrow night against the Chicago Bulls (8 ET, NBA League Pass).
Giannis Antetokounmpo is doubtful for tomorrow’s game in Chicago with a right ankle sprain. pic.twitter.com/UjbOWfInZf
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 22, 2018
After the game, Bucks coach Joe Prunty said he had no “official update” on Antetokounmpo’s injury, reports Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Antetokounmpo was not at his locker following the game, which is not atypical in situations when a player sustains an in-game injury. He did make a brief appearance on his way out, though.
A woman carrying a puppy entered the locker room, drawing the attention of center John Henson, who was finishing up getting dressed. Henson then accompanied the woman and the puppy to the training area and called for Antetokounmpo. Minutes later, Antetokounmpo emerged carrying the dog and made a bee-line for the exit, sporting only a slight limp as he did not offer any comment on the way out.
…
“He’s our main guy,” Khris Middleton said of Antetokounmpo being out. “The attention he creates on the offensive end, we definitely missed that throughout the whole game when he was out. We’re a team, so when he goes out we can’t give up. We know what we can do as a team, and tonight we just didn’t do it.”
Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.5 points per game. He had 12 points before departing.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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