The Bucks have begun rolling through their title defense, winning eight straight games to reassert their status as one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams after a middling start. But Thursday’s action provided a hiccup — their two-time Kia MVP, forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, was ruled out shortly before their matchup with the Raptors in Toronto.

After going through warmups, the Bucks opted to start Pat Connaughton, as Giannis was diagnosed with right calf soreness and held out.

After going through his usual pregame routing, Giannis Antetokounmpo will not be playing per the #Bucks broadcast.
Pat Connaughton get the start in his place. https://t.co/NUmoQkpiLP

— Jim Owczarski (@JimOwczarski) December 3, 2021

Starters tonight:

Khris
Pat
Bobby
Grayson
Jrue

Giannis is OUT with calf soreness

— Zora Stephenson (@ZoraStephenson) December 3, 2021

On the season, Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 blocks in 32.7 minutes across 21 games.