Giannis injury isn’t as bad as original fears

Giannis Antetokounmpo avoided the worst with his latest injury, but he still will have to miss some time at a critical point in the season.

An MRI confirmed that the two-time NBA MVP suffered a left calf strain during the Bucks’ win on Tuesday over the Celtics, which will force him to miss the final three games of the regular season.

The Bucks said Antetokounmpo will “receive daily treatment and evaluation” for the injury, though it is unclear if he will be ready for the first round of the playoffs, which begins on April 20.

This came after ESPN reported earlier Wednesday that Antetokounmpo’s Achilles tendon remained intact following his injury.

Antetokounmpo gave the Bucks a scare late in Tuesday night’s third quarter.

After inbounding the ball to teammate Damian Lillard, Antetokounmpo took a few steps before falling to the ground and holding the back of his left leg.

He was helped off the court by his teammates, and eventually ruled out for the rest of the game.

The eight-time All-Star finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Head coach Doc Rivers said he had a “high” level of concern over his star’s injury after the game.

“High, I would say that,” Rivers told reporters. “He’s Giannis. I think everyone probably feels the same way as I do right now. We’re just going to hope for the best.”

Lillard added that with it being toward the end of the season, that added to the feeling of anxiety.

“Any time you see one of your teammates go down, it’s I think a real level of concern,” Lillard said. “We spend a lot of time around each other, more than we would our families. I think that was the No. 1 thing. And then for it to be your best player, the most important part of our team, at this point in the season, it was like an, ‘Oh, [damn]’ moment, especially because there was nobody else around.”

The Bucks hold the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, 1 ¹/₂ games ahead of the Knicks after Milwaukee’s victory over the Magic on Wednesday night.

It’s been an up-anddown season for Milwaukee, which fired firstyear head coach Adrian Griffin after 43 games and despite a 30-13 record.

But after bringing in Rivers, the team hasn’t found its stride, going just 17-17, allowing the rest of the East to catch up in the standings.

Antetokounmpo has previously missed some time over the last month, dealing with a hamstring issue and left Achilles tendinitis.

He averaged 30.4 points with 11.5 rebounds per game this season.