Wrist injury puts Antetokounmpo’s All-Star status in flux

CHICAGO — Giannis Antetokounmpo stayed on the ground, grimacing in pain before heading to the locker room. A sprained wrist in the early going ended his night.

Not before he set yet another franchise record.

Antetokounmpo became Milwaukee’s career assists leader before getting injured, and the Bucks won their 12th straight, beating the Chicago Bulls, 112100, on Thursday night.

Antetokounmpo’s injury early in the second quarter cast a bit of a cloud over a team that otherwise has so much going for it heading into the All-Star break.

Coach Mike Budenholzer said initial reports were “hopeful" and the X-ray was “clean.”

“We'll just see how he feels tomorrow, see how he feels the next few days and continue to evaluate it,” Budenholzer said.

He had “no idea” if Antetokounmpo would travel to Salt Lake City for the All-Star Game.

The two-time MVP was hurt trying to block a finger roll attempt by Chicago’s Coby White after the guard drove past him. He jammed his wrist when he reached out — perhaps to soften the blow — as he crashed into the padded stanchion. He continued to flex his hand and got subbed out a few seconds later before heading to the locker room.

“He's a guy that's attacking the basket all the time,” Budenholzer said. “He's fearless. He takes a lot of falls so you kind of learn to just expect him to always just bounce back up, and that's what we're hoping for from this one.”

Antetokounmpo finished with a season-low 2 points and three assists, giving him 3,274 over 10 seasons to break Paul Pressey’s record of 3,272 from 1982-90. He also had seven rebounds.

Antetokounmpo matched the assists mark when he fed Lopez for a 3-pointer two minutes into the game and broke it when he passed to Carter for another three that bumped Milwaukee’s lead to 19-10 in the first quarter. He also is the Bucks’ career leader in blocks, triple-doubles, free throws made, free throws attempted, and minutes.

“It's greatness, right?” Jrue Holiday said.