At it again: Injuries keep playing a role
Antetokounmpo doubtful for Game 5; Hawks also hurting
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is doubtful for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday after undergoing an MRI on his injured left knee.
Bucks officials said the two-time MVP hyperextended his left knee in the third quarter of a 110-88 Game 4 loss to the Hawks on Tuesday night. The Bucks announced Wednesday that an MRI confirmed that diagnosis and said he’d be listed as doubtful for Thursday’s game.
ESPN reported that the MRI showed no structural damage to Antetokounmpo’s knee but that a timetable for his return was unclear.
“We’ll take it day by day,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said.
“When you talk about the range of possibilities, I think where this has landed has to be looked at as a positive,” Budenholzer added. “It’s still a really difficult fall.”
Antetokounmpo was attempting to block a dunk attempt by the Hawks’ Clint Capela when he landed awkwardly. He clutched his knee in obvious pain and remained down for several minutes before walking slowly to the locker room.
He briefly went back to the Bucks bench and then returned to the locker room shortly afterward.
The Bucks and Hawks are tied at 2-2 in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 5 on Thursday in Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo has been averaging 28.2 points, 12.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the postseason. The Bucks went 6-5 in the 11 regular-season games Antetokounmpo missed, including a stretch of six straight games in April when he also was dealing with an injured left knee.
The Hawks have their own injury issues. Star point guard Trae Young missed Game 4 with a bone bruise in his right ankle, and center Clint Capela took an elbow in the face late in the game.
Capela, the Hawks’ top rebounder and one of the NBA’s best defensive players, was struck around his nose and right eye by Bucks guard Sam Merrill on a play under the basket. The Hawks center left the court with a towel over his face and didn’t return.
Veteran Lou Williams filled in for Young and scored 21 points in Tuesday night’s dominating victory.
Long one of the league’s best players off the bench (he’s a three-time sixth man of the year), the 34-year-old Williams started for the first time in the 87th postseason game of his career.
“I haven’t been able to enjoy the moment,” he said after the win. “I’m stuck in it. I just want to ride this thing until the wheels fall off.”
Hawks coach Nate McMillan said Young’s status for Thursday’s contest would likely be made shortly before tipoff, just as it was for Game 4.
“He didn’t feel comfortable enough to put pressure on his foot,” McMillan said.
The Hawks have dealt with a rash of injuries all season, most recently losing De’Andre Hunter for the rest of the playoffs after he reinjured his right knee in an opening-round victory over the Knicks. Hunter underwent surgery for a torn lateral meniscus and is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp.
Cam Reddish also missed much of the season with an Achilles injury, but he played a big role in Game 4. In just his second appearance since Feb. 21, the secondyear player scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals and a block in over 23 minutes of playing time.
“You have to adapt,” McMillan said. “That’s part of coaching. That’s part of the NBA.”
Before Capela was injured, he pulled off an amazing play that sent social media into a frenzy. While falling out of bounds behind the basket, with the shot clock about to expire, he launched one over the backboard with 7-footer Brook Lopez in his face. Nothing but net. “Sometimes there are plays in a game, either you make or your opponent makes, that you know it may be your night,” McMillan said with a smile. “I think Larry Bird shot a shot liek that, but it wasn’t as deep as Clint’s. Clint was out of bounds and fading away. You just felt like it was gonna be our night when that ball went through.”