The NBA’s leading points scorer so far this year was sidelined just before the Bucks’ NBA Cup fixture against the Heat on Tuesday, as Giannis Antetokounmpo struggles with a swollen left knee.
Giannis Sits Out Of Cup Win
While the Bucks have struggled without Giannis Antetokounmpo this year, Milwaukee were able to advance to 3-0 in the NBA Cup without their star man on Tuesday night.
Giannis sat out with a swollen knee against Miami but it was a late decision for the ‘Greek Freak’ to be benched, with head coach Doc Rivers having to deal with the absence just 90 minutes before tip off.
Injury Update: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Left Knee Effusion) is out for tonight’s game at Miami. https://t.co/8lX32HGopL
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 26, 2024
“I never know,” Rivers said before tipping off against the Heat. “Honestly, that’s breaking news to me, too, right now.
“Listen, the way he plays and how he works, there’s going to be things like this and when they come, you just deal with them.”
Giannis has only missed one other game this season which came against the Cavaliers who were still unbeaten at the time, but the Bucks went down by just two points in a close contest.
Tuesday night without Antetokounmpo was a different story though as Milwaukee remained unbeaten in the NBA Cup after their third game, snapping Miami’s three game unbeaten streak.
Damian Lillard led all points scoring with 37 points and 12 assists in the three point win, as the Bucks moved to .500 for the season with a 9-9 record.
ANOTHER ONE.
17 points in 7 minutes! https://t.co/6yLzAXg6TV pic.twitter.com/LMy4ERK7jt
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 27, 2024
A near positive record for the Bucks seemed almost unfeasible two weeks ago after they started the season with a miserable 2-8 run, but Tuesday’s win was their fifth consecutive victory.
Giannis led the Bucks throughout their comeback at the beginning of this season and he currently heads the NBA in all points scoring with an average of 32.4 points per game.
Although he missed out on Tuesday Giannis isn’t expected to miss anymore game time for now and Bucks fans will also be encouraged by the news that Khris Middleton is reportedly close to making his season debut after ankle surgery in the summer.
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