Giannis Antetokounmpo was not with the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night in Cleveland.
Antetokounmpo missed Monday’s 116-114 loss to the Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse due to a right adductor strain. Antetokounmpo was considered questionable before the game after initially being injured during Saturday’s loss to the Cavaliers in Milwaukee, and he participated in the shootout normally on Monday morning. But the team decided Antetokounmpo simply wasn’t ready to play.
The Bucks did not provide many details about the injury, and it is not clear whether the two-time NBA MVP will miss additional games. The Bucks will host the Utah Jazz next Thursday, giving Antetokomo a few extra days to recover.
“It definitely helps,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said of the break between games, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He hates missing games, as you guys all know. And he pulls it out even when; like I decided in my mind that he shouldn’t play tonight when they told me he was hurt.” [on Saturday]. But I always let them [tell me]. “I was happy when they said – I’m not happy because you want him to play – but for his health I think it’s the right thing.”
Antetokounmpo once again played a key role on both sides of the court for Milwaukee, leading the team in points and rebounds. So far this season, Antetokounmpo has gotten off to his usual dominant start, averaging 31 points, 12.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
Without Antetokounmpo, the Bucks fell behind again on Monday night even though they were on the verge of climbing out of a 19-point hole in the second half. The Cavaliers came away with a 39-point win over Darius Garland, who knocked down seven 3-pointers in the contest. That improved Cleveland to 8-0, which tied for the best start in franchise history.
Damian Lillard was the best scorer for the Bucks with 36 points and seven assists, and Bobby Portis also scored 21 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. The Bucks have now lost six straight games and hold just a 1-6 record, dropping them to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Since 1970, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, 150 teams have started a season 1-6 or worse. Only 12 of those teams reached the playoffs that season, and none of those teams won more than 47 games.
“Starting 1-6, as I said, is ugly, you know what I mean? But when you look at the big picture, it’s a long season,” Lillard said via the Journal Sentinel. “There’s 75 games left, and I’ve been part of teams that have won 16 games in a row and 14 in a row. Sometimes, you find yourself in a trench. “Sometimes it can happen in the middle of the season, sometimes it can happen at the end of the season… We know what we’re capable of, and it’s just a matter of putting it all together.”
If Antetokounmpo isn’t ready to go on Thursday, the Bucks will face the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Friday night before returning home for three home games starting on Sunday.
