The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a setback before even playing a full quarter in Game 1 of their first-round series with the Miami Heat on Sunday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo lasted just 11 minutes on the floor before sustaining a lower back contusion after colliding with Heat forward Kevin Love on a drive to the basket. Bucks teammates helped up Antetokounmpo, who took a few moments on the floor before attempting to regather himself. But before hoisting another shot, Antetokounmpo hobbled around the court and was removed from the game for good.
To no surprise, this proved to be costly with the Bucks down their go-to superstar. Milwaukee suffered a 130-117 home loss, giving Miami a quick 1-0 series advantage. And afterward, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer offered an update on Antetokounmpo, which left the status of the two-time NBA MVP questionable ahead of Wednesday’s Game 2.
“He has a back contusion,” Budenholzer told reporters, per league-provided video. “There was an X-Ray that was clear here. So, we’ll monitor him, see how he does. See how he wakes up, how he feels rest of tonight, tomorrow.”
Budenholzer added: “He just wasn’t moving, didn’t look comfortable, confident. Felt like the right thing.”
Antetokounmpo, who averaged a career-high 31.1 points through 63 games in the regular season, scored just six points with three rebounds.
The 28-year-old league MVP candidate also had Miami’s number back on Feb. 4 during their regular-season matchup, scoring 35 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and recording 11 assists while shooting 68.4% from the field — one of six triple-doubles recorded. Needless to say, Antetokounmpo’s presence can easily hinder Milwaukee’s shot at making it out the first-round unscathed.
Even with the threat of going down two games to Miami looming, Milwaukee can only remain patient while Antetokounmpo heals.
“We have to wait and see what the doctors say, most importantly what Giannis says,” Budenholzer said. “Certainly we’ve been blessed with him being incredibly resilient and quick to heal. You just got to take it day-by-day and see how he’s doing and how he feels.”
Meanwhile, the Heat have their own issue to attend to. Guard Tyler Herro suffered a broken middle and right finger on his right hand — his shooting hand — which is expected to sideline him for 4-to-6 weeks, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Their fight for an Eastern Conference semifinals ticket continues Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.
