Bucks’ Star Player Giannis Antetokounmpo Forced to Exit Game Early with Lower Back Injury Against Heat

The Milwaukee Bucks’ key player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, was announced by the team to have a lower back contusion and would not be able to continue playing for the rest of the game after the team’s 130-117 Game 1 loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday.

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Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer reported that following the first-round game, Antetokounmpo underwent an X-ray which resulted in zero abnormalities.

Budenholzer stated that they would observe his condition and evaluate his recovery on Monday.

Antetokounmpo took a hard fall on his back while receiving a charging foul from Heat’s Kevin Love, with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter. He left the game after his second foul in the same quarter and headed straight to the locker room. However, he came back with tape wrapped around his lower back at the beginning of the second quarter and rejoined the game with 9:56 left in the period.

But Antetokounmpo refrained from shooting during his subsequent time on the court and seemed to be struggling while attempting to run up the floor during a transition. Following Milwaukee’s delay of game violation at the 8:33 moment in the second quarter, Antetokounmpo once again left the game and returned to the locker room.

After playing for just 11 minutes in the game, the Bucks decided to take him out for the rest of the contest since he wasn’t performing well. Coach Budenholzer mentioned that he didn’t seem confident or comfortable and it was the appropriate choice to make. Antetokounmpo managed to score six points but only made two out of four shots.

Throughout the season, Antetokounmpo has been struggling with persistent injuries to his knee and wrist. During the previous regular-season match between Milwaukee and Miami on February 24, Antetokounmpo was forced to leave the game early due to a quad injury, having only played for six minutes in the first quarter.

Budenholzer stated that despite Antetokounmpo’s proven ability to recover quickly from injuries in the past, the team will need to assess the upcoming course of action in the coming days.

“We have to wait and see what the doctors say,” Budenholzer said. “Most importantly, what Giannis says. Certainly, we’ve been blessed with him being incredibly resilient and quick to heal, but you’ve just got to take it day by day and see how he’s doing and see how he feels.”

This season, the Bucks have won 11 out of 19 games that Antetokounmpo didn’t play. The team’s net rating was plus-7.2 when Antetokounmpo played, which would have been the best in the league. However, their net rating dropped to minus-1.4 without him, which would have placed them in 24th position, between the Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic.

According to Jrue Holiday, the guard of the Bucks, they don’t wish for any injuries to occur, but they have the mindset of “next-man-up”. Holiday believes that their team has a sufficient amount of talent to fill in for any missing players until they return. He personally understands the pain of being injured, particularly during the first game of the playoffs, and hopes that his teammates can avoid experiencing the same thing.

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