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Giannis Antetokounmpo claimed to feel “good” after tweaking his right ankle against the LA Clippers on Thursday night, forced to leave the game with less than eight minutes remaining in the game after throwing down a ferocious dunk and landing on Garrett Temple.
The Bucks went on to beat the Clippers, 128-118, as The Greek Freak put up 34 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 32 minutes of action.
Antetokounmpo did not return to the game, instead gingerly walking the sideline from time to time to test his ankle as his already injury-riddled team survived the rest of the game. He was also limping in the locker room afterward, though he remained in good spirits.
This is hardly the first time Antetokounmpo has dealt with ankle issues, as he missed games last week against the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers after spraining that same ankle on March 17 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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The Bucks phenom admitted he never felt fully recovered from the initial sprain:
“Usually when you sprain your ankle, you tweak your ankle, you stay out for two, three, four games,” Antetokounmpo said, according to ESPN's Malika Andrews. “But I don't like missing games, so I have to work through it while playing and try to get my strength with our practices.”
The Bucks will have to weigh playing or resting their star for a few games as the season comes to a close, considering they're already down some key players in Malcolm Brogdon, Nikola Mirotic, Pau Gasol and Donte DiVincenzo, who will miss the rest of the season.
Milwaukee stands no chance of surviving the East without a healthy Antetokounmpo, whom coach Mike Budenholzer has based his system around. The Bucks have a four-game lead over the Toronto Raptors for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with six games remaining.
