Khris Middleton and the rest of the Milwaukee Bucks had Giannis Antetokounmpo's back after the reigning league MVP left Sunday's game with an ankle injury.
Middleton praised Antetokounmpo's grit after the team's 118-115 victory over the Miami Heat, saying the team wanted to “fight” for Giannis after he gave his all on a bad ankle.
“He came out and tried to fight for us with a bad ankle. We wanted to have his back and just fight for him.”
– Khris Middleton on taking over in Game 4 after Giannis left with an ankle sprain pic.twitter.com/mildIXQHrL
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 6, 2020
Antetokounmpo was a game-time decision for the Bucks after sustaining an ankle injury in Game 3, but he took the floor for the start of Game 4 and dominated early.
The Greek Freak scored 19 points in just 11 minutes and kept his team in the game prior to aggravating the sore right ankle.
Giannis watched helplessly as Milwaukee battled to keep their season alive, but Middleton simply refused to let the Bucks lose.
Article Continues BelowMiddleton finished the contest with 36 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. He scored 21 points in the third quarter and added nine more in overtime, including a clutch three with under 10 seconds to go and a pair of free throws to ice the contest.
Milwaukee also got contributions from its role players, as reserve guards George Hill and Donte DiVincenzo both finished in double figures. Eric Bledsoe was 0-for-6 from the 3-point line, but he still scored 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists.
Sunday's contest almost seemed to be a battle of wills, with Khris Middleton and Heat rookie Tyler Herro trading clutch baskets down the stretch and into overtime.
Indeed, Giannis Antetokounmpo might will himself to play in Game 5 as the Bucks will once again fight to keep their season alive on Tuesday.