Injury Update: Giannis Antetokounmpo Set for MRI After Hyperextending Left Knee, Reports Say
After leaving State Farm Arena's center court in the third period of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals with an apparent left knee injury, the main man of the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo is set to have his MRI done on Wednesday, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Giannis' Hyperextended Left Knee
Due to the absence of their star player, the Milwaukee Bucks suffered a 110-88 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks capitalized the absence of the Greek superstar and sealed the deal at home with a commanding lead to put the series tied at 2 games apiece.
According to CBS Sports, Bucks' star Giannis Antetokounmpo was immediately brought to the locker room after he hyperextended his left knee with more than seven minutes left in the third period. Antetokounmpo contested the alley-oop attempt of John Collins to Hawks' center Clint Capela, but the Bucks' star landed awkwardly on his left leg which caused the hyperextension.
After the players tangled, Antetokounmpo immediately fell to the floor and stayed down on the ground for several minutes. The Bucks and Hawks, together with their coaches surrounded Giannis and showed concern before the Bucks star stood up. He was helped to his feet by his brother and teammate, Thanasis. Television monitors showed Antetokounmpo walking back to the locker room without assistance, but he had a significant limp.
Moreover, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer stated during the postgame interview after the game that it looked like the legs of Giannis and Capela got tangled up. He added that he hasn't seen anything else aside from the feed inside the arena.
Co-All-Star teammate Khris Middleton stated after the game that he just hoped that the results would not be serious.
After the injury of Antetokounmpo, Bucks guard Jrue Holiday hit a floater. However, those were the last points of Milwaukee within three and a half minutes of action. The Hawks answered with a 15-0 run to push their lead once again to more than 20 points, Yahoo Sports reported.
ALSO READ: Trae Young Injures Ankle in Game 3 Loss; Referee's Foot Caused Hawks Star MRI Prior Game 4
Resilient Hawks Squad
Despite not having their star guard Trae Young, the Hawks never trailed in the game. The Atlanta squad outscored the Bucks in points in the paint, 46-44, and showed the Bucks their outside shooting threat.
However, aside from the dominating performance shown by the Hawks, the Milwaukee Bucks also struggled to take care of the ball in Game 4. The Bucks committed 15 turnovers throughout the game which were translated by the Hawks into 16 points. Atlanta turned the ball over 11 times, but the Bucks had only four points off of their opponents' turnovers.
On the other hand, Bucks undersized big man, P.J. Tucker, stated that they thought that they were just going to walk in Atlanta and win the game. Tucker added that they didn't do anything to show that they wanted to win this game in Atlanta. Tucker also emphasized that they were flat, and Giannis' injury also caused them the Game 4 loss, ESPN reported.
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WATCH: Giannis Antetokounmpo is down in serious pain after scary knee injury Bucks vs Hawks Game 4 - Rookie Productions