Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had to leave Game 4 against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night after suffering a hyperextended left knee during the third quarter of the contest. The injury occurred when Antetokounmpo went up to block an alley-oop attempt by Clint Capela. Antetokounmpo landed hard on his left leg and injured his knee in the process.
You can see the play where the injury occurred below:
“It just looked like their legs got tangled up,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said following Game 4. “They both landed awkwardly. That’s what I saw live. I haven’t seen anything else.”
Antetokounmpo was down on the court for several moments afterward, and he was eventually helped back to Milwaukee’s locker room. He returned to Milwaukee’s bench briefly during the third quarter, but he headed back to the locker room again after a few moments. He was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the game due to a left knee hyperextension. He is expected to undergo an MRI on Wednesday, and more will be known about the severity of the injury at that point.
Before exiting the game, Antetokounmpo had 14 points and 8 rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Once he went down, the Hawks quickly pulled away from the Bucks and pulled out a 110-88 win to even the series up at two games apiece. Game 5 of the series is scheduled for Thursday night.
At this point, Antetokounmpo’s status for the remainder of the series is not known. The Bucks just have to hope that the injury was one that looked worse than it actually was.
“We’ll see what happens with Giannis,” Khris Middleton said. “It would be great if he plays, but if not, we still have a capable team of going out there and winning.”
