The Milwaukee Bucks have ruled two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo out of Friday night’s Game 3 of the series against the Indiana Pacers with a left calf strain.
The Bucks already played the first two games of this series without Antetokounmpo. The Bucks and Pacers are tied 1-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since straining his left calf in an April 9 victory over the Boston Celtics. He missed the Bucks’ final three regular-season games.
The Bucks face the possibility of continuing the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series without two of their top three players. Khris Middleton has a sprained right ankle that kept him from practicing Thursday and puts his status in question for Game 3 in Indianapolis.
The NBA’s injury report Thursday afternoon listed Antetokounmpo as doubtful and Middleton as questionable for Friday’s game.
Middleton was limping in the first quarter of the Bucks’ 125-108 Game 2 loss Tuesday and briefly went into the locker room, but he returned after getting his right ankle retaped and ended up playing 36 minutes. The three-time All-Star has averaged 19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists through the first two games.
The Bucks have played without key performers on numerous occasions this year. The Bucks had their top three players — Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Damian Lillard — all available for only five of their last 35 games. That 35-game stretch covers Milwaukee’s last 33 regular-season contests and the first two games of this series.
The Bucks have become accustomed to dealing with injuries during the postseason.
Antetokounmpo missed the final 1½ games of a 2020 second-round loss to Miami with a sprained ankle. He didn’t play the final two games of the 2021 East finals with a hyperextended knee before returning to lead Milwaukee to the championship as the NBA Finals MVP, scoring 50 points in the title-clinching victory.
Middleton missed the Bucks’ final 10 playoff games in 2022 with a sprained medial collateral ligament.
Last year, a bruised lower back knocked Antetokounmpo out of Game 1 and caused him to miss the next two games in the Bucks’ first-round loss to Miami.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
