{"id":665355,"date":"2026-03-18T18:42:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T18:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/665355\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T18:42:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T18:42:25","slug":"bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-sidelined-with-hyperextended-knee-and-bone-bruise-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/665355\/","title":{"rendered":"Bucks\u2019 Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined with hyperextended knee and bone bruise"},"content":{"rendered":"

MILWAUKEE (AP) \u2014 Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn\u2019t available for the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 123-116 loss<\/a> to Cleveland on Tuesday night after leaving a victory<\/a> over Indiana two days earlier.<\/p>\n

\"MilwaukeeMilwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo looks on from the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo\/Aaron Gash)(Aaron Gash | AP)<\/p>\n

The Bucks said the two-time MVP had a hyperextended left knee and a bone bruise. Bucks coach Doc Rivers declined to speculate on how much time Antetokounmpo might miss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is it was a really good image,\u201d Rivers said during his pregame availability. \u201cThere\u2019s no damage \u2014 nothing. Just good news. But I don\u2019t know the next part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo didn\u2019t play in the fourth quarter of Sunday\u2019s 134-123 win<\/a> over the Pacers after landing awkwardly when he dunked late in the third period. Antetokounmpo downplayed the injury after the game.<\/p>\n

\"MilwaukeeMilwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers’ Jay Huff during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo\/Aaron Gash)(Aaron Gash | AP)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just going to go back home, sleep, see how I feel tomorrow, try to lift some weights,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I have a little bit of discomfort, then I\u2019ll go from there. As of now, I\u2019m not really bothered.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was the 32nd game the 31-year-old Antetokounmpo has missed, the most of any season in his 13-year career. The Bucks are 11-21 without him.<\/p>\n

Milwaukee is 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, 6 1\/2 games behind the 10th-place Charlotte Hornets. With the Bucks\u2019 chances for a 10th straight playoff berth looking increasingly unlikely, Rivers was asked when the risks of Antetokounmpo getting hurt outweigh the potential reward of putting him back on the floor.<\/p>\n

\"MilwaukeeMilwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers’ Jalen Slawson (18) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo\/Aaron Gash)(Aaron Gash | AP)<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good question,\u201d Rivers said. \u201cI don\u2019t have the answer, but it\u2019s a very good question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo had two extended absences because of strains in his right calf.<\/a> He sat out the Bucks\u2019 122-99 loss<\/a> at Atlanta on Saturday because of a sprained left ankle.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILWAUKEE (AP) \u2014 Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn\u2019t available for the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 123-116 loss to Cleveland on Tuesday night…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,2660,123,5463,126,102,121,6],"class_list":["post-665355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-basketball","tag-doc-rivers","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-greek-freak","tag-indiana-pacers","tag-milwaukee","tag-milwaukee-bucks","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116251654459128540","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}