MILWAUKEE — The Bucks ended their four-game losing streak on Tuesday at the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee, beating the Boston Celtics, 104-91.
But the big story was the health of two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokoumpo.
The face of the franchise strained his left calf in the third quarter, raising concerns on the severity of the injury.
Head coach Doc Rivers told reporters at his post-game press conference that Antetokounmpo will udergo an MRI and tests on the strength of his Achilles tendon.
Saying that his concern level was “high,” Rivers explained further.
“He’s Giannis. I think everyone probably feels the same way as I do right now. We’re just going to hope for the best.”
Giannis tallied 15 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists before exiting the contest. The rest of the Bucks picked up the slack.
On a night when Damian Lillard was held to 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting, Patrick Beverley, who had recently been inserted into the starting unit, finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Brook Lopez accounted for 15 points and 6 rebounds for the Bucks, who shot 53.1 percent from the field (43-of-81) and 47.2 percent from 3 (17-of-36).
Antetokounmpo’s injury occured in the third quarter following a Celtics basket. He took a seat after grabbing his left calf and then left for the locker room under his own power.
Lillard said injuries are always a cause for worry but it goes up to a different level with Antetokounmpo.
“For it to be your best player, the most important part of our team, at this point in the season, it was like an, ‘Oh, (damn)’ moment, especially because there was nobody else around.”
Jayson Tatum scored 22 points to lead the Celtics. Jaylen Brown had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
