The Milwaukee Bucks had a path with fewer obstacles once the Atlanta Hawks declared point guard Trae Young out for Game 4.
Then, an avalanche of boulders tumbled into that path when Bucks All-NBA forward Giannis Antetokounmpo crumpled in a heap of limbs, screaming in pain and grabbing his hyperextended left knee.
The direction of a playoff series can change in the time it takes for Antetokounmpo to jump and defend a Clint Capela alley-oop dunk, get tangled on the way down and land awkwardly.
Atlanta, which controlled the game from start to finish, defeated Milwaukee 110-88 on Tuesday, evening the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2.
Antetokounmpo missed the final 19 minutes, but the Bucks were in trouble with him on the court before the injury. The Hawks led 51-38 at halftime and were up 62-52 when Antetokounmpo sustained his injury.
It was just a four-possession game, but the Bucks had not displayed any indication they were capable of a comeback. They had a bad start to the game, were limited by Atlanta’s defense and had trouble slowing the Hawks’ it-takes-a-village approach without Young.
“To come out and be flat like that and not give the energy, effort, to be able to win this game … it was a very winnable game even when we got down early,” Bucks forward P.J. Tucker said. “For us to not turn it on and be able to get over that hump and be able to give ourselves a chance to win this game is disappointing. It can’t happen.”
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer will address that during film sessions in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
The more pressing topic is Antetokounmpo’s availability for the remainder of the series and beyond the conference finals.
“Obviously Giannis is a big part of our soul and our fiber,” Budenholzer said.
Antetokounmpo, who sprained the same knee earlier this season and missed two games in late March, will have the knee scanned to determine the extent of the injury.
“We’ll see how he is tomorrow,” Budenholzer said.
It will be the longest wait-and-see the Bucks have encountered this season. Whether you root for the Bucks, the Hawks or have no rooting interest other than seeing good basketball, this is a rotten injury to a player who worked incredibly hard from his days as a kid in Athens, Greece to his back-to-back MVP seasons to an All-NBA player trying to reach his first NBA Finals.
Antetokounmpo had become too much of a force for Atlanta, especially in Milwaukee’s Game 2 and 3 victories. In the first three games of the series, he curtailed his 3-point attempts and drove to the rim with ferocity, averaging 30.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and two steals and shooting 59.4% from the field.
