Giannis helped off with calf injury, undergoes tests

MILWAUKEE — Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo exited the Milwaukee Bucks‘ 104-91 win over the Boston Celtics in the third quarter Tuesday night because of an injury to his left calf.

Antetokounmpo was heading up the court following a made 3-pointer from Celtics guard Derrick White when the Bucks star crumpled to the floor without contact while grabbing at his left leg. He remained down as the Bucks called a timeout, and his teammates helped carry him off the court and toward the locker room.

Antetokounmpo was officially ruled out in the fourth quarter due to what the team called a left soleus strain. The soleus is a muscle in the back part of the calf.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after the game that Antetokounmpo was undergoing an MRI exam on his calf and also would have his Achilles tendon tested.

Antetokounmpo finished 7-of-11 from the field with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. He left without speaking to reporters.

Rivers was asked about his concern level.

“High, I would say that,” Rivers said. “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.”

Antetokounmpo was listed on the injury report prior to Tuesday’s game, starting the day as questionable because of left hamstring tendinopathy before being upgraded to probable. He has missed three games since mid-March due to the injury, including Friday’s contest against the visiting Toronto Raptors. He also sat out a game March 4 because of left Achilles tendinitis.

“Any time you see one of your teammates go down, it’s I think a real level of concern,” Bucks guard Damian Lillard said. “We spend a lot of time around each other, more than we would our families. I think that was the No. 1 thing. And then 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.”

Tuesday’s outing was just the fifth time in the past 30 games that the Bucks had Antetokounmpo, Lillard and Khris Middleton all available. The Bucks have three games remaining in the regular season.

“We’re going to need him,” Middleton said of Antetokounmpo, “so if he’s got to get rest, if he’s got to sit out these [next] couple of games to be ready for the playoffs, we need him to be as close to 100% as he can be.”

Lillard noted he dealt with a similar injury last season while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard recalled that he came back from a calf injury after about eight or nine days, only to hurt his soleus. Lillard said he then ended up missing about two more weeks.

“I know that feeling,” Lillard said.

The Bucks had lost four consecutive games entering Tuesday, their longest losing streak since December 2022. They hold a one-game lead for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.