The Milwaukee Bucks‘ eventful playoff run made its latest and most heartbreaking turn after their 110-88 Game 4 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday night at State Farm Arena.
It was a game in which the Hawks led from the opening tip and managed to keep the Bucks at an arm’s length all throughout as Milwaukee struggled to put together a competitive performance and make the Hawks team sweat, even without star guard Trae Young.
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Of course, that ended up being far from the Bucks’ biggest problem by the end of the night and now, they have to regroup with the series knotted up at 2-2 and going back to Milwaukee for Game 5.
So without further ado, let’s dive into the biggest takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 4 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Milwaukee Bucks lose superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 4 loss to Hawks
Injury was added to the Bucks’ insulting Game 4 loss to the Hawks when Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with a knee injury midway through the third quarter.
Trying to make a play on an alley-oop dunk by Clint Capela, Antetokounmpo crumbled to a heap after a hyperextended his left knee, the same leg that he had calf tightness in throughout this series so far. Antetokounmpo immediately clutched his knee and writhed in pain before getting up and eventually walking off the court largely under his own power.
With a couple of trips back to the locker room and a brief cameo near the bench, Antetokounmpo was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the game and ESPN’s Malika Andrews reported after the game that Antetokounmpo will get an MRI Wednesday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to undergo further imaging on his left knee tomorrow, sources told ESPN.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 30, 2021
At this point, saying Antetokounmpo’s injury changes the complexion of this series is an understatement. This very well could be the end of the two-time MVP’s season and the Bucks have to live with the possible reality that they will be without Antetokounmpo as they continue to fight for their playoff lives and book a trip to the NBA Finals.
Time will tell just what the official status of Antetokounmpo’s injury will be, but being without the very player that has made everything possible for the Bucks at this moment is quite the setback to overcome.