The Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo departed early from his team’s 130-117 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their NBA Playoffs matchup on Sunday night. The team later announced that Antetokounmpo had a lower back contusion.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer stated following the loss that Antetokounmpo underwent an X-ray that shed light on the nature of his injury.
With 1:46 remaining in the first quarter, the Bucks star played fell to the floor hard after being charged by Heat forward Kevin Love. Following a second foul, Antetokounmpo checked out of the game, heading to the locker room and returning with tape around his lower back.
Antetokounmpo returned to play in the second quarter, visibly appearing to struggle due to his back injury. Once Milwaukee took a delay of game violation at the 8:33 mark in the quarter, Antetokounmpo checked out of the game for good.
“He just wasn’t moving [well],” Budenholzer said. “Didn’t look comfortable, confident. It felt like the right thing. We have to wait and see what the doctors say, most importantly, what Giannis says.”
Budenholzer added that the team would have to wait and see how the star man wakes up on Monday before deciding how to proceed.
