NBA Playoffs 2020: Milwaukee buys time despite being without Giannis Antetokoumpo

The Milwaukee Bucks were able to stave off elimination despite being without reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for the majority of Game 4 because of an ankle injury he sustained against the Miami Heat.

Antetokounmpo played just 11 minutes in Game 4 before re-injuring his ankle, which caved in Game 3.

With their season hanging on the balance, other members of Milwaukee  Bucks were ready to step up after Antetokounmpo went down. They battled hard and took the Heat to overtime. From there, they pulled out a crucial 118-115 win.

Khris Middleton led the way for the Bucks in Game 4 finishing with 36 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and he hit several clutch shots for the Bucks with a massive 22-point third quarter and also down the stretch.

Watch the Game highlights below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjHQPOiFRB8

Eric Bledsoe and Brook Lopez also combined to score 24 points to help shoulder the responsibilities of Middleton. Antetokounmpo had added 19 points before he was knocked out of the contest.

The loss in Game 4 was Miami’s first of the 2020 NBA postseason.

They had initially swept past the Pacers in their first-round series and then went on to win the first three games of the series against the Bucks.

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Bam Adebayo led Miami with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists in Game 4, while all five Heat starters scored at least 17 points including Duncan Robinson who added 20 points of his own. But ultimately their collective production wasn’t enough.

Looking ahead, the biggest storyline in this series will be the health of Giannis Antetokounmpo. He was listed as questionable for Game 4 after injuring his right ankle in Game 3, but he ultimately decided to play after going through warm-ups.

The ankle is now even more of an issue after he re-injured it on Sunday afternoon, and him not being able to continue playing with his team facing elimination Sunday shows just how much it was bothering him.

Down 3-1 in the series, the Bucks still face an uphill battle, especially since Antetokounmpo’s status moving forward isn’t known at this point. Still, they were at least able to avoid the sweep, and live to fight another day.