Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and point guard Damian Lillard are out for Tuesday’s Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers as both players try to rehab injuries, Bucks coach Doc Rivers told reporters during his pre-game news conference at Fiserv Forum.
The Bucks are on the brink of elimination from the postseason, trailing the Pacers, 3-1 in their first round Eastern Conference playoff series. Game 5 tips off at 8:30 p.m. CT at Fiserv Forum.
Antetokounmpo has missed the first four games of the Bucks’ first-round matchup against the Pacers with a left soleus (calf) strain that he suffered against the Boston Celtics on April 9. Lillard missed Game 4 with right Achilles tendinitis after re-aggravating the injury during the Bucks’ Game 3 loss to the Pacers on Friday in Indianapolis.
Can the Bucks win without Lillard and Antetokounmpo?
The Bucks know how it difficult it will be to take Game 5 without Lillard and Antetokounmpo. In Game 4, they managed to stay in the game and compete against the Pacers with Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez in but faltered in the moments where they needed to play without one or both of them on the floor. To pull out a win, the Bucks need to play their most disciplined game of this entire series. They can’t give away points carelessly with poor transition defense, bad shot selection or a lack of physicality on the defensive glass. If they execute all of those aspects of the game and get good games from Middleton and Lopez, they might have a chance to spring the upset and force a Game 6.
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(Photo: Jeff Hanisch / USA Today)
