Things took a turn for the worse for the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns. The Bucks already entered the game undermanned with both Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez being ruled out ahead of tip-off.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Khris Middleton was forced to exit the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury that could now force him to sit out a few games.
Doc Rivers Gets Real on Milwaukee Bucks’ Injury Woes Vs. Suns
Ultimately, not even Giannis Antetokounmpo could carry a shorthanded Bucks side to victory against a powerhouse Suns squad. The Milwaukee talisman dropped a game-high 34 points with 10 rebounds and six assists, but it simply wasn’t enough against Kevin Durant and Co.
The Suns secured the win after a tough battle, 114-106.
After the game, a visibly disappointed Doc Rivers spoke openly about his team’s injury problems during the game. The veteran coach acknowledged that losing Middleton so early in the contest was something that his team struggled to recover from:
“Just a tough blow,” Rivers said of losing Middleton, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Having him and Dame and Brook out takes a lot of the floor. I thought we fought, hung in there. You knew at some point, you just felt at some point we wouldn’t have enough offense on the floor. And that’s probably what happened. I thought defensively we were really good tonight.”
You have to note that the Bucks were also playing in their fifth straight road game here, which surely had an impact on their energy throughout the game. To their credit, Milwaukee hung in there up until the fourth quarter, but they just didn’t have enough gas left in the tank to complete what would have been a crucial comeback victory.
The good news for the Bucks is that they now get to head back to Milwaukee ahead of a four-game home spell. Hopefully, they get some, if not all of their injured stars back during this stretch.
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