Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez were out of action on Tuesday night for the Milwaukee Bucks as they took on the Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center. The Bucks lost a third starter early on in the game as Khris Middleton exited in the first quarter due to a left ankle sprain.
Coach Doc Rivers had no other choice but to tweak his rotation with three of the team’s most important players sidelined against a powerhouse Suns side. In the end, the Bucks just didn’t have it in them to force an upset as the home team secured a 114-106 win.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Commends Milwaukee Bucks’ Effort Vs. Suns
Giannis Antetokounmpo (34 points, 10 rebounds, six assists) battled hard on Tuesday night. He still came up short, though, which must have been frustrating for the Bucks talisman.
Be that as it may, Giannis had to heap praise on his teammates as he commended the effort they put in amid their injury woes:
“I think guys responded the right way,” Antetokounmpo said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Played hard throughout the whole game. Obviously we’re playing a very, very talented team, a team that can score the ball at any time they want. I think we did a good job just mucking up the game, playing hard, moving the ball, taking care of the ball.
“But again, if you don’t have three of your starters, it just becomes hard. It’s hard on everybody. But, can’t make excuses. Anybody that’s available to play are all NBA players, we’ve worked extremely hard to be here so we go out there and give our all for the team and sometimes we win and sometimes we don’t.”
The Bucks return to action on Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves and there is still no word on whether or not Lillard, Middleton, or Lopez will be available for that game.
Middleton, in particular, could be facing a lengthy layoff after suffering a nasty-looking injury against the Suns.
As Giannis said, however, the Bucks can’t make any excuses moving forward.
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