Khris Middleton did all he could for the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. This included the three-time All-Star checking back into the game despite suffering a foot injury that forced him to head back to the locker room in the third quarter.
Despite his commendable effort, however, the Bucks still faltered without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, 126-113. At this point, Milwaukee is just one loss away from elimination.
Milwaukee Bucks News: Khris Middleton Gave It All He Could
Middleton finished Sunday’s loss with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-22 shooting, to go along with 10 rebounds, five assists, and a steal in 40 minutes of action. The 6-foot-7 forward, however, missed all four of his attempts from deep, while also committing four turnovers.
It was a respectable performance from Middleton — bad foot and all — but it was far from the heroic outing the Bucks needed in order to upset the Pacers at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. With Giannis and Dame both sidelined, Milwaukee required a gargantuan effort from Middleton, and unfortunately, he came up short.
Khris Middleton’s Defiant Message
The good news for the Bucks is that Game 5 now shifts back to Milwaukee. There’s no denying that Middleton and Co. have their backs against the wall, but the 32-year-old remains adamant that it’s not over yet for the Bucks:
“Gotta try to protect home court for one, and then the motivation is to try to get back here,” Middleton said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “I’ve been in this situation a couple times where we’ve been able to force another game. And I’ve been on the other side when we haven’t.
“It could go either way, but we’re gonna have to play as hard as we can, we have to execute our game plan, we have to keep guys in check, and even though we’ve been down before (and) we’re down two guys now, we still got all the confidence in the world that we can get back here. I think that’s the motivation.”
The Bucks will need to take it one game at a time, starting with a must-win contest on Tuesday at the Fiserv Forum.
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