Milwaukee Bucks could keep their home court intact, but the most serious complication of Game 2 loss to Chicago was the Khris Middleton injury. Mike Budenholzer revealed Middleton suffered a sprained ACL.
Middleton will have an MRI on Thursday for further evaluation. In the same game, Portis went out with a right eye abrasion after the first quarter, but Budenholzer claimed he will be available for Game 3 Friday.
The 30-year-old forward averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists on a 44/37/89 shooting split during the regular season. His numbers went down from last year, but his ability to close out games is unmatchable, especially in the postseason.
The Bucks failed to suppress DeRozan’s scoring production in Game 2 allowing the Bulls to tie the series. The next game is on Friday between those two teams with Bucks being expected to play without Middleton.
”He’s always been positive and he knows the type of team that we are and how resilient we are,” Bucks guard Jrue Holiday said, via NBA.com. ”We just want him to get back as quickly as possible and be healthy so he can come out here and help us win games.”
The Bucks are already missing veteran guard George Hill with an abdominal strain. Budenholzer said before Game 2 that Hill isn’t expected back in the short term.
The Bucks will have to bounce back in Game 3 after losing the home-court advantage. Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez will have to carry bigger weight in the offensive end to help Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had another masterful performance in Game 2.
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