With Giannis Antetokounmpo out with a knee injury and bone bruise, it was no surprise that the Milwaukee Bucks were an 11 point underdog against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. What was a surprise was the fact that the Bucks came through with a 108-105 win without their superstar power forward from Athens, Greece on the court.
Milwaukee had a terrific second quarter as they outscored Phoenix 42-26. Heading into halftime, they had a 57-52 lead.
Four Bucks players reached double digits in points. Point guard Ryan Rollins of Detroit, Michigan led the Bucks in scoring with 26 points and also had the double double as he had 10 rebounds. Power forward Kyle Kuzma of Flint, Michigan had 20 points, while shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. of Columbus, Ohio and center Ousmane Dieng of Villeneuve-sur-Lot, France had 11 points each. Trent Jr. had his 11 points of the bench.
It has been an injury filled season for Antetokounmpo. Recently he has been dealing with an ankle injury he suffered on March 12 in a 112-105 Bucks loss to the Miami Heat, and then returned to the Bucks lineup three nights later against the Indiana Pacers only to have another injury. Antetokounmpo has only played 36 games this season. He missed over three weeks in December with a strained right calf, and after returning to the lineup for 13 games, Antetokounmpo missed the entire month of February with the sore calf.
The Bucks improved to a record of 29 wins and 41 losses. They are 11th in the Eastern Conference. The Suns are at 40 wins and 32 losses.
