The Milwaukee Bucks lost 114-110 to the Chicago Bulls in Game 2 on Wednesday, but even worse than that the Bucks lost two key players in the process. Early in the fourth quarter forward Khris Middleton exited the game with left knee soreness after slipping awkwardly in the middle of a spin move in the post. Big man Bobby Portis left the game at halftime after taking a shot to the eye in the first quarter of the game.
Both injuries hindered the Bucks down the stretch as they were trying to climb back from an 18-point deficit against the Bulls. But Middleton’s injury has far more significance going forward in this series. Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game that Middleton suffered an MCL sprain and will get an MRI Thursday to find out more information.
“From what I was just told, on exam, it’s an MCL sprain,” Budenholzer said. “We’ll get an MRI tomorrow and see what more we learn from the MRI tomorrow.”
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If Middleton misses any time with that injury, it’ll be a significant blow to a Bucks team that doesn’t have a great deal of depth. It’ll mean more will be asked from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday on offense, while role players like Wes Matthews and Pat Connaughton will need to start hitting shots at a consistent rate.
When the injury occurred, Middleton was just starting to heat up for the Bucks. After putting up just three points in the first half, Middleton racked up 15 points in the second half as he was leading Milwaukee’s comeback. His exit from the game zapped a lot of energy out of Milwaukee, and while it managed to still chip away at Chicago’s lead, not having him on the floor was clearly detrimental.
We’ll have to wait for the MRI results to see if Middleton will miss time, and how that will impact the defending champions going forward in this series.
