MILWAUKEE \u2014 Three minutes into Wednesday night\u2019s game against the Detroit Pistons, Giannis Antetokounmpo drove baseline and found 3-point specialist AJ Green cutting to the rim for a layup. As he passed Green on his way back up the floor, Antetokounmpo suddenly collapsed to the floor with what appeared to be a noncontact injury.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo sat on the floor as the other nine players made their way up the court. He refused to attempt to stand and called to the bench for a timeout from Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers. On the other end of the floor, teammate Kevin Porter Jr. committed a foul to give Rivers a chance to take a timeout and get medical attention for the Bucks\u2019 star forward.<\/p>\n
Giannis Antetokounmpo (right calf strain) will not return to tonight\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n On a day the basketball world spent talking about Antetokounmpo\u2019s future<\/a>, the Bucks were being forced to reckon with the now, as their star player sat injured on the Fiserv Forum court.<\/p>\n After a few moments, Antetokounmpo got up with help from the medical staff and teammates and walked to the Bucks bench. By the end of the timeout, he was walking back to the Bucks locker room. Before the end of the first quarter, the Bucks ruled him out for the rest of the game with a right calf strain.<\/p>\n Following the game, Rivers told reporters that Antetokounmpo was undergoing an MRI to get a better idea of the extent of the injury, but that he thinks the Bucks had ruled out an Achilles injury before the MRI. While that unofficial diagnosis allowed players and fans to catch their breath following the game, the players on the floor were given no such assurance and needed to go about trying to compete against the Eastern Conference\u2019s best team.<\/p>\n And that was exactly what they were able to do. While Antetokounmpo\u2019s early injury sucked the life out of an already anxious building, the Bucks came back from scoring only four points in the first 7 1\/2 minutes to grab a surprising 113-109 win over the Pistons.<\/p>\n \u201cI think when it first happens, it kind of sucks the air out of the team,\u201d Bobby Portis (13 points, nine rebounds, five assists) said. \u201cIt kind of sucks the energy out of the building, especially with a player like Giannis who affects the game in so many ways, MVP-type player. The things that he does for our team is crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n Portis added: \u201cI\u2019m just happy that we were able to rally together and get the win. Obviously, over the last couple weeks, it\u2019s been rough for us. Highs and lows, more lows than highs, so today was a big game for us.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bucks had five players score in double figures, led by Porter (26 points, seven assists) and Ryan Rollins (22 points, four rebounds, eight assists), who stepped up in Antetokounmpo\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n While the Bucks\u2019 new backcourt duo took turns making plays throughout the fourth quarter, Green knocked down three clutch 3s on his way to scoring 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. It was a full team effort as Jericho Sims scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.<\/p>\n DAIRY. BIRD.<\/p>\n Big back-to-back triples for the lead! pic.twitter.com\/hnqz4FR1b6<\/a><\/p>\n