Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo avoids serious injury after falling awkwardly on right hand
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Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo looks up at a referee after being fouled in the second quarter against the Nets on Friday night.
NEW YORK – Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said an X-ray of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s right hand came back clean following the Bucks’ 118-100 loss to the Brooklyn Nets Friday night. Antetokounmpo injured the hand on an awkward fall following a hard foul by Royce O’Neale in the third quarter.
“Mostly means he’s OK,” Budenholzer said. “I’m sure he may be a little bit sore, a little bit banged up.”
When asked how his hand was postgame, Antetokounmpo simply said, “Great,” and said he had no initial concerns about a more serious injury.
On the play, Antetokounmpo posted O’Neale up and on his spin to the basket the Nets forward spun the Bucks big man to the floor. Antetokounmpo initially took a shot to his face before falling on his hand.
“Yeah, I thought it was close to excessive,” Budenholzer said. “Borderline or close. The referees didn’t review it and didn’t think it was and I respect that decision and call. Felt like he kind of grabbed him and threw him down but it was probably a good, hard NBA foul.”
In the aftermath of the collision, Antetokounmpo took some time massaging his hand before his first free throw but never came out of the game. He only received attention on it during a timeout shortly after the play and finished with 26 points. He had the X-ray postgame.
“I think it was just a hard foul,” Antetokounmpo. “Hard foul. Playing the game. I get those fouls every time I step on the floor. I’m kind of used to it. I try not to play a lot of attention but I know that the referees are going to try to do the right job calling what they see, try to protect the players as much as they can. It’s part of the game. It’s part of the game.”
This is not the first time Antetokounmpo has taken a hard foul from an opponent that did not result in flagrant calls from the officials – he took a hard shot to the chest from Joel Embiid in Philadelphia and was grabbed around the neck by Portland’s Jerami Grant. Budenholzer has been frustrated by such instances, though after the Portland game Antetokounmpo steadfastly said, “I feel no pain.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks’ Antetokounmpo avoid serious injury after taking hard fall