Bucks’ Khris Middleton Out vs. Kevin Durant, Suns With Ankle Injury

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The Milwaukee Bucks were already without Damian Lillard for Tuesday’s marquee matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a left ankle sprain.

Not even halfway through the game, they were left even more shorthanded, with the team announcing that Khris Middleton wouldn’t return to the contest with a sprained left ankle of his own.

Middleton had six points and three rebounds in eight minutes before he was forced to exit the game.

He suffered the injury after taking a jump shot, landing on Kevin Durant’s foot while the Suns’ star attempted to block his shot. Durant was called for a flagrant one on the play.

It has not been a banner year for the 32-year-old Middleton, who is averaging just 15 points per game. Some of that was to be expected after the addition of Damian Lillard, with the one-two punch of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dame serving as the focus of the offense.

But the Bucks have also been cautious with Middleton’s minutes after he had offseason knee surgery. Injuries have been a major part of the past two years for the star wing—he also averaged just 15.1 points per game last year and only appeared in 33 games.

“I think we’re still on the same time frame,” Middleton told reporters in December while discussing his ongoing recovery. “Each day, each week has been a step in the right direction; there have been no setbacks besides that one rare game that I had to miss, but other than that been feeling great trying to get my legs underneath me, trying to get the flow of the game.”

Any injury to Middleton is going to be a concern for a 33-17 Bucks team that hasn’t quite found its rhythm since the Lillard trade, to the point that first-year head coach Adrian Griffin was fired in favor of Doc Rivers.

Middleton may be the third option with Lillard in Milwaukee, but he’s still vital to the team’s title hopes, and getting him healthy and back into a groove is key for the Bucks.