The Milwaukee Bucks are heading into the second elimination game of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. The Bucks were able to stave off elimination in Game 5, picking up a huge 115-92 win.
The team was led by Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis, who each recorded a double-double while scoring 29 points. Their big games were much-needed with stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard sidelined. It was a historic performance by the Bucks, who became the first team in NBA history to win a playoff game with their two leading scorers from the regular season absent from the lineup.
Antetokounmpo has not been in the lineup for Milwaukee since injuring his calf on April 9th against the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately for the Bucks, it doesn’t sound like he will be ready to go in Game 6 either, as he remains doubtful on the NBA’s injury report.
However, there has been a positive development in the status of Lillard. He came into Thursday with a doubtful designation but has been upgraded to questionable on the latest injury report. Both players have been working toward getting back on the court for Game 6, but their statuses remain unclear.
Based on the update provided by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, it sounds as if Lillard is much closer to returning than Antetokounmpo is. He has missed the last two games because of an Achilles issue. It was bad enough that Lillard was seen in a walking boot last weekend, but he has since shed the boot.
*UPDATE* Damian Lillard has been ruled in for Game 6 against the Pacers. Antetokounmpo remains out, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.**
In the first three games of the series, Lillard picked up the scoring slack for the team, averaging 32.3 points per game. A troubling trend of starting hot and cooling off in the second half could certainly have been attributed to the Achilles issue he was battling.
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