Giannis Antetokounmpo injury update: Will Giannis play in Game 5?

The Milwaukee Bucks will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo for a crucial Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Milwaukee Bucks received great news regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s knee. The star forward hyperextended it after an ugly fall in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. After further imaging and an MRI on Wednesday, Antetokounmpo didn’t have any structural or ligament damage to his knee. However, his status for the remainder of the series was unclear.

The Bucks just made the call on Giannis’ availability for a pivotal Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is ruled out of Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks

The Bucks have ruled Giannis out for Thursday night’s Game 5 contest against the Hawks, ESPN Malika Andrews reports. He was listed as doubtful yesterday after his MRI, and now Milwaukee will have to go into a critical Game 5 without their best player. It helps that the Hawks have one of their stars injured also.

Point guard Trae Young is dealing with a deep bone bruise in his right foot. He suffered the injury in Game 3, which caused him to miss Game 4. Hawks coach Nate McMillan said Young is a game-time decision for Game 5 Thursday.

Milwaukee struggled after Antetokounmpo left the game, only scoring 36 points for the remainder of the game. The offense became stagnant, and Khris Middleton nor Jrue Holiday could find their rhythm. It will be on those two guards to lead the offense tonight in Giannis’ absence. Both have shown that they can be offensive weapons, just not consistently.

The Bucks will need everyone to elevate their game in Game 5 now that Antetokounmpo is out. Going down 3-2 only puts more pressure on Giannis to play, so the team needs to handle business Thursday to get the advantage.