NBA playoffs 2021: Giannis doubtful for Bucks' Game 5 against Hawks

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New York, July 1: Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will be listed as doubtful for Thursday's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals series against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Bucks said an MRI exam performed Wednesday (June 30) confirmed the initial diagnosis that Antetokounmpo sustained a hyperextended left knee in Milwaukee's 110-88 defeat on Tuesday that tied the series at 2-2.

Antetokounmpo landed awkwardly on his left leg with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter in Atlanta, where he jumped up to contest an alley-oop from John Collins to Clint Capela, but his knee buckled before hobbling to the locker room.

Antetokounmpo has started all 15 of Milwaukee's playoff games this season, averaging 28.2 points and an NBA-best 12.7 rebounds in 37.4 minutes per game.

Atlanta star Trae Young's status for Game 5 is unclear after he missed the previous contest with a bone bruise in his right foot, leaving open the possibility that the two transcendent players in the series could be absent for the pivotal game.

"It's not good," Bucks veteran P.J. Tucker told reporters after Tuesday's game. "But this is the Eastern Conference Finals. There is no excuse. It doesn't matter whoever is playing, not playing.

"They've got guys hurt. Everybody is hurt. Everybody is banged up. Everybody is injured. You've got to fight through it."