MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton won’t be playing Thursday night when the Milwaukee Bucks host the Washington Wizards.
Middleton will miss a second straight game because of a sore left wrist. Antetokounmpo will be out for the second time in the past three games because of a sore right knee.
Antetokounmpo wasn’t available for the 138-119 loss at Minnesota on Saturday. The two-time MVP returned to action Tuesday and had 25 points and 17 rebounds in a 126-98 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
The injury report Wednesday night indicated Middleton wouldn’t play against the Wizards. An updated injury report Thursday showed Antetokounmpo also wouldn’t be available.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the Bulls game that he didn’t think Middleton’s injury was a long-term issue.
“He took a fall in the Minnesota game, and it was pretty sore and stiff, so we’ve had it looked at,” Budenholzer said at the time. “We feel like it’s short term, but we’ll see how he feels the next day or two.”
The Bucks (45-27) have won nine of their past 11 games and are in a three-way tie with the Philadelphia 76ers (45-27) and Boston Celtics (46-28) for second place in the Eastern Conference. All three teams are 1½ games behind the Miami Heat (47-26).