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Jamal CollierESPN
MIAMI — Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss his second straight game with a lower back contusion after he was ruled out for Game 3 against the Miami Heat on Saturday night.
Antetokounmpo has not played since Sunday, when he injured his back falling to the ground after a collision with Miami’s Kevin Love.
“He’s just not ready to go,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Saturday before Game 3. “I don’t think it’s always a linear thing. He’s not in a place where he can go. We’ll continue to monitor him, work with him and hope for the best.”
Budenholzer had been optimistic about Antetokounmpo’s status earlier in the week, saying the two-time MVP has been making progress.
Antetokounmpo played 11 minutes in Game 1, including an attempt to return in the second quarter after the injury, but his mobility was limited before he was removed from the game.
He has not practiced with the team since, but he did some individual work on the court Friday in Milwaukee. Following Saturday morning’s shootaround, Antetokounmpo was getting stretched out by the team’s training staff and walked toward the team bus with his back taped and iced.
He was listed as questionable heading into the game.
The top-seeded Bucks rallied to win Game 2 on Wednesday without Antetokounmpo, tying the NBA record with 25 3-pointers in a 138-122 victory. The Bucks are 3-1 in postseason games when Antetokounmpo does not play.