Heat, Bucks issue injury reports for Game 4: Butler and Antetokounmpo listed as questionable
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status for Game 4 and beyond remains up in the air because of a lower back contusion he sustained in Game 1.
Antetokounmpo is listed as questionable on the injury report for Game 4 of the first-round playoff series between the Miami Heat and Bucks on Monday at Kaseya Center (7:30 p.m., TNT and Bally Sports Sun). The Heat holds a 2-1 lead in the series.
Antetokounmpo was also listed as questionable for Games 2 and 3 before he was eventually ruled out for both games just a few hours before tipoff.
The back injury limited Antetokounmpo to just 11 minutes in Game 1 last Sunday and he sat out Games 2 and 3.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said to reporters that Antetokounmpo was able to do some individual work before the team’s film session on Sunday afternoon.
“We’ll continue to monitor him,” Budenholzer said. “He did some individual work today on the court and we’ll see how he feels from the session today and see how he wakes up tomorrow.”
The Heat’s two best players are also on the injury report for Game 4.
Heat star Jimmy Butler is questionable for Monday’s contest after sustaining a bruised glute in the third quarter of Saturday’s Game 3 win. He declined to comment on the injury Sunday but appeared to be walking without much of a limp.
Butler’s co-star center Bam Adebayo is listed as probable for Game 4 with a strained left hamstring.
The Heat will definitely be without guard Victor Oladipo after an MRI on Sunday revealed that he sustained a season-ending torn patellar tendon in his left knee in Saturday’s Game 3 win.
The Heat also remains without Tyler Herro (fractured right hand) and Nikola Jovic (back spasms) for Game 4.
“This is a big recovery, recharge day,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after a film session Sunday. “All of our guys emptied the tank yesterday, put a lot into that physically, emotionally, mentally. We want to recharge and have that kind effort again tomorrow night.”
Along with facing the possibility of playing without Antetokounmpo for the third straight playoff game, the Bucks will again be without reserve guard Wesley Matthews in Game 4 because of a strained right calf. Matthews also missed Games 2 and 3.
This story was originally published April 23, 2023 at 5:44 PM.
