Giannis Antetokounmpo said he wasn’t bothered by an ankle tweak suffered in the first quarter of the Milwaukee Bucks’ 115-100 loss to the Miami Heat in game 3.
“I feel great. I could play more,” said Antetokounmpo after the game.
Antetokounmpo had 21 points and 16 rebounds in 35 minutes, with Khris Middleton adding 18 points and seven assists in 36 minutes.
The Bucks were outscored by 27 points in the 4th quarter, the largest differential in a fourth quarter of a playoff game in the shot clock era.
The Bucks are down 3-0 in the series.
Mike Budenholzer said that 36 minutes was as much as he wanted to play his two stars despite the deficit.
“No, I think we, obviously, it’s 48 minutes. You gotta be good for the last 12. If anything, I think keeping us fresh and ready to go and compete and all those things. Khris was in a little bit of a foul trouble. It’s a high level. If you’re going as hard as these guys are in a playoff game, 35-36 [minutes], I think that’s pushing the ceiling.”
