Giannis Antetokounmpo to miss rest of regular season over injury concern

Giannis Antetokounmpo avoided the worst with his latest injury, but he still will have to miss some time at a critical point in the season.

An MRI confirmed that the two-time NBA MVP suffered a left calf strain during the Bucks’ win on Tuesday over the Celtics, which will force him to miss the final three games of the regular season.

The Bucks said Antetokounmpo will “receive daily treatment and evaluation” for the injury, though it is unclear if he will be ready for the first round of the playoffs, which begin April 20.

This came after ESPN reported earlier Wednesday that Antetokounmpo’s Achilles tendon remained intact following his injury.

Antetokounmpo gave the Bucks a scare during the third quarter of Tuesday night’s matchup with the top-seeded Celtics in Milwaukee.

After inbounding the ball to teammate Damian Lillard late in the third quarter, Antetokounmpo took a few steps before falling to the ground and holding the back of his left leg.

He was helped off the Fiserv Forum court by his teammates, and he was eventually ruled out for the rest of the game with the calf injury.

The eight-time All-Star finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Head coach Doc Rivers said he had a “high” level of concern over his star’s injury after the game.

“High, I would say that,” Rivers told reporters. “He’s Giannis. I think everyone probably feels the same way as I do right now. We’re just going to hope for the best.”

Lillard added that with it being toward the end of the season, that added to the feeling of anxiety.

“Any time you see one of your teammates go down, it’s I think a real level of concern,” Lillard said. “We spend a lot of time around each other, more than we would our families. I think that was the No. 1 thing. And then for it to be your best player, the most important part of our team, at this point in the season, it was like an, ‘Oh, [damn]’ moment, especially because there was nobody else around.”

The Bucks hold the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference heading into Wednesday night’s action, but they only have a one-game lead over the Knicks and are just two games clear of both the Magic and Cavaliers.

It’s been an up-and-down season for Milwaukee, which fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin after 43 games and a 30-13 record.

But after bringing in Rivers, the team hasn’t found its stride, going just 16-17 under his leadership, allowing the rest of the East to catch up in the standings.

Antetokounmpo has previously missed some time over the last month, dealing with a hamstring issue and left Achilles tendinitis in March.

He averaged 30.4 points with 11.5 rebounds per game this season.

The Bucks have a matchup with the Magic on Wednesday before taking on the Thunder on Friday and concluding the regular season with another game against Orlando on Sunday.