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"I felt in a good place" - Giannis Antetokounmpo battles hamstring issues to lead the Bucks' bounce-back win over 76ers
In the wake of the Milwaukee Bucks' strong urgency to get themselves back on track after their recent tough road trip, Giannis Antetokounmpo has once again willed his way to play despite a new injury.
Approaching their Thursday home matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, Giannis was listed as probable to play because of a left hamstring soreness that he sustained last week against the L.A. Clippers. But amid this uncertainty about his availability, the Greek Freak was cleared to play after coming out well in his pregame workout.
Giannis came out strong despite a passive start
Interestingly, after leaving his first exposure at the 5:55 mark of the first quarter against the 76ers, Giannis proceeded to ride a stationary bike. Before doing his leg exercise, he logged nearly 7 minutes of play and was seemingly passive with just 2 points on 1-of-2 shooting.
He ended the game with a strong 32-point, 11-rebound performance and shot 9-of-12 from the field for 37 minutes to lead Milwaukee's 114-105 victory.
“You have to stay warm,” he said about his bike exercise. “If you don’t and you get cold, now you gotta warm up again from the beginning, and it’s hard. … . The bike was good but the bike, I didn’t like. I didn’t like the way I felt when I started walking on the floor when I got subbed in, but I had my physios and people taking care of, give me some heat pads, and tried to stay warm as much as possible.”
Nothing to worry about
Hamstring soreness is the newest injury Giannis has endured this season, following both right knee tendinitis and left Achilles tendinitis that kept him out for three games thus far this season. Regardless of the concerns that might have been formed, the Bucks superstar clarified that he is ecstatic and feeling well about his condition.
“I felt in a good place. I think I was 100%? Maybe not, but I felt in a good place. I was able to compete, I was able to control myself, so I’m happy that I did (play).”
