Will Khris Middleton Play? Bucks Release Injury Report vs Clippers

Former three-time All-Star Milwaukee Bucks small forward Khris Middleton was a surprise late-game scratch on Thursday. Will he be available for Saturday's tilt against the L.A. Clippers?

The Bucks have been cautious while managing Middleton's recovery from a pair of ankle surgeries over the offseason.

After being sat in Milwaukee's dominant 125-96 home victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday, Middleton saw his status upgraded to probable in a morning NBA injury report. Per Eric Nehm of The Athletic, head coach Doc Rivers has revealed that Middleton will suit up, after all.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers tells reporters that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton will be available tonight vs. the Clippers. https://t.co/kW4eJ7HcQN
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) January 26, 2025

With Middleton on the shelf, head coach Doc Rivers actually didn't allocate any extra minutes to starting small forward Taurean Prince, recently promoted ahead of the former All-Star.

Prince played just 25:04, scoring three points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field (1-of-3 from long range), grabbing four rebounds, dishing out four dimes, and swiping one steal.

But off the bench, Gary Trent Jr. put on a show. The reserve shooting guard, who himself was demoted after his defensive issues looked glaring in playing next to Damian Lillard, was on fire from long range, going 7-of-10 from distance for 21 points in 26:39.

Pat Connaughton, who's been out of Rivers' regular rotation in favor of AJ Green, was the other beneficiary of Middleton's absence. He played 16 minutes and took a whopping two shots, going 1-of-2 from the field for two points. He also grabbed five boards.

Lillard's 29-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound triple-double and Antetokounmpo's 25-point, 12-rebound double-double paced the Bucks against a Heat team missing its best player, six-time All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler, who was serving the first game of a two-game suspension.

Middleton has missed most of the Bucks' season due to the ankle issue. His scoring on a per-minute basis has been pretty in line with his traditional numbers, but he was on a minutes restriction early and is now a bench player due to a defensive regression, so his actual output is significantly reduced from his All-Star prime.

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The 6-foot-7 Texas A&M alum is averaging 12.6 points on .480/.377/.833 shooting splits, 5.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 23.5 minutes per. Per 36 minutes, he'd be averaging 19.3 points, 7.7 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals — pretty close to the 22.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.3 steals he averaged in per-36 numbers during his last All-Star season, 2021-22.

The action tips off at 10:30 p.m. ET in the Clippers' new Inglewood home arena, Intuit Dome.

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