Milwaukee Bucks Have 'Some Optimism' On Giannis Antetokounmpo's Status For Game 5

The Milwaukee Bucks are not yet ruling out Giannis Antetokounmpo for Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semis series against the Miami Heat.

Antetokounmpo aggravated his ankle injury in the first half of Game 4 and is currently listed as questionable for Game 5 on Tuesday. But the Bucks are keeping their fingers crossed as "there has been some optimism” about the reigning MVP’s status, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

The Bucks will have to unleash all their tricks as they enter their second straight do-or-die game. Still down in the series, 3-1, head coach Mike Budenholzer could only hope that his best player could summon his grit and be available in their bid to extend their season’s lives.

"Giannis is, like we've said, he's just getting treatment around the clock, doing everything he can to make himself available," Budenholzer said following Monday's practice, per ESPN.

"On the court, we walked through a couple of defensive things, a couple of offensive things, just kinda stationary in the half-court; he was able to participate in that. But -- I think it wasn't much, so I wouldn't read too much into that."

Antetokounmpo went down after twisting his right ankle at the 10:18 mark of the second quarter of the previous game but still managed to rack up 19 points and four boards while shooting 80% from the field in 11 minutes.

The Heat looked poised to complete the series sweep after the injury. But with their backs against the wall, the rest of the Bucks found the best time to step up as they scored a squeaker in overtime to force another game.

All-Star guard Khris Middleton took the driver’s seat in crunch time as he finished with 36 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and two steals in nearly 48 minutes of play for the win. Eric Bledsoe and Brook Lopez chipped in 14 points apiece, with the former adding 10 boards and six assists.

The Bucks are aiming to become the first team in NBA history to seize a playoff series after facing a 3-0 deficit. The team entered the postseason as the top seed in East looking to improve their finish from last year when they reached the Conference Finals against the eventual champions, Toronto Raptors.