Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts from the bench during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA playoff basketball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers remain unsure just when they’ll have their top players back on the floor.
So far, they’ve still managed to do just fine in their respective NBA first-round playoff series.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since straining his left calf April 9 and Los Angeles’ Kawhi Leonard has been unavailable all month with inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee. Neither team has said anything about their potential availability Tuesday when the Bucks attempt to take a 2-0 lead over the Indiana Pacers and the Clippers try to maintain home-court advantage against the Dallas Mavericks.
READ: NBA: Antetokounmpo injury casts shadow over Bucks’ series vs Pacers
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo “went through a pretty good brisk workout” on Sunday and had been on the court four straight days before taking a maintenance day Monday. The NBA released an injury report Monday night that listed Antetokounmpo as doubtful for Game 2.
Leonard participated in a non-contact practice with the Clippers on Monday and was listed as questionable.
“He’s got to go through practice today, and we’ll see,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said about Leonard’s status for Game 2.
READ: NBA: Clippers beat Mavericks in Game 1 without Kawhi Leonard
While the Bucks and Clippers are missing team leaders, the Phoenix Suns have their star trio intact with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal all healthy. But the Suns find themselves in a more precarious position as they try to avoid falling behind 2-0 in their first-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves won 120-95 on their home court in Game 1 by flustering Booker into a 5-for-16 shooting performance.
Booker likened the Game 1 flop to Phoenix’s opening loss in the first round last year at home against the Clippers. The Suns snapped back to take the series in five.
“I’m not saying we’re going to win the next four games, but there was a lot of overreacting after we lost Game 1 to the Clippers,” Booker said after practice on Monday. “It’s just a series.”
SUNS at TIMBERWOLVES
Minnesota leads 1-0. Game 2, 7:30 p.m. EDT, TNT
— NEED TO KNOW: The Timberwolves leaned on their NBA-leading defense in Game 1 with relentless efforts by Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to help keep Booker and Beal relatively quiet. Their 52-28 rebounding edge was the best postseason margin in franchise history. And they turned 22-year-old superstar Anthony Edwards loose for 33 points.
— KEEP AN EYE ON: Timberwolves reserves. Naz Reid, who’s a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year award, missed the 2023 postseason with a broken left wrist. He was a beast off the bench along with Alexander-Walker as the backups outscored the Suns bench 41-18.
— INJURY WATCH: The Suns lost sharpshooter Grayson Allen to a sprained right ankle in Game 1, and he was questionable for Game 2 after going 0 for 3 from the floor in 25 minutes in the opener. Minnesota’s Kyle Anderson suffered a hip pointer in a Game 1 collision with Beal’s knee and was limited to 5 minutes. Anderson practiced Monday.
— PRESSURE IS ON: Suns coach Frank Vogel. When the Suns remade their roster over the past year, it wasn’t with the intent of going one-and-done in the playoffs. Vogel — in his first season with Phoenix after coaching the Los Angeles Lakers to the 2020 championship in the pandemic bubble — and his assistants will certainly have some counterpunches ready for defending Edwards and getting Booker going.
PACERS at BUCKS
Milwaukee leads 1-0. Game 2, 8:30 p.m. EDT, NBA TV
— NEED TO KNOW: Damian Lillard scored all 35 of his points in the first half as the Bucks defeated Indiana 109-94 while holding the Pacers to their lowest point total of the season. The Pacers have lost 10 straight postseason games.
— KEEP AN EYE ON: The tempo. The Pacers won four of five regular-season matchups with Milwaukee because the older Bucks roster couldn’t keep up with fast-paced Indiana, which scored a league-high 123.3 points per game. The Bucks controlled the tempo much better Sunday and didn’t allow the Pacers many transition opportunities.
— INJURY WATCH: All eyes are on Antetokounmpo as the Bucks await word on the availability of their two-time MVP.
— PRESSURE IS ON: Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. The two-time All-Star averaged 27 points against the Bucks during the regular season but attempted only seven shots in Game 1 and was limited to nine points. The pressure also is on all of Indiana’s outside shooters after the Pacers went 8 of 39 from 3-point range Sunday.
READ: NBA: Damian Lillard shoots Bucks past Pacers in Game 1
MAVERICKS at CLIPPERS
Los Angeles leads 1-0. Game 2, 10 p.m. EDT, TNT
— NEED TO KNOW: James Harden had 28 points and Ivica Zubac had 20 points and 15 rebounds in the Clippers’ 109-97 Game 1 triumph. The Mavericks scored just eight second-quarter points and trailed 56-30 at halftime.
— KEEP AN EYE ON: The Clippers’ ability to keep switching things up. Lue is a master strategist who knows Doncic and Irving will pounce if the Clippers keep feeding them a steady diet of the same defensive looks. The Mavs scored 25 points in transition and 25 points at the free-throw line. “We got to do a good job of playing defense without fouling, especially when they get in the bonus,” Lue said.
— INJURY WATCH: Leonard hasn’t played since March 31 and hasn’t participated in any contact practices.
— PRESSURE IS ON: Dallas’ supporting cast. Luka Doncic scored 33 points and Kyrie Irving had 31 in Game 1, but the other Mavericks combined to score just 33 points while shooting 10 of 36 from the floor.