Giannis out against Hawks, giving ankle time to heal



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Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss the Milwaukee Bucks game Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks because of a sprained right ankle.

Antetokounmpo worsened his injured ankle after scoring 34 points in the Los Angeles Clippers' 128-118 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night. He left in the middle of the fourth quarter and did not return.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters on Sunday that Antetokounmpo is likely to play on Milwaukee's three-game road trip. The Bucks play Monday in Brooklyn and Thursday in Philadelphia.

"We will evaluate it, give it 24 hours more and see how it feels tomorrow," Budenholzer told Antetokounmpo.

The decision to let Antetokounmpo rest has led the Bucks to secure a field advantage in the playoffs. Milwaukee played Sunday 3 and a half games in front of the Toronto Raptors in the first place race of the Eastern Conference.

Antetokounmpo, who averages 27.4 points per game, has missed two games since his initial injury on March 17th against the 76ers. He said Thursday that he had never felt completely cured of the sprain.

"Usually, when you train your ankle, you change your ankle, you stay out for two, three, four games," said Antetokounmpo. "But I do not like the missing games, so I have to work on it and try to regain strength with our workouts."

Striker Khris Middleton (groin) is also out for Sunday's game.

Malika Andrews of ESPN and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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