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The Milwaukee Bucks have designated their standout forward Khris Middleton as available for the upcoming Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers in their round-one Eastern Conference series on Friday. He was earlier listed as questionable due to ankle injury.
Khris Middleton injury update
Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton sat out Thursday's practice session due to an ankle injury, casting uncertainty over his availability for Friday's Game 3 clash against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers shed insight on his availability:
"It's another holding-our-breath situation, honestly, I don't know"
Middleton has been a significant contributor for the Bucks in the first two games of the series, averaging 19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
This level of performance has been instrumental in helping the teams split the opening pair of matchups, especially without their best player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is sidelined with a calf injury, which he sustained against the Boston Celtics in the last game of their season series.
What happened to Khris Middleton?
The Bucks' third-leading scorer sustained a right ankle injury during Game 2 on Tuesday night. Middleton's injury occurred when he inadvertently stepped on Pacers forward Pascal Siakam's foot.
Khris drove left from the half court towards the wing, with Siakam's defensive pressure forcing him to pick up his dribble. As he attempted to come to a halt, his foot inadvertently crossed over Siakam's, causing him to lose balance and tweak it outwards.
Despite the setback, Middleton briefly exited to the locker room for re-taping before returning to the court. Despite playing through discomfort, he contributed 15 points in 36 minutes of gameplay.
This is a second injury of this month. Earlier, Khris Middleton was forced to leave the Milwaukee Bucks' game against the New York Knicks on April 7 after sustaining a blow to the mouth midway through the second quarter.
Middleton fell to the floor when New York's Donte DiVincenzo accidentally struck him in the face. While Middleton was down, Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein fell after releasing a shot and inadvertently landed on Middleton's back.
The three-time All-Star signalled for assistance from the Bucks staff before heading to the locker room with blood coming from his mouth.
Later in the second quarter, the Bucks announced that Middleton would not return to the game due to mouth trauma, compounding injury concerns for the team.
