Khris Middleton suffers MCL sprain as Milwaukee Bucks lose Game 2 to Chicago Bulls

MILWAUKEE — Bucks forward Khris Middleton sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during the fourth quarter of Milwaukee’s 114-110 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game.

Middleton is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Thursday, which will determine the severity of the injury and give the team more information about a timeline for his return.

Middleton slipped on a drive to the basket about midway through the fourth quarter in Game 2 of this first-round series, completing a pass to Brook Lopez as he fell to the ground. Middleton immediately began favoring his left leg, attempting to stretch and flex his leg on the sidelines before he headed to the locker room.

Middleton finished with 18 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes for the Bucks.

“You expect him to get up and walk it off and get back to the game, but you see that he was limping and limping and limping and you’re thinking like, ‘Oh, I hope it’s not bad, I hope it’s not bad,'” Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said after the game. “We need this guy. When he asks for a sub, you know that it’s bothering him because he doesn’t leave the game.”

Over the past two seasons, the Bucks are 86-34 (.717) when Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Jrue Holiday are all on the floor together, including the playoffs. However, Milwaukee did outscore opponents by 7.8 points per 100 possessions when Antetokounmpo and Holiday played without Middleton on the floor.

“We have a job to do here,” said Antetokounmpo, who finished with 33 points and 18 rebounds. “Obviously Khris is one of the best players on the team, if he’s not able to be with us, it’s going to be a tremendous loss for us.”

The Bucks had already lost another key member of their rotation, Bobby Portis, earlier in Game 2. He exited in the first quarter after getting hit in the face by an elbow from Bulls center Tristan Thompson while the two went up for a rebound.

No foul was…