Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks and Ja Morant of the Grizzlies were both injured; the Lakers and Heat won.
Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks gets injured during Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs against the Miami Heat on April 16, 2023 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and Memphis star guard Ja Morant were both injured in NBA playoff series openers on Sunday (Monday, Manila time) that threatened to derail two title hopefuls.
The Los Angeles Lakers took advantage of Morant’s absence late in the fourth quarter to win 128-112 at Memphis, while the top-seeded Bucks, who lost their Greek star in the first quarter, fell 130-117 to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat.
Injury concerns for two of the NBA’s most electric talents were heightened by their teams’ defeats in best-of-seven first-round series openers, with both injuries occurring on drives to the basket.
Morant damaged his already-injured right hand midway through the fourth quarter while attempting to brace himself for a hard landing to a high fall as Lakers guard Anthony Davis stopped him in the hopes of drawing a charging penalty.
Morant’s right hand, which had previously been wrapped following a late-season injury, bore the brunt of the blow. Morant sprang up and raced to the locker room, clutching his wounded hand and screaming as he went.
“I’m in a lot of pain,” Morant said after the game, adding that his condition for game two on Wednesday was “in jeopardy.” “Feels like it’s one thing after another.”
After the game, Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins stated that x-rays on Morant’s right hand were negative, but he will likely be kept out of workouts and his condition would be “one game at a time.”
Antetokounmpo tumbled to the floor in the first quarter of the Milwaukee game after defensive contact on a play to the basket and sustained a lower back injury that forced him out the remainder of the game.
The Greek star retreated to the locker room and did not return to the game when it resumed on Wednesday in Milwaukee.
This season, the Heat have been one of the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting teams, going 15-of-25 from outside the arc.
Jimmy Butler led the way for Miami with 35 points and 11 assists, while Bam Adebayo chipped in 22 points and Kevin Love scored 18 off the bench. Gabe Vincent went 4-of-5 from 3-point range, while Love was 4-of-7.
With Antetokounmpo only scoring eight points, the Bucks were led by Khris Middleton’s 33 points and Bobby Portis’ 21 off the bench.
While the Bucks were 11-8 sans Antetokounmpo this season, the Heat led by as much as 15 points without him.
Miami also suffered an injury setback when guard Tyler Herro fractured his right hand leaping for a loose ball in the waning minutes.
Antetokounmpo averaged 31.1 points and 11.8 rebounds per game this season with the Bucks, who finished the season with an NBA-best 58-24 record.
Memphis finished second in the Western Conference with a record of 51-31, and Morant averaged 26.2 points per game.
This season, Herro averaged 20.1 points per game with the Heat.
