MILWAUKEE — Bucks forwards Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis each exited with injuries on Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls and did not return.

Middleton slipped on a drive to the basket during the fourth quarter of Game 2 of this first-round series and began favoring his left leg. He attempted to stretch and flex his leg on the sidelines before heading to the locker room. The team announced later in the quarter that he would not return due to knee soreness.

Portis was hit in the face by an elbow from Bulls center Tristan Thompson while the two went up for a rebound during the first quarter. No foul was called on the play, but Portis fell to the ground after contact and was bleeding near his right eye after the play.

Portis attempted to warm up briefly after halftime, but only stayed on the court for a short period of time before heading back to the locker room. Shortly after the third quarter began, the Bucks ruled him out for the rest of the game with a right eye abrasion.

Portis scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in six minutes.

The injury news wasn’t much better prior to Game 2 for the defending NBA champions. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said during his pregame media availability, that veteran guard George Hill wasn’t expected to return anytime soon from the abdominal strain that has prevented him from playing in the series.

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“We don’t expect him in the short term,” Budenholzer said.

Budenholzer said this issue is unrelated to the neck injury that caused Hill to miss 17 games earlier in the season. Hill said after returning from that injury that he’d been dealing with a partial tear between the sixth and seventh thoracic vertebra in his spine.

According to Budenholzer, the latest injury stems from something that happened in the Bucks’ April 8 game at Detroit. Hill hasn’t played since.

“We’ll see how he progresses over the next I’d say handful of days or more,” Budenholzer said.

Hill, 35, played 54 games during the regular season and averaged 6.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 23.2 minutes.

Jevon Carter filled Hill’s spot in the rotation the Bucks’ 93-86 Game 1 victory and scored three points in 10 minutes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Music blared out of the Blackhawks’ locker room at Gila River Arena late Wednesday night after the Hawks’ 4-3 overtime win against the Coyotes. A few smiles and laughs were shared in the hallway outside.

Those sights and sounds have been exceedingly rare this spring. The Hawks are eager to savor them.

“We let them back in the game there, but it’s nice to get a win, feel good about our game and move on,” Alex DeBrincat said.

DeBrincat’s 40th goal of the season, a backdoor tap-in set up by Patrick Kane with 37 seconds left in overtime, proved the difference in a wide-open game between two of the NHL’s worst teams. The Hawks finished with a 46-26 edge in scoring chances and 40-35 edge in shots on goal.

Dueling goaltenders Kevin Lankinen and Karel Vejmelka robbed Jack McBain and Dominik Kubalik, respectively, shortly beforehand to keep the game going.

The Hawks looked on track to earn their first regulation win since March 24, nearly a month ago, when they led 2-0 at the first intermission and 3-1 at the second. But the Coyotes rallied in the final period as the Hawks let yet another lead slip away.

“When we have the lead, we don’t realize that we don’t need to score a goal every shift,” interim coach Derek King said. “We have a 3-1 lead. Sometimes you need a ‘live to fight another day’ kind of attitude. You don’t have to make that extra play to see if we can get some offense going. That’s where we’re making mistakes, and that’s what has been costing us this season.”

Even without the regulation qualifier, the win is still just the Hawks’ fourth since March 13th and second in their last 12 games.

They split the four-game season series against the Coyotes, who have now lost nine straight and been outscored 47-13 over that span. With the Coyotes moving into Arizona State’s arena next season, the Hawks will finish with an all-time (regular season) record of 17-9-4 at Gila River Arena.

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MILWAUKEE — Bucks forwards Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis each exited with injuries on Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls and did not return.

Middleton slipped on a drive to the basket during the fourth quarter of Game 2 of this first-round series and began favoring his left leg. He attempted to stretch and flex his leg on the sidelines before heading to the locker room. The team announced later in the quarter that he would not return due to knee soreness.

Portis was hit in the face by an elbow from Bulls center Tristan Thompson while the two went up for a rebound during the first quarter. No foul was called on the play, but Portis fell to the ground after contact and was bleeding near his right eye after the play.

Portis attempted to warm up briefly after halftime, but only stayed on the court for a short period of time before heading back to the locker room. Shortly after the third quarter began, the Bucks ruled him out for the rest of the game with a right eye abrasion.

Portis scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in six minutes.

The injury news wasn’t much better prior to Game 2 for the defending NBA champions. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said during his pregame media availability, that veteran guard George Hill wasn’t expected to return anytime soon from the abdominal strain that has prevented him from playing in the series.

2 Related

“We don’t expect him in the short term,” Budenholzer said.

Budenholzer said this issue is unrelated to the neck injury that caused Hill to miss 17 games earlier in the season. Hill said after returning from that injury that he’d been dealing with a partial tear between the sixth and seventh thoracic vertebra in his spine.

According to Budenholzer, the latest injury stems from something that happened in the Bucks’ April 8 game at Detroit. Hill hasn’t played since.

“We’ll see how he progresses over the next I’d say handful of days or more,” Budenholzer said.

Hill, 35, played 54 games during the regular season and averaged 6.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 23.2 minutes.

Jevon Carter filled Hill’s spot in the rotation the Bucks’ 93-86 Game 1 victory and scored three points in 10 minutes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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MILWAUKEE – Confidence hasn’t been an issue for Patrick Williams since the day the Bulls made him the No. 4 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Assertiveness on the offensive side of the ball, showing up late for a shootaround, consistent availability, now those are where there’s been a few stumbles for the power forward, but not in the confidence department.

That was on full display Wednesday, when Williams was discussing his ongoing showdown of drawing the Giannis Antetokounmpo defensive assignment.

“It’s the same way you get ready for anybody else,” Williams said. “First of all don’t be scared. I feel like a lot of people in this league are scared or nervous to guard guys like that. Obviously [Antetokounmpo’s] good, he’s a two-time MVP, but he puts his pants on the same way I do. So just knowing that, he’s good but he’s not God.”

Brash words from the second-year player who still wasn’t old enough to get in any Wisconsin drinking establishments, but then backed up in the Game 2 114-110 Bulls win.

Thanks to Williams and the execution of a stellar defensive game plan, the Bulls made life as difficult as a team can on Antetokounmpo, evening the best-of-seven first-round series 1-1.

It was not only the first time the Bulls beat Milwaukee this season, but the first time they beat a team with a winning percentage over .600 since Nov.10.

And as far as Antetokounmpo? He wasn’t a “God.” He wasn’t even the best player on the floor. That was DeMar DeRozan, who set a new playoff career high with 41 points on 16-of-31 shooting.

Antetokounmpo did finish with 33 points and 18 rebounds, but the effort he had to put in on both ends of the floor was seemingly draining.

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