Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo set for MRI: ‘Didn’t look great’

CLEVELAND — The Bucks lost more than a game on Monday. They also lost Giannis Antetokounmpo, who exited the 118-106 loss to the Cavaliers with a left groin strain and will undergo an MRI on Tuesday, according to coach Doc Rivers.

“Didn’t look great, I can tell you that,” Rivers said after the game. “We’ll know more tomorrow.”

Antetokounmpo began favoring the area early. Rivers said he grabbed at his groin multiple times in the first quarter and again in the second before hobbling back on defense with 3:03 left.

He committed a foul, headed to the locker room and didn’t return. The Bucks ruled him out at halftime.

“He grabbed it in the first quarter, and I asked him and he said it was fine,” Rivers said. “Then he grabbed it again. Then the third time is when it happened, but I think it happened earlier.”

Antetokounmpo left Rocket Arena without a limp and finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in 13 minutes.

Without him, the Bucks sputtered. They were outscored 59-49 in the second half and shot just 38.6 percent, dropping consecutive games for the first time this season.

Kyle Kuzma said the offense looked different without its star.

“We want to get into the paint as much as we can. Not having him, it was a little bit hard,” Kuzma said. “We stalled a couple possessions. We’ll look at the tape and figure it out if it is a groin strain.”

Antetokounmpo had been off to one of the best starts of his career, averaging 32.6 points on 63 percent shooting with 11.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists. His 36.4 usage rate entering the night ranked second in the NBA.

The Bucks are now 8-7 and 1-1 without him. Rivers said they’re preparing for the possibility of more missed time.

“We got some work to do,” he said. “There’s always a silver lining. I don’t know what it is. If we got Kevin Porter Jr. out and Giannis out, that’s not great for our team.

“But we’re going to find something that will pay dividends later. We’ll be ready.”