Herro Breaks Hand, Antetokounmpo Injures Back in Heat’s Game 1 Win Over Bucks

• The Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks both lost key personnel in their series opener on Sunday
• Giannis Antetokounmpo injured his back in the first quarter after a hard fall
• Tyler Herro broke his hand in the second quarter after diving for a loose ball

The Miami Heat stunned the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven series.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the main talking point after Sunday’s contest.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tyler Herro both suffered injuries in the series opener, dealing huge blows to their respective teams.

Antetokounmpo suffered his injury on a hard fall late in the opening quarter, per Yahoo! Sports.

He made contact with Kevin Love while driving to the basket. A blocking foul was called on Love on the play. 

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The 'Greek Freak' managed to shoot his free throws after the collision but was clearly in pain. He tried to play through the injury before leaving the court. 

Bucks fans were relieved to see Antetokounmpo return to action following his injury. Their joy was short-lived, though, as Giannis left the game for good in the second quarter.

The Bucks ruled him out before halftime because of a lower back contusion.

Antetokounmpo scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in 11 minutes before exiting Game 1.

The Heat took full advantage of the two-time MVP’s sudden absence, taking a 68-55 lead at halftime.

Herro breaks his fingers

Miami wasn’t able to leave the first half unscathed. Tyler Herro injured his right hand while diving for a loose ball in the last minute of the second quarter.

The Heat guard tried to leave the court after picking up the injury but could not do so as game action continued.

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Herro was clearly in pain as he took a corner three with 34.5 seconds left in the first half.

The 23-year-old did not re-emerge after the halftime interval, with the Heat announcing that he broke his hand.

Miami went on to win Game 1 despite Herro’s absence, pulling off a 130-117 victory.

Turner Sports' Chris Haynes later reported that Herro is expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking two fingers in his shooting hand. That rules him out for the remainder of the series.

Antetokounmpo’s status for Game 2 and beyond remains uncertain. The good news for the Bucks is that his X-rays came back negative.

Antetokounmpo named MVP Award finalist

Sports Brief recently reported on the NBA MVP Award finalists for the 2022-23 regular season.

Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and Nikola Jokic made the list for the second year running.

Antetokounmpo and Jokic have won the MVP award twice before.