Milwaukee Bucks kept the pedal down on Thursday night. They blew out the Los Angeles Clippers for a majority of the game. Khris Middleton had a huge game. Same with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Bucks won their fourth straight game and swept a homestand. But everything grinded to a halt as Giannis hurt his ankle yet again. He ran into Garrett Temple leading himself to another gimpy ankle. This continues to be a problem for Antetokounmpo. National and local media will likely push for Antetokounmpo to take it easy the rest of the way. There are already two stories about it from national programs.

Player of the Game: Khris Middleton – What an awesome game from Midds. In a weird way, I feel bad for him. He goes off for 39 points, a season-high, with 24 points in the second half, yet everyone talks about Giannis’ ankle. He added nine rebounds and five assists plus four made three-pointers. After a rough game versus Houston, Middleton made 16 shots tonight. If I’m Milwaukee’s coaching staff, they should break down this tape and watch it back with Khris to say ‘This is what you should do every damn night.’

Silver Star: Giannis Antetokounmpo – The fucked up thing about this game is Giannis had 34 points before hurting his ankle again. Like there’s a chance that Middleton and him both could have scored in the high 30’s if Antetokounmpo didn’t get hurt in the early part of the fourth quarter. Like Middleton, he also added nine rebounds and five assists. Yet another strong night for Giannis who keeps showing off the MVP skill.

Positive: No mercy Bucks – This stretch of games felt hard for Milwaukee. They’re playing Houston and Los Angeles who are both in this fight for a playoff spots in the Western Conference as they change almost every night. Houston still had a chance at a two seed until Milwaukee beat them. The fact the Bucks kicked each of these team’s asses when Milwaukee has very little to play for is incredible.

Negative: Let’s talk about the ankle – There are some people that think Giannis should be rested until the playoffs. You may run the risk of a bit of rust to start the first round of playoffs, but whether it’s Orlando, Miami or Charlotte, Milwaukee should be fine. I do believe you want the one seed, and think Milwaukee can get it with multiple games against Atlanta and Brooklyn. Bucks would have to lose five or six games in conjunction with Toronto winning five or six. Giannis will definitely be out on Sunday and probably Monday. If Milwaukee wins both, they may clinch.

Highlight of the night: Giannis split through four defenders to end the first half with a dunk. Fucking incredible.

Now THAT is how you end a half!! 🔥#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/AWKEYAX9Gu

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 29, 2019

Next up: Milwaukee has an early afternoon game/late morning affair pending on time zones on Sunday afternoon. This is actually awesome for the Milwaukee sports fan. You get Bucks early on, Brewers get going at 1:10 then Elite Eight games that could be wild. Good day. There is a less than five percent chance we see Giannis in this one. Hawks have been tough down the stretch.

Charlie.