20:50 ET
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Jamal Collier ESPN
MILWAUKI – Bucks strikers Chris Middleton and Bobby Portis have retired due to an injury on Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls and have not returned as Milwaukee lost 114-110.
Middleton slipped in the pursuit of the basket in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of this series of the first round, which is now tied at 1-1, and began to prefer his left foot. He tried to stretch and bend his leg to the side before heading to the locker room. Later in the quarter, the team announced that he would not return.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game that Middleton had received an MCL sprain and was scheduled for an MRI on Thursday.
Middleton scored 18 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes for Bucks.
2 Related
Portis was hit in the face with his elbow by Bull center Tristan Thompson as the two climbed to bounce in the first quarter. No foul was ruled in the game, but Portis fell to the ground after contact and was bleeding near his right eye after the game.
Portis tried to warm up shortly after half time, but stayed on the court for only a short time before returning to the locker room. Shortly after the start of the third quarter, Bucks knocked him out by the end of the game with a scratch on his right eye.
Portis scored two points and grabbed two fights in six minutes.
The news of the injuries was not much better before Game 2 for the defending NBA champions. Budenholzer said during his pre-game media presence that veteran guard George Hill is not expected to return soon from the tension in his stomach that prevented him from playing in the series.
“We don’t expect it in the short term,” Budenholzer said.
Budenholzer said the problem was not related to a neck injury that caused Hill to miss 17 games earlier in the season. Hill said after returning from the injury that he was involved in a partial rupture between the sixth and seventh thoracic vertebrae of the spine.
According to Budenholzer, the latest injury stems from something that happened in the Bucks game on April 8 in Detroit. Hill hasn’t played since.
“We will see how it progresses in the next few days, I would say a few days or more,” Budenholzer said.
The 35-year-old Hill played 54 games in the regular season and averaged 6.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 23.2 minutes.
Jevon Carter filled Hill’s place in the Bucks’ 93-86 victory in Game 1 and scored three points in 10 minutes. He made two fights in nine minutes on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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