The Philadelphia 76ers expect to have Paul George in the lineup again on Thursday night, but the Milwaukee Bucks won’t be as lucky with Giannis Antetokounmpo when the clubs meet for the first time this season in Milwaukee.
Coming off knee surgery and playing for the first time since March 4, George started but was limited to 21 minutes in a 110-108 home win over one of his former teams, the Los Angeles Clippers, on Monday night.
He shot just 2-for-9 from the field but added seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
The 35-year-old was held out of a 121-112 home loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday but said he believes the injury is behind him and he looks forward to being a regular contributor effective immediately.
“It was definitely a trust factor when I first went out there to see what all I can do,” he told reporters after the game against the Clippers. “And right away it was like, ‘All right, I’m ready for this. I can react, I can move, I can play physical, I can beat a guy to a spot, I can rebound.’
“So that was, I think, a huge (check mark on the) checklist for me personally, that I was able to slide my feet, stay in front of guys, and just fly around, be reactive.”
As George likely gets his second action against the Bucks, the 76ers found out Wednesday they had lost Kelly Oubre Jr. for at least the rest of the month with a sprained ligament in his left knee. He joined Joel Embiid, who sat out a fifth straight game as he rehabs a knee injury, on the sidelines for the loss to Toronto.
The Bucks, meanwhile, will take the court on a two-game losing streak and without Antetokounmpo, who strained his groin Monday in a 118-106 loss at Cleveland.
An MRI taken Tuesday disclosed no tear, but Bucks coach Doc Rivers said “probably two weeks” when estimating his star’s required recovery time.
Adhering to the game plan the 76ers have taken with George and Embiid, Rivers said Antetokounmpo’s injury would be handled conservatively.
“Obviously, you gotta be careful with that because we want him to be back,” Rivers told reporters. “Strains are interesting. You can’t take time off and you can’t work too hard, either.
“Back in the old days, you had a strain, they told you to rest. We’ve learned that’s actually the worst thing you can do with a strain. But then you can’t overwork it, either. So there’s a fine line that the guys upstairs (medical staff) know exactly what they’re doing, and I’m pretty confident we’ll get it right.”
The Bucks trailed 51-49 Monday with about three minutes left in the second quarter when Antetokounmpo went to the bench for good. The Cavaliers outscored the visitors by 10 the rest of the way.
The nine-time All-Star and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player has missed two games this season — a home win over Golden State on Oct. 30 and a road loss vs. Charlotte on Nov. 12.
