After the injury, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said the expectation was that it would not be a long-term setback, with Antetokounmpo projected to return in one to two weeks. Nine days later, he has been trending in the right direction in his rehab and recovery.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are off to Cleveland on Monday night for an Eastern Conference showdown with Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers.

Teams headed in opposite directions clash in NBA Cup East Group C action on Wednesday when the Miami Heat chase a sixth consecutive victory and the Milwaukee Bucks try to avoid a sixth successive defeat.

With Monday night’s 106-102 victory over the visiting Mavericks, Spoelstra now is one victory shy of 700 regular-season coaching wins. He enters Wednesday night at 799-578 over his 18 seasons, poised to become the 17th coach to reach 700 wins . . .

To say that the lack of star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been felt by the Milwaukee Bucks would be a massive understatement. Since the MVP candidate exite

Jerami Grant scored a season-high 35 points and the Portland Trail Blazers rolled to a 115-103 victory while handing the Milwaukee Bucks their fifth consecutive loss.

At any rate, it remains to be seen what the final statuses look like for each player on the injury report, but the Heat are currently 12-6, looking for six straight wins and a key win in the quest for the NBA Cup against the Bucks on Wednesday night.