Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ongoing back issue has ruled him out of Game 3 of Milwaukee’s Eastern Conference first-round playoffs series against Miami.

Saturday’s matchup (Sunday AEST) will be the second full game superstar Antetokounmpo has missed in the series after also sitting out Game 2.

He played only 11 minutes of Game 1 before suffering a back contusion and did not feature on Wednesday in Milwaukee’s series-tying Game 2 victory.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Antetokounmpo is making progress.

“We’ll continue to monitor him through the day tomorrow, through the day the next day,” Budenholzer said.

“He’s not in a place where he can go, so we’ll just continue to monitor and work with him and hope for the best.”

Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP and one of three finalists – alongside Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid – in contention for the league’s top individual trophy this season.

He averaged 31.1 points this season, fifth-best in the NBA, along with 11.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists.

Antetokounmpo is not the only big name dealing with injury.

Embiid sat out Philadelphia’s series-clinching win in Brooklyn earlier on Saturday with a sprained right knee.

The Los Angeles Clippers lost to Phoenix and fell into a 3-1 hole in that series after playing again without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George – both, like Embiid, dealing with sprained right knees.

Miami will be without last season’s Sixth Man award winner Tyler Herro for several weeks because of a broken hand that was surgically repaired on Friday, while Memphis guard Ja Morant has also been dealing with a right hand injury.

“Every team, there’s a bond and there’s a desire to be there for each other,” Budenholzer said.

“That just heightens the competitiveness, heightens the desire when Giannis or Kawhi Leonard or Joel Embiid (is out) and those teammates, they want to be there for a guy when he’s injured and can’t play.

“It’s a little bit of that human nature. It’s the playoffs. Hopefully those things have some positive impact, but you have to go out and play.”

Without Antetokounmpo in Game 2, the Bucks did not miss a beat.

They led by as many as 36 points on the way to a 138-122 victory.

Source: AAP