MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo was back in action Tuesday after sitting out one game because of tendinopathy in his left shoulder.
The two-time MVP finished with a triple-double — 23 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists — as the Milwaukee Bucks rallied from a 24-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103.
Antetokounmpo had been listed on the injury report as probable after sitting out a 111-107 victory at New Orleans on Sunday.
Antetokounmpo, 30, ranks second in the NBA in scoring (30.5) and sixth in rebounding (11.9).
The game also marked Bucks forward Bobby Portis‘ return from a 25-game suspension. Portis had been suspended after testing positive for the painkiller tramadol.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said during his pregame availability Tuesday that it was human nature for Portis to feel angry about the suspension initially because “you feel like you’ve been branded a cheater when you know you didn’t cheat.” Rivers said it probably took Portis “a couple of good weeks” to get over that.
“He was doing the work, but his spirit wasn’t Bobby,” Rivers said. “And I don’t know when that turned, but it definitely turned. I thought the workouts really helped him. As crazy as it sounds, card games on the plane helped him. Maybe he was winning. Maybe the guys were letting him win, who knows? But I thought all that stuff helped him. It takes a family sometimes to get through stuff, and I thought our guys really, really embraced him.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
