Injury Notes: Giannis, Celtics, Butler, Jovic, Phillips

The Bucks are getting Khris Middleton back on Sunday for the first time since February 6, but they won’t quite be whole yet. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss the afternoon showdown vs. the Suns in Milwaukee due to left hamstring soreness.

Head coach Doc Rivers initially said he expected Antetokounmpo to play, notes Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Bucks star had been listed as questionable before being ruled out less than an hour before tip-off, so it doesn’t like an issue that will sideline him for an extended period. Milwaukee will be back in action on Wednesday in Boston, so Giannis will get a couple extra days to rest the injury.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

• The Celtics announced that Jayson Tatum (right ankle impingement) will be available for Sunday’s game against the Wizards after having being listed as questionable, but said Jaylen Brown (right ankle sprain) has been ruled out (Twitter link). It’s the second game in Boston’s last three that Brown has missed, though his absence on Tuesday was due to a separate ailment.
• The banged-up Heat will be missing another key player on Sunday in Detroit, with Jimmy Butler listed as out due to a right foot contusion, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Nikola Jovic (right hamstring strain) will also be unavailable, joining a group of injured players that also includes Tyler Herro, Kevin Love, and Josh Richardson.
• Julian Phillips‘ right foot sprain, which the Bulls announced earlier in the week, will sideline the rookie for at least two weeks, head coach Billy Donovan said on Saturday (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago). “He had been dealing with the foot issue on and off for a little bit of time,” Donovan told reporters, including Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I think it got to the point where it flared up and was really bothering him. They were hopeful that maybe in a two-week timetable we’ll find out.”