Giannis Antetokounmpo unavailable for Bucks' game with Hornets; set to return Friday

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t play for the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night against Charlotte as he deals with a knee issue, but is expected to return for the rematch with the Hornets on Friday night in Milwaukee.

The Bucks announced Wednesday that the two-time league MVP wouldn’t be available because of left knee patellar tendinopathy.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers said this was a game the team had pegged as a potential rest day with the Bucks in the midst of playing five games in seven days.

“It's just a lot,” Rivers said. “We looked at this before it all started and this was the game that if we were going to sit him. ... just because it is right in the middle and gives him four days off.”

Rivers anticipates Antetokounmpo being able to play in the NBA Cup game on Friday night.

Charlotte is playing without LaMelo Ball (right ankle impingement) and Brandon Miller (left shoulder subluxation).

This is the Bucks’ third game in a stretch of four nights. Antetokounmpo scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Bucks rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Dallas 116-114 on Monday night. Milwaukee also has games on back-to-back nights later this week, hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday following the rematch with the Hornets.

Antetokounmpo averages an NBA-leading 33.4 points and ranks sixth in rebounding with 11.9 per game. He averages 6.2 assists.

The Bucks also won’t have Taurean Prince or Kevin Porter Jr. available for Wednesday’s game. Prince is out indefinitely with a herniated disk in his neck. Porter hasn’t played since spraining his left ankle in Milwaukee’s season opener, and he also recently had meniscus surgery on his right knee.

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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo drives against Dallas Mavericks forwards Naji Marshall and Cooper Flagg during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) reacts after scoring a 3-point basket against Dallas Mavericks center Moussa Cisse (30) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Two goals from Igor Matanovic were not enough to stop Europa League finalist Freiburg losing 3-2 at Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Bakery Jatta opened the scoring for Hamburg when he was left unmarked but Matanovic soon leveled for Freiburg. Goals from Luka Vušković and Fabio Baldé put Hamburg back in control in the second half and Matanović's 87th-minute header proved only a consolation goal for Freiburg.

The loss is a blow to seventh-place Freiburg's hopes of qualifying for the Conference League via the Bundesliga. Freiburg could yet end up in the Champions League with a win over Aston Villa in the final of the Europa League on May 20. Hamburg moves up a place to 11th.

Later Sunday, last-place Heidenheim takes on Cologne needing at least a point to keep its hopes of avoiding relegation.

Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt has been in charge for 19 years, overseeing promotion from the regional fourth tier and even a European campaign in the Conference League last season. He has yet to experience relegation.

The bottom two teams are relegated automatically and the team in 16th faces a two-leg promotion-relegation playoff against a team from the second division.

Also Sunday, pioneering coach Marie-Louise Eta and her Union Berlin team take on Mainz. Union remains winless as Eta heads into her fourth game in charge as the first female head coach in Europe's top five major men's leagues. Union, which is safe from relegation, is aiming to build on a draw last week against Cologne.

Eta's five-game interim head coach stint is due to end next week when Union hosts Augsburg in its last game of the season. She has already agreed to take charge of the Union women's team for next season.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Hamburger's Luka Vuskovic, centre, celebrates with Nicolai Remberg, second from left, and Nicolas Capaldo after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hamburger SV and Sport-Club Freiburg in Hamburg, Germany, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (Marcus Brandt/dpa via AP)