Bucks News: Hornets Star Carried to Locker Room with Ominous Injury in Milwaukee Game

A Charlotte standout is now sidelined.

Mar 27, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams (2) congratulates forward Brandon Miller (24) during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Late into the fourth quarter of the Milwaukee Bucks' ongoing matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, starting Hornets power forward Grant Williams appeared to badly hurt his leg and collapsed to the ground. Teammates had to help him back to his feet, and he was unable to put weight on his ailing leg and he limped to the visitors' locker room in Fiserve Forum.

Williams, drawing the start for the injured Miles Bridges, seemingly finishes the game having scored eight points on 2-of-6 shooting from the floor (2-of-3 from distance) and 2-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe, seven rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.

The Bucks are currently leading by double digits, 116-101, with 2:51 remaining in regulation.

It appears Milwaukee is on the cusp of enacting revenge against Charlotte. During the two teams' first encounter of the season, All-Star Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball lit up the Bucks late, scoring 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and helping the club eke out a 115-114 victory by drawing contact from All-NBA Milwaukee power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo on a late play.

History is repeating itself in one key way late, even with the contest seemingly more or less out of hand. Shooting guard AJ Green was assessed a sixth foul and ejected for his defense on Ball as the fourth frame winds down. Ball has been absolutely on fire, and could easily match or better his career high in scoring tonight. The 6-foot-7 vet has 43 points and counting as of this writing. He poured in a whopping 22 points in the contest's third quarter alone.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, looks to be on track to record its second win in two nights, following its NBA Cup blowout victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Should they hold on, the Bucks will improve to a semi-respectable 8-9 record on the year overall, and a 6-1 record in their last seven contests. But the game has yet to be decided, Ball is lethal in the clutch (he leads the NBA in fourth quarter scoring this season), and the Hornets could easily execute a hack-a-Giannis strategy to stop the clock and get an opportunity at extra possessions. It's a sound approach, honestly. The 29-year-old Antetokounmpo is making just 59.6 percent of his 10.1 foul line looks this season.

UPDATE:

Williams tore his ACL in Saturday's game and will miss the rest of the 2024-25 season, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

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