Bucks Zone

Khris Middleton was benched for the entire second half of the Bucks-Spurs game, but Griffin insists the veteran shooter is not injured

Khris enjoyed his first back-to-back game after a long while.

Matthew Dugandzic

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Khris Middleton didn’t play a single minute in the second of the Milwaukee Bucks’ 125-121 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. Milwaukee coach Adrian Griffin allayed fears caused by his absence in the final half, assuring that the veteran shooter is not hurting.

Load management

Griffin explained that he had to rest Khris in the second half as the Bucks played the back end of a back-to-back. Middleton saw action for 32 minutes in Milwaukee’s 130-142 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.

“We just wanted to play him and see how he was going to respond after the first quarter and then see how he responded after the second quarter. And we just thought it would be a good time, you know, that’s enough,” Griffin said per a report by Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

Middleton played for just 15 minutes against San Antonio, and finished with 12 points, five assists, three rebounds, and a steal.

When asked if Khris was hurting, Griffin replied: “No, no, no. It wasn’t something where we went into the game like he’s only to play this or that. We just wanted to play him, see how he would respond and I think he’s in a good place. And we wanted to keep him in a good place.”

Khris relishes first back-to-back game in a year

Middleton himself confirmed that there was nothing amiss when he sat out the entire second half. Khris said he “felt great ” playing his first back-to-back after a long while.

“Felt good that whole first half. I think Jon (Horst) told me that it's been a year and a half, which is crazy. I'm happy about where I'm at. I'm happy I was able to be out here on the second night of a back-to-back feeling pretty good...Feel great right now,” Khris said.

Khris is starting to get his usual playing time after being under a minutes restriction in the early part of the season. The Bucks are managing Khris’ minutes after he underwent a knee procedure in the summer. 

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.