Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton didn’t look rusty at all in his first NBA game in over a month.
Middleton finished with 22 points and seven assists against the Phoenix Suns yesterday (3/17). It was his first game since February 6.
“I been doing this a long time,” Middleton said after the game, via ESPN. “I know how to slow myself and not try to go too fast — or speed myself up. I know how to come in, play at my pace and change my pace. A lot of the work I was doing at rehab was just trying to make sure my wind was there, my conditioning was as good as it can be.”
Middleton suffered a left ankle injury on February 6 versus the Suns. The NBA champion played 25 minutes on Sunday and looked like a player who hadn’t missed any time.
“Khris Middleton, I tell you, for a guy that missed that many games, to look that good was pretty impressive,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s nice, I’m telling you. When you’re a coach and you have a guy that can run down and call one of your sets, that you probably were going to call, and get guys organized, man, it’s a luxury.”
The Bucks improved to 44-24 after beating the Suns. Milwaukee is in second place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Damian Lillard, who put up 31 points and 16 assists against the Suns, said Middleton looked great.
“He looked great to me,” Lillard said. “He really took his time to make sure he was right. At our age, how long we’ve been in this league and how many miles we’ve got on our bodies, we know our bodies, when we should be coming back. Coming off injury, he made a great decision to wait all the way up until he felt right. … His game just looked sharp.”
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