The Milwaukee Bucks will have to wait until Tuesday to learn the full extent of Giannis Antetokounmpo's left groin strain after the superstar forward was forced to leave Monday night's 118-106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second quarter, and head coach Doc Rivers offered a concerning assessment following the defeat.

"We won't know anything until tomorrow," Rivers told reporters after the game, referring to the upcoming imaging scheduled for Tuesday. "Didn't look great, I can tell you that."

ProphetX Hoops (@ProphetXHoops) on X Giannis left the game after injuring his groin on this play Bucks say it’s a left groin strain and he’s done for the night

How the Injury Happened

Antetokounmpo suffered the injury late in the second quarter at Rocket Arena in Cleveland when he botched a layup attempt and immediately grabbed at his groin area, and Rivers noted that the 30-year-old forward had been favoring the area as early as the first quarter before ultimately fouling Cavaliers center Evan Mobley to exit the game.

The two-time MVP limped off to the locker room and was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the contest with a left groin strain, and he did not return despite Milwaukee's desperate need for his presence in the lineup.

NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) on X It took Giannis only one dribble from half-court to finish this and-1 layup. 📺 Peacock

Before departing, Antetokounmpo was putting together another productive performance with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting in just 13 minutes of action, along with five rebounds and four assists.

The Greek superstar has been having a dominant start to the 2025-26 season, averaging 32.6 points per game on a ridiculous 63.0 percent shooting from the field, along with 11.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists per contest heading into Monday's matchup.

Milwaukee's Outlook Without Giannis

The Bucks fell to 8-7 with Monday's loss and now face uncertainty about how long they'll be without their franchise player.

The timing couldn't be worse, with starting point guard Kevin Porter Jr. already sidelined recovering from right meniscus surgery and forward Taurean Prince out following neck surgery.

¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) on X Donovan Mitchell on facing Giannis: “I got a lot of respect for him. He’s a hall of famer and a champion. I’m cool with his brothers and cool with him but when you’re on the court, it’s war. I want what he has, I want a ring.”

Milwaukee's record without Antetokounmpo this season is 1-1 after they defeated the Chicago Bulls 126-110 on November 8 but fell to the Charlotte Hornets 111-100 on November 12.

"We got some work to do," Rivers said when asked about potentially being without his star for an extended period. "There's always a silver lining, though I don't know what it is right now because it doesn't look good. If we got [Kevin Porter Jr.] out and Giannis out, that's not great for our team, but we're going to either find somebody or find something to run that will pay dividends later."

Next Steps for Milwaukee

The Bucks will need players like forward Kyle Kuzma, guards Ryan Rollins and Gary Trent Jr., along with wing AJ Green to step up in expanded roles while Antetokounmpo undergoes imaging and the team awaits further word on the severity of the injury.

Center Myles Turner and forward Bobby Portis will also be counted on to carry more of the offensive and defensive load.

Ti Windisch (@TiWindisch) on X Ryan Rollins in the three games Giannis missed some or all of: 32 points, 8 assists against Golden State 25 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds against Charlotte 24 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds against Cleveland Big opportunity for Rollins to keep establishing himself on ball.

Antetokounmpo entered Monday's game just 57 points away from becoming the 42nd player in NBA history to reach 21,000 career points, but that milestone will have to wait as Milwaukee holds its breath for Tuesday's imaging results.

The Bucks have yet to lose consecutive games this season and will look to maintain that streak, but doing so without their best player presents a significant challenge for a team already dealing with multiple key injuries.