During the Milwaukee Bucks’ eventual 118-106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 17, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo left the game with a left groin injury. He only played 13 minutes and had scored 14 points up to that point. 

After the game, Bucks center Myles Turner said he leaned on a ‘next man up’ mentality when Antetokounmpo was ruled out mid-contest. 

“I’ve been in this league a long time, been there plenty of times,” Turner said during a postgame interview. “And I think it’s just a next man up mentality. That’s what it is. You got to cover for one other. And yeah, obviously give [Antetokounmpo] well wishes and whatnot, give him the support he needs, but when you’re in between the lines, it has to be the next man up.”

Turner and crew certainly took that mentality to heart, as, despite the loss, several Bucks players stepped up and ultimately scored in double-figures with Antetokounmpo not on the floor for the majority of the game.

Ryan Rollins finished with a team-high 24 points, Turner had 15 points, Gary Trent Jr. and AJ Green each had 12 points, Bobby Portis had 11 points, and Kyle Kuzma had 10 points. 

“You gotta trust your system, trust what got you to the point,” Turner said. “Obviously [Antetokounmpo] is a big part of what we do, but there is an offensive system that we put in place to just help us achieve our ultimate goal. And I think that, again, I think you got to fall back on your training.” 

Unfortunately for the Bucks, they could not fully come back against the Cavaliers, as they were ultimately outscored in the second quarter, 33-24, in the third quarter, 33-31, and in the fourth quarter, 26-18, after winning the first quarter, 33-26.

This season, Antetokounmpo had previously stated that the Bucks could not lose two games in a row. Milwaukee had avoided that through the first 14 games of the season, toeing the line all month, going from win to loss to win to loss, but never stacking back-to-back defeats. 

Against Cleveland, the streak came to an end. 

And now, with Antetokounmpo’s status still up in the air, the Bucks will undoubtedly need to continue to lean on their depth – which luckily has shone through all season for Milwaukee up to this point – and Turner’s ‘next man up’ mentality. 

The Bucks’ next game is against the Philadelphia 76ers at 8 p.m. EST on Nov. 20.