This was the alarming injury of Kyrie Irving in the fall of the Brooklyn Nets against the Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks defeated on Sunday 107-96 the Brooklyn Nets and equaled 2-2 the semifinals of the Eastern Conference of the NBA, in a game marked by the injury of Kyrie Irving that could change the course of the series.

Driven by Giannis Antetokounmpo (34 points and 12 rebounds), the Bucks added their second win in a row in Milwaukee before some Nets who could not overcome the blow of losing one of their top figures due to a possible right ankle sprain. The retirement of the point guard, which left his team without two of his three superstars, occurred in the second quarter with the game tied, when he added 11 points in 17 minutes.

The low of Irving joins guard James Harden (hamstrings), of whom it is unknown if he will be able to return in this series. At the post-game press conference, coach Steve Nash explained that the X-ray test to Irving it had been negative and that he would be subjected to additional tests to determine if he will be able to make it for the fifth game, on Tuesday.

“We have to see how he is tomorrow … Obviously we lost a great player during the game, that’s tough,” Nash said of the point guard, the team’s second leading scorer in the playoffs.

Kevin Durant, the only star available to the Nets, finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds that were insufficient to avoid defeat.

The Bucks, who were widely outscored in the first two games, clinched a close first win on Thursday to avoid a near-final 3-0 deficit, and now find themselves in a completely different scenario than a few days ago. “When we left Brooklyn, we knew we had to work to win the next two games. We are very happy but we have to keep improving ”, declared Antetokounmpo.

After a tight first quarter, the Nets took off with a 13-0 run that Milwaukee quickly managed to contain to get back up 37-36 thanks to two straight triples from the corner of veteran PJ Tucker. Antetokounmpo, erratic again in the free kick launch (5/10), transmitted energy to his teammates to resist the powerful attack of the Nets.

The game, and perhaps the tie, took a turn six minutes into the break when Kyrie Irving injured his right ankle after shooting under the basket and landing badly on Antetokounmpo’s foot. “At first I thought he had hit his groin (…) We wish him a good recovery and hopefully he can be for the fifth game,” said the Greek.

The point guard was on the ground for a few moments between great gestures of pain and later withdrew to the locker room, limping ostensibly. During the break of the game, which was led by Milwaukee by 53-48, the Nets said that Irving would not return to the court “due to a sprained right ankle.”

This injury joins that of another of the Nets superstars, James Harden, absent since the first game of this series with hamstring problems. Steve Nash also did not confirm whether The beard it will be ready for the next games in the series.

After the break, Antetokounmpo and his squires Khris Middleton (19 points) and Jrue Holiday (14) put in the direct to take advantage of the emotional blow of their rival. With the Greek wreaking havoc in the zone, the Bucks took a swift 17-point lead as Durant tried to stop the bleeding on his own, with 16 points in the third quarter, but without much help from his attacking teammates, he couldn’t avoid a defeat that destroyed the wide advantage with which they had landed in Milwaukee.

Now, The Nets, an ambitious project built around Durant, Irving and Harden, will try to rebuild before their audience this Tuesday, in the fifth game of the series.

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