Antetokounmpo returns for Bucks against Bulls after missing 8 games with calf strain

CHICAGO (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo returned Saturday night from the right calf strain that kept the two-time MVP from playing in the Milwaukee Bucks’ previous eight games.

Antetokounmpo was in the starting lineup for the Bucks’ game against the Chicago Bulls, after the team upgraded him after originally listing him as questionable on the injury report.

Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said before the game the nine-time All-Star won’t be thrown back into the grind right away.

“He’ll be on a minutes restriction,” Rivers said.

Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since injuring his calf less than three minutes into the Bucks’ 113-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 3. The injury came on Antetokounmpo’s fourth game back after a left adductor strain caused him to miss four games.

“Maybe it was a mistake of me coming back a little bit earlier, because once I come back, now you’re overcompensating,” Antetokounmpo said on Dec. 18. “The only way you can pop your soleus is by overcompensating and then having an extreme amount of load or play a l...