MILWAUKEE (AP) Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers continues to express hope that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard will return from injuries before the conclusion of the Eastern Conference first-round series with the Indiana Pacers.

The Bucks once more played without their two best players and kept their season alive with a 115-92 victory in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Rivers was later asked about Antetokounmpo and Lillard’s potential availability for the rest of the series.

“I don’t know how to answer that question,” Rivers said. “I know I have hope. I think they are very, very, very close.”

Antetokounmpo is coping with a strained left calf that has sidelined him for your complete series. Lillard suffered an Achilles tendon injury in the course of the Bucks’ 121-118 Game 3 loss on Friday.

On Tuesday, the Bucks survived a must-win game without them. The Pacers still lead the best-of-three series 3-2 heading into Thursday’s Game 6 in Indianapolis.

Antetokounmpo has not played since straining his left calf in a victory over the Boston Celtics on April 9. The two-time MVP had difficulty running onto the court within the third quarter of that game when he grabbed his left calf and sat on the ground before eventually heading to the locker room. MRI showed muscle tension.

Lillard sprained his left knee in the primary quarter of Game 3, went to the locker room and returned to the sport, before suffering an Achilles tendon injury late within the fourth quarter. The seven-time NBA guard didn’t play in Game 4 on Sunday, wherein the Bucks lost 126-113.

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They each watched from the benches in the course of the fifth game.

“They’re into it,” Bucks forward Khris Middleton said. They support us and encourage us. Whenever they see something in the sport, they talk to us about it. They encourage us. … It’s great to have their support on the bench. I wish they were there with us, but I hope in due time they shall be there soon.

Milwaukee managed to avoid elimination largely thanks to Middleton, who scored at the very least 25 points in each of the Bucks’ last three games despite spraining his right ankle.

Middleton scored 42 points within the Game 3 additional time loss and had 25 more when the Bucks lost in Game 4. On Tuesday, he collected 29 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

“He gave us everything today,” Rivers said.

Other Bucks also stepped up their efforts on Tuesday. Bobby Portis rebounded from a ejection within the fourth to collect 29 points and 10 rebounds. Patrick Beverley overcame a right oblique strain to rating 13 points and 12 assists. Pat Connaughton had his best game of the series, scoring nine points and 4 assists.

They hope to keep this streak going long enough for Antetokounmpo and Lillard to return.

“The Way We Were” singer Barbra Streisand learned a crucial lesson about DMs after her alarming response to a post by “Bridesmaids” actress Melissa McCarthy went viral.

On April 29, McCarthy (53) shared several photos of her slimmed-down figure on Instagram, and Streisand, 82, boldly asked her within the comments if she was taking Ozempic. The offhand remark reminded fans of the time Oscar winner Octavia Spencer left a terse comment on Britney Spears’ post.

In photos of her wearing a mint green outfit, the “Identity Thief” actress appears to have lost a significant amount of weight as she was joined on the event by film director Adam Shankman.

McCarthy with subtitles post: “Pastels just in honor of the amazing @matthewbourne13 at the @ctgla gala last night with this guy @adamshankman!! It is much closer to my dream of dancing on stage.”

Two commenters responded: “Oh I really like this whole lady, she’s stunning” and “Gorgeous Melissa.”

Streisand, who’s friends with the actress, responded to the comment by asking McCarthy if he was on Ozempic, and the Internet went viral.

“Give him my regards” he wrote Streisand. “Have you taken Ozempic?”

Fans reacted on social media, with one X user sharing Streisand’s now-deleted comment.

“Barbra Streisand’s comment on Melissa McCarthy’s post blew me away,” the user wrote. “This is how baby boomers are using social media.” he replied other.

Many fans defended Streisand, suggesting she was unaware that everybody would see the message: “I think Barbara thought it was a DM.”

One fan he replied“That and Octavia Spencer’s unfiltered Instagram comments are amazing.”

Spencer focused on McCarthy and her director’s looks, writing, “This smut is delicious.”

Another shared this opinion and shared a screenshot of Spencer’s old post with Britney Spears. She publicly advised Spears to get a prenup after she announced her engagement to her ex-husband, Sam Asghari, in 2021.

“Make him sign a prenup,” wrote the “Ma” star. She later apologized to the couple after the comment went viral and Spears temporarily deleted her account.

The next day, Streisand responded to the social media backlash on X and said she forgot that Instagram comments should not private.

“OH MY GOD,” he wrote Streisand. “I went to Instagram to see the photos we posted of the beautiful flowers I received for my birthday! Below was a photo of my friend Melissa McCarthy, who I sang with on the Encore album. She looked fantastic! I just wanted to pay her a compliment. I forgot that the world reads!”

McCarthy was apparently unfazed as she spoke to E! News on April 30 about Streisand’s comments. “I think Barbra is a treasure and I love her.” he said McCarthy

Sarah Jakes Roberts describes her viral wig-snapping moment in the pulpit as a blessing in disguise. Last May, the religious minister and businesswoman amazed her flock with the best way she handled a hair accident during a sermon.

As she delivered her passionate message about God’s purpose, Sarah’s wig began to slip down the back of her head, revealing the flesh-colored cap she wore to guard her own tresses. Instead of stopping to repair the issue, she cleared it right in front of the crowded sanctuary of Potter’s House Church in Dallas, Texas.

She admitted this on the time, writing: “My message was more important than maintaining my appearance, so I took it off, locked myself in and continued preaching,” in an Instagram post.

This yr, during an April 30 appearance on “The Breakfast Club,” she talked about this unplanned incident as confirmation that she was following the trail God had planned for her. “I had no choice. (…) I knew I had a mission to accomplish and I didn’t want to be distracted by anything,” she told the hosts when asked why she hadn’t considered the choice to revealing her cap and wig.

She continued: “My husband wasn’t there, my parents weren’t there, so I couldn’t throw the mic. I was a member of senior management, the person who was present in the room, so I had to take it off.

Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts takes off her wig during the sermon!🙌#SarahJakesRoberts #TDJakes pic.twitter.com/1bEqiGwoOO

— Inspirational Gospel Music Channel (IGMC) (@InspireUGospel) May 29, 2023

“I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it, but I faced it,” said the author of “Power Moves: Ignite Your Confidence and Become a Force.”

To her credit, Sarah revealed that at this time in her life she had doubts about taking on a more prominent role at The Potter’s House church and wondered whether her background as a teenage mother and non-traditional approach to spreading the gospel would be well received.

Two months after that viral moment, her father, Bishop TD Jakes, appointed her and her husband, Touré Roberts, as assistant pastors.

Sarah explained, “I really felt like God was trying to tell me, ‘Just be authentic, just trust yourself,’ during this time in my life. And so this Sunday, as I’m sitting there with my wig cap and the other women are starting to take off their wigs on the altar, I thought, you know what, I think this might be God trying to tell me that you’re going to have to show your full self.”

The mother of six said she was showered with praise for her “bravery”. “Y’all know it’s not my hair and no it’s not perfect, but it’s not more important than what I’m here for. …When I got back behind the platform, I thought, “Oh Lord, I have desecrated the Potter House.” There are bundles on the altar. I even have desecrated this place.”

People who joined the discussion provided a variety of responses. One person on YouTube he wrote“The day she took off her wig was one of her best favors ever. Nothing else mattered.

But not everyone was a fan. An individualist on Instagram he said removing her wig was “so performative”. A 3rd comment suggested that the purpose of Sarah’s testimony was lost once they wrote, “Taking your wig off on stage has nothing to do with spirituality.”

Sarah, nonetheless, sees this experience as one more reason why her life is a living testimony.