MILWAUKEE -- Bucks guard Earl Boykins expects to miss no
time despite injuring his right thumb -- and possibly suffering
ligament damage -- in a game Thursday night.
Boykins
"When the doc was talking, I wasn't listening," Boykins said
when asked what the diagnosis was before Milwaukee played the
Denver Nuggets. "I'm not missing a game, regardless of what the
doc says, so there's really no need for me to listen."
Boykins, who'll play with a splint, said he injured the right
thumb in the first half of Milwaukee's 109-101 double overtime loss
on Thursday night to the New Orleans Hornets when he got his hand
caught in Tyson Chandler's jersey.
The team officially listed Boykins' injury as a sprained right
thumb, and Bucks coach Terry Stotts said the training staff was
still evaluating him to determine how effective he could be
handling the ball.
"It could get worse," Stotts said of the injury.
Boykins, who said he isn't upset at Nuggets management and may keep his home in Denver in the offseason, didn't want to miss his first game against his former teammates after being traded Jan. 11 along with Julius Hodge for Steve Blake, who has started in place of injured Allen Iverson (ankle).
"In this business, you never let your emotions get involved," Boykins said.
Boykins, the second-shortest player in NBA history at 5-foot-5, first filled in as starting point guard after the trade to Milwaukee, which has suffered significant injuries to four of five starters and still doesn't have guard Michael Redd (left knee sprain). Redd has returned to practice but missed his 18th game Saturday night with the injury.
Boykins has averaged 16.1 points and 4.7 assists for Milwaukee, which has lost 14 of 17 games since Redd left the lineup, starting with a loss in Denver on Jan. 8 when Boykins scored a team-high 26 points while he was still with the Nuggets.