Doc Rivers, Giannis Antetokounmpo talk about Bucks’ loss to Suns
Doc Rivers, Giannis Antetokounmpo speak on the Bucks’ loss to the Suns on February 6, 2024
It was always going to be a tough task for the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.
They were without two of their superstars due to ankle injuries to Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton. The Bucks were depleted of reserves after trading Cam Payne and Robin Lopez earlier in the day. The Minnesota Timberwolves have the best defense in the NBA.
So, perhaps as expected, the Bucks were not competitive in a 129-105 loss at Fiserv Forum after returning home from a five-game road trip.
The Bucks fell to 33–19, including 1–5 under new head coach Doc Rivers.
box score: Timberwolves 129, Bucks 105
Giannis Antetokounmpo did not appear with the game gone in the fourth quarter. He finished with 17 points in 27 minutes.
“It would have been tough if we didn’t get injured,” Rivers said. “Coming back from the trip we just came back from.
“Sleep patterns. And then I never saw those flights they put us on – changing times, coming back, coming back again and again. Crazy. Having said that, no one feels sorry for you. You go through it. “
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 26 points. He took advantage of the shorthanded Bucks backcourt by scoring nine points and helping the Timberwolves take a 30–26 lead after the first quarter.
The Bucks stayed within 63-53 at halftime thanks to Jae Crowder’s 16 points.
Crowder had 21 points in 37 minutes. He shot 4 of 5 on three-pointers.
“He’s getting back in shape,” Rivers said. “He’s another guy, we forget, we’re playing minutes with him, he’s just come back from injury.
“It’s funny, I wanted to keep him in, but I didn’t want to push it. I was thinking more about conditioning. Maybe using tonight as a prerequisite. But the fact is that We’re going to play tomorrow so I took him out.”
Crowder was listed as probable for the game on the injury report, but was in the starting lineup.
The Bucks seemed to be running out of gas in the third quarter.
The Timberwolves pushed their lead to 91-64 on Naz Reed’s three-pointer, and it became even more clear that this was not going to be Milwaukee’s night.
“We just didn’t make enough shots,” Rivers said. “And then you get frustrated. I was really proud of the guys on the second unit. They really came out and fought and earned minutes at the same time.”
Antetokounmpo exited the game with only 4 minutes remaining in the quarter. After that he did not play.
“Wow, just looking at his height,” Rivers said. “Giannis will beat a seven-foot tall guy and run into another seven-foot tall guy. You’ll beat him and then come across another seven-foot tall guy.”
By the end of the fourth quarter, Minnesota had a 102–75 lead and fans at Fiserv Forum began heading for the exits.
The only thing Bucks fans worth keeping in the fourth quarter was watching Bucks guard AJ Green warm up from long range.
“Credit goes to my teammates for finding me,” Green said. “Whether it’s setting screens or me kicking and finding.
“Just being patient and letting it come. Shooting your shots.”
He hit three-pointers on three straight possessions, and continued to bomb from distance. He finished with a career-high 27 points and hit 7 of 8 three-pointers.
“Shot-maker,” Rivers said. “Adding another shot-maker to what we have. The shot-maker around Giannis is pretty important.
“We obviously know he can shoot the ball. He’s a fighter on defense. Not saying he’s a great defender, but you just won’t score on him. He’ll out-fight you.”
This is not the kind of game Green wanted to have a career night in.
“We knew going into this it was going to take us a short amount of time,” Green said. “But you also know you have to find a way to win.
“Good teams find a way to win. So it doesn’t matter who is playing or not, we have to come out and compete.”
10 players available for bucks
11 Assistant coach for the Bucks on the bench
0-9 Malik Beasley missed all nine of his three-point attempts
18 Minutes for rookie Andre Jackson Jr., his most minutes since Rivers became coach. In fact, those were the only minutes for Jackson Jr. since January 29 as he had three “coached decisions not to play” and saw 37 seconds of action on February 4 at Utah. He played just over 17 minutes against New Zealand. Orleans under interim head coach Joe Prunty on January 27.
4 More games for the Bucks before the All-Star break
Middleton sprained his left ankle during the fifth and final game of the long road trip Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns, so it was unlikely he would play against the Timberwolves.
This was confirmed when Middleton was listed out for the first game of the back-to-back set.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said before the game that he did not have a timeline for Middleton’s return.
“I think we’ll know more (Friday),” Rivers said.
Lillard is dealing with a left ankle sprain and was taken out of the lineup just before tipoff.
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