Bucks News: Doc Rivers Makes Stunning Defense of Milwaukee's 3rd Straight Loss

The Bucks fell to 1-3 on the year after getting blown out by Boston Monday night.

Oct 28, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers talks to Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) during the first half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images / Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks fell to a record 1-3 to kick off their 2024-25 season after getting blown out 119-108 by the mighty Boston Celtics on Monday night. The game had been fairly even through its first two-and-a-half quarters... until the Celtics' depth started showing out.

Backup point guard Payton Pritchard had an especially big night off the bench, scoring 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor (8-of-12 from beyond the arc), five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

“We played two horrible games and there’s no excuse for that,” Rivers said of Milwaukee's shocking defeats to the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls, perEric Nehm of The Athletic. “But it happens. I thought we played relatively well (against the Celtics), but we couldn’t sustain it tonight. But I think our guys like where we’re going.”

The Bucks are nowhere near the level of the still-undefeated (4-0) defending champs. That much was made clear by the way Boston closed out Milwaukee Monday night.

"I don't like moral victories, but I just thought that's what we can be - at least for three quarters," Rivers said. "I thought we kind of ran out of gas a little bit. Didn't get a lot of help tonight from our bench, so we extended minutes."

The Bucks had been leading 75-72 midway through the contest's third quarter. But a 23-7 Celtics run through the top of the fourth frame put Boston up for good, and the game out of reach.

"I thought we had done a great job of keeping the floor spread and then all of a sudden, we stopped doing it" in the final frame, Rivers said, according to Nehm. "We got tight. They started doubling. We didn't handle it very well. Great film for us to watch."

The Bucks' two best players, All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, both enjoyed prolific, 30-point scoring nights, but only two other Milwaukee players — center Brook Lopez (13 points) and shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. (10 points) — scored in double figures.

Lillard led all scorers with 33 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor (2-of-8 from deep) and an impressive 17-of-18 shooting from the foul line. The Weber State product also notched seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block. Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points on 14-of-26 shooting from the floor and 2-of-6 shooting from the foul line, 10 boards, and six assists (against a troubling seven turnovers).

Meanwhile, six Boston players scored in double figures, led by Jaylen Brown's 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field and 10-of-14 shooting from the charity stripe.

The Bucks enjoyed a major edge in foul line shooting, shooting 26-of-31 from the charity stripe to Boston's 15-of-19. But Boston enjoyed a major edge in 3-point shooting, going 18-of-47 from long range (38.3 percent) to the Bucks' 8-of-31 conversion rate (25.8 percent).

The Bucks now get a two-day reprieve. Milwaukee hopes to end its slump against the 2-2 Memphis Grizzlies on Halloween.

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