The Milwaukee Bucks took on the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. They struggled to keep their seven-game win streak alive and suffered a 119-104 loss. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard tried to will their team to victory but failed to make the most of their chances.
Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 11 rebounds and five assists on 26 free throw attempts. Lillard, on the other hand, had 25 points and five assists on 55.6% shooting from beyond the arc. However, their production wasn’t enough to get them their 12th win of the season.
Milwaukee’s head coach Doc Rivers believes the roster was tired from their Tuesday game against the Detroit Pistons and cited fatigue as a factor for their loss. Rivers spoke to reporters on Wednesday following their defeat.
“I didn’t think we had it in,” Rivers started. “I think we were dead-legged, most of the game. We didn’t think well, which is a direct sign of fatigue. Didn’t execute very well. Our passes were really late, I didn’t think we passed the ball well at all tonight. We had guys open and then we passed it… It felt like that the entire night.”
“I thought Giannis and Dame almost tried to will the game, which is probably not good either, because exerting so much energy there.”
“Every once in a while, you have these games —these scheduled games where my thought was, ‘Let’s get to the second half and be alive and try to steal it.’”
The Bucks have a chance at getting their 12th win this season against the Boston Celtics on Friday. Additionally, the team could have their Big 3 complete in their contest against the defending champions as Khris Middleton is set to make his 2024-25 NBA season that night.
The Bucks were outplayed by the Hawks the entire game
The Bucks tried their best against the Hawks. However, the Milwaukee team showed how tired they were and couldn’t stop the Atlanta team in other areas of the game. Despite finishing with 40 rebounds, Giannis and his team fell well short of their opponents’ 54-board total.
Rivers also cited their lack of passing as they had 23 assists that night. In contrast, the Hawks had 29 assists and four players on the team had at least five assists. Trae Young and his team made the most of their chances inside the paint and finished with 64 points in the paint, which is almost double compared to the Wisconsin team’s 34 points.
They also made Milwaukee run with their 30 fastbreak points. Milwaukee only had 12 points on the open floor, which didn’t help them create easy opportunities.
Defensively, the Hawks had 16 steals, while Milwaukee only had seven.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
