The Milwaukee Bucks improved their record on Tuesday against the Miami Heat at the Group Stage of the Emirates NBA Cup. The Bucks had a106-103 win over the Heat, to put them up 3-0 in the In-Season Tournament. After the game, head coach Doc Rivers was energized by how they played against a tough Miami squad.
The Bucks didn’t have their All-Star forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo in the contest. Before tip-off, Antetokounmpo was downgraded to questionable as he dealt with a left knee effusion. Even Rivers was surprised by the injury update regarding the two-time MVP.
“I honestly never asked, I still don’t know, I don’t even know why,” Rivers said after the game. “I just listened to two words, they said, ‘He’s out.’ And from that, I went right to the coach’s room and we just tried to gameplan on what we wanted to do. I still don’t know why. But Giannis doesn’t miss many games. Whatever it is, I’m sure it was the right thing to do.”
After Mimlwaukee’s win over Miami, Rivers went to the locker room to congratulate his team. With an undefeated record in the NBA Cup, the head coach was energized by the Bucks’ performance.
“Hey! That’s a hell of a win,” Rivers told his team.”We just hung in there and made enough plays to win, won the analytical game, right? We shot more threes. We kept looking for them, defensively. Everybody. That’s terrific.”
“I’ve got one question, what’s our record in the In-Season Tournament? 3-0!”
"That's a hell of a win, man." pic.twitter.com/RROrV9sJ8r
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 27, 2024
Even without Giannis, the Bucks won, thanks to Damian Lillard. Lillard had 37 points and 12 assists on 61.5% shooting from beyond the arc. The All-Star guard had 13 attempts from deep and shot efficiently. He made the defenses pay in the first half with his 25-point performance and shot 66% on the floor.
Their center, Brook Lopez played an important role with his 13 points and three blocks.
What’s Doc Rivers’ record with the Bucks?
Doc Rivers didn’t have the best start to his head coaching career with the Bucks. He was hired on Jan. 26, 2024, following the firing of Adrian Griffin during the 2023-24 NBA season. His first game with the Wisconsin team was a 113-103 loss against the Denver Nuggets.
This season, Rivers and the Bucks had a sluggish start. Milwaukee had a 2-8 record in their first 10 games. However, they got to pick up their pace and are now 9-9. Overall, the head coach has a 26-28 record with the team since he secured the position.
The Bucks will play on Saturday against the Washington Wizards.
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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.
