Unfortunately, the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Atlanta Hawks 145-124 on Sunday. For the first two quarters, the team was performing admirably. But in the second half, the Hawks gained total control of the game and turned things around. The Bucks struggled to keep up with Atlanta, who had a lead of up to 29 points throughout the game.
Milwaukee was led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 31 points in the game. He also second nine rebounds and five assists. The Greek Freak shot 61.1% from the field but that wasn’t enough for the team to win. Forward Kyle Kuzma helped out with 25 points and six rebounds with an efficient 44.4% from downtown. Off the bench, Kevin Porter Jr. had 28 points and five assists on 66.7% shooting from the field.
Following the loss, Rivers explained how the Bucks’ defense was one of the main reasons they lost. Additionally, he took the blame for not making enough adjustments against the Hawks.
“It’s three things for me because it’s not just the turnovers and the offensive rebounds, it’s the transition D again,” Rivers said. “And that’s the same thing the other night. They scored over and over after makes… We were shooting 70 percent, so that meas we were making a lot of shots and they were still beating us down the floor.
“Listen, we gotta fix it. That’s on me. I told our guys before the game that any game we score 120, we should win with out defense and obniously, I was wrong.”
Doc Rivers: https://t.co/79PYGjL7Lk pic.twitter.com/Bv2N1gOjYw
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) March 31, 2025
Aside from the loss, the big story of the night was how the Bucks couldn’t defend the top pick of the 2024 Draft, Zaccharie Risacher. The rookie forward had 36 points and went 5-for-11 from deep.
A 2016 champion thinks the Milwaukee Bucks don’t believe in themselves
2016 champion Channing Frye observed how the Milwaukee Bucks performed against Atlanta. According to Frye, the Bucks don’t seem to have any belief in themselves that they have a chance to be a competitive team.
“Me watching them, it doesn’t seem like they really believe,” Frye said. “And I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Giannis — when you have a guy named Giannis Antetokounmpo on your team, you got a chance.
“To me, this is the first year… they just don’t look like they believe.”
Channing Frye on the Bucks:
“It doesn't seem like they really believe… To me, this is the first year with [Giannis Antetokounmpo] that they just don’t look like they believe.”
— DeerMuse🦌 (@DeerMuse) March 31, 2025
Without All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, the team has struggled to be fierce. The Milwaukee Bucks have lost four straight games and are close to losing the sixth seed to the Hawks.
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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 on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
