Bucks’ Doc Rivers shares “frustrated” reaction after squandering late lead to Rockets

MILWAUKEE – Entering the East-West game with the visit of the Milwaukee Bucks and the visit of the Houston Rocketsall eyes were on the teams’ superstars and future Hall of Famers Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant.

Although they each produced in the game, it was Milwaukee’s players who made the difference in the first half at Fiserv Forum on Nov. 9, as Giannis came alive in the second.

But the bounce was a matinee story, like The Rockets dominated on both the defensive and offensive boards. A 23-rebound lead kept Houston within striking distance throughout the contest. Then, in the waning moments, Houston stole the lead from Milwaukee without clutch shots from Durant and the supporting players. Houston didn’t relinquish a late lead when it got it, stealing a road win, 122-115.

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers he said it felt like Milwaukee should have run away early, but mistakes and a lack of consistency kept Houston in the game.

“I thought we were bad on both ends of the floor,” Rivers said. “They’re a good team, but it was a very winnable game for us. I thought we didn’t execute at all offensively … the ball stopped moving. Defensively, we gambled, (and) did things we just can’t do.”

He added: “I was frustrated when we had 10 … we should have had 20. And we had a chance to put them away but we didn’t because of our self-inflicted wounds.”

The first half was all Bucks, despite the Rockets’ huge rebounding advantage

Durant was efficient all game and hot to begin with. He scored seven of Houston’s first nine points as the Rockets controlled the start.

But Myles Turner of the Bucks, fresh off his best game in a Milwaukee jersey vs Chicago Bulls Nov. 7he was also firing on all cylinders in the first. He went toe-to-toe with KD, scoring seven of Milwaukee’s first 10 points before the seven-minute mark of the first quarter. Giannis didn’t score his first points of the game until just over six minutes remained. Milwaukee had a two-run lead in the second.

The Bucks came alive in that period, especially Antetokounmpo, who scored just two goals in the first quarter. The Milwaukee star scored the first five points of the second and one, and then, moments later, Bucks guard Cole Anthony’s steal, Antetokounmpo was alone under the basket for a seven-point lead, 35-28. Anthony then scored four consecutive goals for the Bucks in a pair of aggressive drives to the basket; just two days after going 1-5 from three-point territory against the Bulls.

Antetokounmpo, Durant shine in the second half

The story in the second half was that the players of both teams came alive. Antetokounmpo and Durant have added to their books in a big way. KD scored 23 at halftime and finished with 31 points on the afternoon, while Giannis scored 37 the rest of the game to go along with eight rebounds and three assists. He scored 14 goals in the third period alone.

Milwaukee controlled much of the fourth quarter until the final moments, when pressure from Houston led to the Rockets taking back the lead for the first time since the opening period with a two-point lead, 111-113. Giannis missed two free throws to make it 113-115 with about 1:30 left, and Houston took a two-point lead to take a four-point lead with 1:09 left. They never looked back.

“Tonight we struggled overall … 14-24 (on free throws),” Rivers noted. “I don’t know what the answer is. We’re practicing them, we’re working on them. We’re a better free-throw shooting team. … I don’t know what you want me to do except: let’s shoot free throws.”

Houston won by seven points at the final buzzer to complete the come-from-behind victory. The win was largely due to the Rockets outrebounding the Bucks 50 to 27 (including 20 offensive rebounds for Houston to just seven for Milwaukee).

“They’re incredible on the offensive glass. The first half, the difference in the game was that we turned them over. In the second half, we turned them over, and they kept getting offensive rebounds,” Rivers said. “We just didn’t execute tonight … five assists in the second half, 20 in the first. I don’t think there’s much more to say.”

Bucks best in loss to Rockets

After Giannis, Turner finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Ryan Rollins was the team’s second-leading scorer with 19, and Anthony scored 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, with six assists and five rebounds.

The Bucks will play back-to-back games as they travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks on November 10th.