Even Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t remember a losing streak this bad in Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Bucks have now lost seven straight after falling to the New York Knicks 118-109 at Madison Square Garden on Friday. The loss eliminated Milwaukee from the competition NBA Cupthe first time in the tournament’s three-year history in a season that Milwaukee, last year’s champion, failed to advance to the quarterfinals. New York won East Group C 4-1, ending the Bucks’ back-to-back tournament hopes.

Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is back in action after missing four games with a left adductor strain, his longest absence of consecutive regular-season games since February 2025. The Greek superstar had 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting, 15 rebounds and eight assists, committing just three turnovers in 28 minutes. It was the 157th time in his career that he had at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, tying him with NBA legends Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Furthermore, it was the 57th time he scored 30+ points while shooting 70% or better from the field, which puts him sixth all-time behind Karl Malone (62).

However, Antetokounmpo’s return could not prevent the Bucks from losing their seventh straight game.

“Obviously, you want to win matches, you want to win tournaments,” the 30-year-old he said. “We’ve had a chance to go to Vegas two times in a row. We’re not going to Vegas, we can’t gamble ’34 straight’ again, I think it’s going to be very, very hard for me. But at the end of the day, I just want to win. We’ve lost seven in a row. I don’t even remember the last time I lost, and we lost seven in one. We’ve got to lock it up. We’ve got Brooklyn, who’s been playing very, very well lately. We’ve got to be able to get it tomorrow.”

“I want to win. We’ve lost 7 in a row. I don’t remember the last time I lost 7 in a row.”👀👀👀

– Giannis

(🎥 @MikeAScotto )

pic.twitter.com/s2CCGNazFI

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 29, 2025

The Bucks are now in the midst of their longest losing streak spanning eight games between March 11 and 27, 2014. The streak began on November 15 against the Los Angeles Lakers and continued with a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 17, during which Antetokounmpo suffered a groin injury against Stein. Milwaukee went 0-5 in games without him this season. The absence of other contributors, including Kevin Porter Jr. (knee surgery) and Taurean Prince (neck surgery), added to the team’s struggles during this stretch.

In Friday’s game, turnovers (15), too many fouls (26) and 14 offensive rebounds that allowed 22 points bogged down the Bucks. In the closing minutes, Antetokounmpo’s dunk put the Bucks within two points, but Knicks star Jaylen Brunson’s foul on a three-pointer gave New York a three-point play that Milwaukee could not overcome. Brunson finished with 37 points on 12-of-21 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free throw line, while Karl-Anthony Towns added a key offensive rebound late in the game.

Kyle Kuzma contributed 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting off the bench for the Bucks, and AJ Green added 18 points, but the team’s mistakes in the final minutes revealed ongoing problems for the team. Coach Doc Rivers pointed out that turnovers, fouls and giving up offensive rebounds have hurt Milwaukee multiple times this season, even with a high number of shots.

The Bucks look to end their losing streak when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday with the return of Kevin Porter Jr.