Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers pointed to execution issues as the Oklahoma City Thunder routed his team 122-102 on Wednesday night.
“I thought they did a good job [Giannis]“But I didn’t think we did a good job of getting him the ball on the spot, and that’s the one thing we worked on today,” Rivers said. “Our first 12 minutes were the difference in the game. We literally played exactly what they wanted us to do.”
Rivers highlighted the Bucks’ early turnovers as a critical factor. “Eight turnovers in the first quarter. Just poor ball handling. We had two keys: take care of the ball and play as a group. Instead we tried to play attacking individually.”
The coach also addressed Giannis Antetokounmpo’s limited impact despite going 8-of-11 for 19 points. “We’ve got to get him on the elbow more. The first play of the game they played for him, we were working on the flash and nobody was moving. We’ve got to keep working on that part,” Rivers said.
Rivers discussed adjustments for the lineups featuring Myles Turner and Kevin Porter Jr. were missing. “Especially with Giannis on minutes restrictions, you can’t get into a hole early. If you go down early, you have to take Giannis off the floor, and that just increases the lead. That’s exactly what happened.”
AJ Green’s performance received praise. “He just lets it happen. His field goal percentage is as high as the four and five in the league, especially with the shots he makes. He’s an efficient, good basketball player.”
Rivers also noted Pete Nance’s contributions. “He’s been really good. He knows how to play, helps our unit, moves the ball, makes the right decisions and holds his own defensively. He could be one of the silver linings to all of these things.”
The coach emphasized team morale despite the setback. “I think we’re on a high right now. You can see it in our spirit. These next games are huge. All winnable, all at home. We’ll get some rest and we’ll find out what we have in the next four or five games.”
On the offensive play with Kyle Kuzma next to Giannis, Rivers said, “He should have been a roller, a pick-setter in the middle of the floor. Today he was spacing a lot, which is not what we want early on the clock.”
The Thunder controlled the game from start to finish, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading Oklahoma City with 40 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Milwaukee remained at 18-24 and struggled to recover without key rotation players, while Oklahoma City improved to 36-8.
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