It was a heartbreaking ending for the Milwaukee Bucks, who were unable to contain Tyrese Maxey, losing 123-114 in overtime. Now, coach Doc Rivers expressed two big regrets he had after the team's overtime collapse, according to Bucks' beat writer Eric Nehm
“We played hard overall, but our execution at times tonight – and I get it, we have different guys – but some of (the plays), we just have to do it.”
Rivers was referring to two specific examples. First, the Bucks had a foul to give, but didn't choose to use it. Then, in the final play of the fourth quarter, the play for Ryan Rollins was supposed to be an ISO, but his screeners came up. The Bucks were up 106-104 with 15 seconds left. However, they fouled Maxey, allowing him to make both free throws with seven seconds left. The Bucks could not hit the winner.
Things got away from the Bucks in overtime, and Rivers benched Myles Turner to try to get more scoring. Unfortunately, they could not handle the Sixers or bridge the gap. Rollins led the team with 32 points and 13 assists while shooting 13 of 26. Likewise, Bobby Portis had 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Kyle Kuzma added 17 points on 6-0f-14 shooting. Also, Turner scored 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
This was another game where Milwaukee did not have Giannis Antetokounmpo, as he is dealing with a left knee injury. Thus, his absence left a major hole. The Bucks lost the board battle 52-42, and did not have that reliable guy they could turn to when they needed scoring. It was also the third straight loss for Milwaukee, which dropped to 8-8.
While Rollins did his best, it was not enough to lead the Bucks to victory. With this game in the rearview window, the Bucks will now turn their attention toward a critical home game against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
