In a 114-113 loss to one of the worst teams in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks blew a 3-point lead in the final 33 seconds, allowing a go-ahead basket with one tick to go. Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t convert a buzzer-beater on the other end, and that was that.
Head coach Doc Rivers saw a lot more to point fingers at throughout the night than the frustrating end-game sequence.
Bucks’ poor playstyle a bigger bug than end-game execution
“Listen, I don’t care about the end of the game,” Rivers opened his postgame presser, cutting off the reporter who began to ask about the blown lead late. “We deserved to lose the game. We didn’t play hard. We didn’t play well enough together. So, yeah, we had a lead. We had every shot we wanted at the end of the game. Our execution was flawless, even the last play. But sometimes the basketball gods don’t allow you to win when you don’t play right.”
Dec 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers gestures to his team against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Coming off a pair of wins, an obviously frustrated Rivers didn’t like what he saw from his team for much of the evening.
“We’ve been great the last two games. And tonight, we didn’t pass the ball. We didn’t pass the ball to each other and we didn’t guard the ball. And so when you play like that, you lose the game. You know, we had a chance to win the game. It would have been great to win. Better to win the game and then teach the lesson by film than losing the game. But when you play like that, you give yourself a chance to lose and that’s what happened.”
The Bucks got out to an early lead, 14-5, then 18-9, then 26-18. But they let the Wizards back in toward the end of the first quarter and it was a back-and-forth affair from that point on. Milwaukee had to claw back from 10 points down just to manufacture that 3-point advantage in the final minute.
As much as Rivers decried the Bucks’ passing – and, it’s true, iso ball is not what this team needs – porous defense might have been the biggest issue. 19-for-39 on threes, the Wizards assisted 31 of their 41 made shots on the night. The Bucks simply left them open way too often for easy looks.
Dec 14, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach Doc Rivers looks on during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Once again, the opponent won the turnover battle: 10 giveaways for Washington, 10 for Milwaukee. The real killer was points off those turnovers: 23 freebies for the Wizards off the Bucks’ mistakes. Doc’s squad turned Washington’s turnovers into only four points.
It was a disappointing way to wrap up 2025, dropping Milwaukee to 14-20 in the standings. Next time out, a home game against Charlotte, they will have to play the kind of basketball the gods look upon favorably from the rafters.
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