The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a deflating 122-94 defeat on their home floor against the Raptors Sunday afternoon, snapping their second three-game win streak of the month. After winning the first quarter 27-22, the Bucks found themselves at the mercy of Toronto’s size and strength, as well as their own miscues. The Raptors won quarters two through four by at least nine points in each period.
Postgame, Rivers wasn’t happy at all by what he saw from his team.
Bucks allowed Raptors’ physicality to bait them into bad habits
“We got manhandled. Bottom line. We just did,” Rivers told reporters. “I’ve probably said that only one other time this year, but I thought their physicality completely took us out of the game. I thought it turned us into one-on-one players. We stopped moving the ball, playing the way we’ve been. I mean, when you look at our assist column, you see all those ones. That tells you all you need to know, right?”
Rivers noted that Kevin Porter Jr. dished out 10 assists, but other than that? “Everybody else had 1, 1, 1, 1.”
Pretty much. Backup center Jericho Sims was the only other Buck with multiple assists. He had two. Milwaukee ended the night with 18 in all.
Even Ryan Rollins, so reliable for much of the year as a some-time No. 1 option, struggled to move the ball effectively. He finished 6-for-17 from the field with five turnovers. Porter, for his part, went 8-for-11 and gave it away just once. He provided one of few box-score bright spots on the team.
“I can’t wait to see our analytical report. I feel like we took 50 in-between, contested shots that were covered. … The game turned into a one-on-one game. We’re just not good enough to play that way.”
Jan 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers looks on in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Stagnant ball movement limited open opportunities and hurt the Bucks’ shooting rhythm whenever they did stumble upon clean looks. Milwaukee shooters went 9-for-32 beyond the arc, compared to 16-for-46 for Toronto as Bucks defenders left typically inefficient Raptors marksmen far too much space beyond the arc.
“We just didn’t move it,” an exasperated Rivers continued. “I thought we had a chance to go downhill and we decided to back out and dribble and then go iso. I thought there were a ton of opportunities for drive-and-kick basketball. And obviously, every time we did it, we got great shots. The problem is we did it so rarely that by the time we started doing it right, no one can make a shot.
You know, if you’ve been wide open a lot and you don’t touch it, when you finally touch it, you’re probably not going to make it. I thought that was us tonight.”
Now 24-31 with the loss, the Bucks will try to regroup with another home game against Miami on Tuesday.
For More Great Wisconsin Content
Follow me on X at @ezsniper14 and follow us@WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports,click here!