The Washington Wizards stunned the Milwaukee Bucks 114-113 when CJ McCollum hit a game-winning shot in the final seconds in front of a stunned crowd at the Fiserv Forum. Coach Doc Rivers believes his team deserved to lose, according to postgame comments to The Athletic.
“Listen, I don't care about the end of the game. We deserved to lose the game. We didn't play hard enough. We didn't play well enough together,” Rivers noted about the game.
The Bucks struggled to gain separation from the Wizards all night. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the team with 33 points on 12 of 21 shooting with 15 rebounds. Yet, it was not enough in the end. Antetokounmpo hit two free throws to give Milwaukee a 113-110 lead with 33 seconds left. But the Bucks allowed McCollum to make a cutting layup three seconds later.
On the Bucks' possession, Kevin Porter Jr. missed a layup. Then, Antetokounmpo grabbed the rebound and went up to put the shot back in. But Alex Sarr blocked his shot attempt to give the Wizards the ball back. Next, McCollum grabbed the rebound and dribbled all the way back to hit a jumper with one second left. After the timeout, Antetokounmpo had a chance to give Milwaukee the win, but could not hit a 13-foot jumper.
Rivers believed the odds were not in their favor in the end. But he also believed that there was more they could have done to prevent that ending.
“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,” Rivers added.
Rivers emphasized that he was disappointed in how the Bucks played and took some responsibility. He added that the morning shootaround was not that good, and he did not feel like they were prepared. Despite Rivers moving up in the coaching ranks, he still has games like this, as the Bucks fell to one of the worst teams in the NBA. The Bucks' next chance to bounce back will be Friday against the Charlotte Hornets.
