Peter Thomas/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
It wasn't the start Rivers was hoping for in Milwaukee.
CNN
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The Milwaukee Bucks lost 113-110 on the road to the lowly Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night, their seventh loss in 10 games under new head coach Doc Rivers.
As first reported by CNN Sports, Rivers agreed to join the Bucks in January, leaving his role as an analyst at ESPN to replace Adrian Griffin. Griffin's firing came as a bit of a surprise, as Milwaukee had a record of 30 wins and 13 losses, tied for second in the league at the time of his departure.
The Bucks' most recent loss came against the Grizzlies, who were well below .500 and plagued by injuries all season, dropping to 3-7 under Rivers.
misunderstanding above last play of the game After the Bucks cut a nine-point lead to just three with less than a minute left, he summed up Milwaukee's performance thus far under Rivers.
Bucks center Brook Lopez attempted to set up a half-court screen for All-Star Damian Lillard, but unintentionally blocked the point guard's path. As Memphis held on for a narrow victory, the ball spilled and Lillard missed a wild, last-second shot from long range.
With Thursday being the last night of the regular season before the All-Star break, Rivers wasn't necessarily happy with his team's effort and felt some players were already looking ahead to the offseason.
“We had some guys here and we had some guys in Cabo,” Rivers told reporters after the game.
The Bucks have 2024 All-Star starters on the roster in Lillard and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and are in third place in the Eastern Conference despite recent struggles. Meanwhile, Memphis entered the game with more than 10 players on the injury report, including two-time All-Star guard Ja Morant and current Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr.
The short-handed Grizzlies showed no difference in firepower, with forward Ziare Williams and rookie GG Jackson II each scoring 27 points.
Brandon Dill/AP
GG Jackson II (R) celebrates with teammate Lamar Stevens.
“I feel good, I’m proud of this team.” Williams said after the game.. “It's good to see. One guy falls down and another gets up. We're enjoying it all, you can't ask for more.”
Antetokounmpo had 35 points and 12 assists for the Bucks, and Lillard added 24 points in the shocking upset. Rivers was frustrated with his team being dominated by the short-handed Grizzlies.
“I thought the beginning of the game set the tone,” he said. “When you start a game with a team missing key players and you let them make layups and threes, they have confidence now.
“They (Grizzlies role players) were stars at some point in their lives. Don't remind them of that.”
Milwaukee is currently 35-21 on the season, 8.5 games behind the top-seeded Boston Celtics. In a season that took a sudden turn when Morant missed the year due to injury, the Grizzlies improved to 20 wins, 36 losses, and finished 13th in the West Division.
