Doc Rivers Furious Over Bucks’ “Mental Mistakes” As Giannis and Damian Lillard’s Absence Costs Nets Loss

The holiday spirit had taken over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night after finally getting their first Christmas break in years. But the festive mood quickly turned sour as the Fiserv Forum crowd left in disappointment following a 111-105 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. The atmosphere was already heavy with frustration, and Doc Rivers was fuming over his team’s costly mistakes.

Sitting at the podium after the disappointing loss, Rivers acknowledged, “I thought their pressure got to us. I thought we didn’t handle it very well. They sped us up. We broke our offense.” Despite a strong start, the Bucks suffered in the latter half unable to find any rhythm on offense. And ultimately they scored just 23 points in both the third and fourth quarters.

“I thought for two and a half quarters, even though they were pressuring, we were moving the ball,” Rivers said. “The ball was swinging around the floor, getting guys wide open. Then I thought it sped us up and everybody was going one-on-one. We just can’t have that many turnovers and mental mistakes. We made a ton of mental mistakes today, in each quarter.”

Both franchises recorded numerous turnovers last night, but it was the Bucks’ crucial turnover that ultimately cost them the game. The most turnovers came from veteran forward Khris Middleton, who had 7, while Ryan Rollins and Bobby Portis Jr. each recorded 4.

With under 4 minutes left in the final quarter, Brooklyn picked up the pace, and then they were difficult to hold back. What added more to their advantage was the Bucks’ mistakes that opened up space, allowing the Nets to capitalize on every opportunity. The absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard made matters worse, leaving the franchise without a strong offensive presence to counter the surge.

This was the third consecutive game missed by the Greek Freak due to back spasms and the fourth for Dame Time because of an illness. Both were listed as questionable before the game but were ultimately sidelined again. The Bucks had been successful in the previous two games, but it seemed clear that the team missed both players in this matchup.

Those weren’t the only mistakes the Bucks made last night. Rivers pointed out another key factor that crushed their chances of making it 2-1 against the Nets this season.

Doc Rivers highlights another critical mistake for Bucks

Cameron Johnson was controlling Brooklyn’s offense, and instead of teaming up with Bobby Portis to guard him, AJ Green unexpectedly switched onto the non-scoring Ben Simmons. This left Johnson with little resistance, giving him the upper hand. “That was a switch that we shouldn’t have switched,” Doc Rivers confessed in the press conference.

He further emphasized, “We hadn’t switched that all night. Whenever Ben had the ball the guy guarding Ben was supposed to just go under (the screen). That’s what Bobby was doing. The guy (Green) guarding Cam decided to switch. Again, we just made a lot of mistakes that we haven’t made.”

Rivers understands that not everything goes as planned every night and that mistakes are part of the game. So, the 63-year-old said, “We’ll watch the tape. We’ll learn from it.” However, he added, “The pressure, which hasn’t been, affecting us affected us tonight.” The team has a 16-13 record so far. After their NBA Cup win, they seemed like serious contenders. However, they have struggled to maintain consistency. Hopefully, they’ll come back stronger in their upcoming matchup against the Bulls, with both Giannis and Dame Time ready to lead them.