The Milwaukee Bucks had victory within reach. Then, they let it slip away. In a critical matchup against a Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors, the Bucks squandered a golden opportunity. Despite getting the shots they wanted, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard faltered when it mattered most, leading to a frustrating 104-93 loss. It was a stunning collapse for a team built around Antetokounmpo’s dominance and Lillard’s clutch shooting.

Antetokounmpo scored 20 points and only 5-of-16 shooting. He was 10 of 15 from the free-throw line. Lillard had 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting and 2-of-9 from 3-point line. Though they together scored 11 points in the fourth quarter it was too little to overcome the Warriors’ 10-point lead. Kyle Kuzma didn’t mince words about what went wrong.

“Well, we went to something that we were really, really comfortable with,” Kuzma said post-game. No excuses. No sugarcoating. Cold, hard facts, from a teammate who saw it unfold. Playing that spread, playing with Giannis up, pick and roll, putting weaker defenders, whether it was Buddy [Hield] or somebody else, and we just didn’t connect. We missed a couple bunnies. He missed a couple bunnies. Dame missed a couple bunnies,” he further explained, not holding back when asked about the Bucks’ offensive collapse in the final minutes.

Milwaukee didn’t score a single point in the last four minutes of the game. With 3 minutes left, Gary Trent Jr. missed a three-point attempt when the Bucks were down 96-93. But the Warriors paid back with a 3 essentially taking the game further away. “We just gotta be more clear with what we’re trying to accomplish,” Antetokounmpo said of their late-game offense. “I feel like at times it’s just me and Dame trying to be aggressive, and everybody plays through that.

“I feel the last couple of games, dug in the fourth quarter, we kind of like try to be too unselfish instead of try to go downhill and make something happen. That’s what we do, and then if me and him, we’re not aggressive down the stretch, we don’t execute as well. (If) we don’t, then they’re able to crowd us, then you end up taking bad shots, like the one we did with two minutes and 30 seconds left.” It didn’t get any better as Doc Rivers saw his team fall victim to Jimmy Butler’s trap boasting the very same fate he warned the team before the game.

Doc Rivers Fumes as Bucks Ignore His Warning Against Jimmy Butler

While Kuzma focused on the offensive failures, head coach Doc Rivers was exasperated by a defensive lapse that proved just as costly. Late in the third quarter, Jimmy Butler baited the Bucks into a three-point foul with 1.5 seconds left. He drained all three free throws, shifting momentum permanently to Golden State. Milwaukee never regained the lead.

That alone would be frustrating enough. But what made it worse was that Rivers had explicitly warned his team about this exact scenario before the game.

“Turn the ball over, foul Jimmy Butler. I mean, I love Jimmy, but he’s got to make the threes,” Rivers said after the loss. “Like, we talked about it before the game. Like, don’t foul him, especially behind the three-point line. We actually showed Denver fouled him yesterday behind the three. You just—we’re breaking too many things that just can’t happen.”

There’s nothing more frustrating for a coach than watching his team fall into a trap they saw coming. Rivers wasn’t just mad about the play itself—he was frustrated that his team wasn’t listening. If players are tuning out pre-game scouting reports or failing to execute on things they’ve specifically been told to avoid, that’s a much bigger problem than just one bad foul.

This game was more than just a bad night—it was a flashing red light for Milwaukee’s championship aspirations. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lillard are struggling to close games. Doc Rivers is literally spelling out mistakes for his players, and they’re making them, anyway. And now, Kuzma is openly pointing out his teammates’ failures. That’s not just frustration—it’s the kind of tension that can unravel a team when the stakes are highest.