The Sacramento Kings spoiled Bango’s birthday bash, as they upset the Milwaukee Bucks 135-133. This was the first win for the Kings over Milwaukee since March 12, 2024, and just their second win in their last 18 meetings. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
Player Grades
Giannis Antetokoumpo
32 minutes, 26 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 8/13 FG, 9/14 FT, 1/1 3PT, -1
It was a slow start for Giannis, who was limited to 10 points on 3/6 shooting
in the first half. He scored 16 in the second half, but there were too many times when he was settling for mid-range jumpers instead of going to the lane. Credit to Sacramento’s defense, but it was odd to see him take six mid-range shots and go 2/6 on those.
Grade: B+
Myles Turner
24 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 5 fouls, 3/4 3PT, +2
There was a period in this game where Myles and Bobby ran together for an extended period, and the two nearly played identical minutes. Turner had his moments, mainly that clutch three-point shot in the corner, but his defensive impact wasn’t the same as it had been to start the season.
Grade: C+
Ryan Rollins
36 minutes, 16 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 8/13 FG, 0/3 3PT, -1
Coming off two career performances against the Knicks and Warriors, Rollins had a quieter game than what we’ve come to expect. There were stretches where he kept the Bucks afloat and was the only one who could get downhill outside of Giannis and Kuzma, but that 0/3 from beyond the arc does sting a little.
Grade: B
Gary Trent Jr.
32 minutes, 17 points, 2 assists, 4/6 3PT, 3/5 FT, +0
Trent was as solid as ever, and he was slightly more efficient last night than he had been in previous contests. There were moments where the perimeter defense was nonexistent, but GT did enough on offense to counteract that.
Grade: B+
AJ Green
30 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 fouls, 6/12 FG, 4/10 3PT, -2
Man, Green had some brutal misses during this one. He did get a pretty good look on his first attempt to tie the game at the end of regulation, but it hit off the back iron. In a tough defensive assignment against DeRozan and LaVine, he did the best he could.
Grade: B
Cole Anthony
13 minutes, 3 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 2 technical fouls, 1/4 FG, +2
This will be a game to forget for Cole. While he distributed the ball well enough and played some passable defense, receiving two technical fouls is unacceptable. Everyone the press talked to postgame, whether it was Giannis, Turner, or Rivers, said that this was a learning experience for him, but it’s hard to come back from.
Grade: D+
Bobby Portis
23 minutes, 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 6/9 FG, 2/3 3PT, -5
Stacking another good Bobby performance offensively, which is good to see for his and the Bucks’ sake. Yet, he still had his defensive lapses, and in a game where he often played alongside four guards, it wasn’t the best matchup for him at all.
Grade: B-
Kyle Kuzma
21 minutes, 22 points, 9/13 FG, 4/4 FT, +2
What a quarter that was for Kuzma in the fourth. He scored the first 16 of the Bucks’ 31 points and kept the home team in it with the rest of the team struggling to get going. I’m never going to begrudge 22 points on high efficiency off the bench, especially when those points come in key moments.
Grade: A
Taurean Prince
13 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1/2 3PT, -5
It was a rough day at the office for the Bucks’ perimeter defense, and Prince is included in that. He didn’t get a ton of looks today, and he only hit one of them, which was a buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter. Need a little bit more out of him on both ends of the floor.
Grade: C-
Amir Coffey
14 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2/3 FG, -2
During his postgame presser, Doc Rivers praised Coffey as the team’s best DeRozan defender, and the eye test backs that up. This was definitely one of his better games of the year, which could lead to more playing time down the road.
Grade: B
Doc Rivers
It’s hard to dissect Doc’s performance today. He did go 1/2 on challenges today, and I thought the decision to leave Kuzma in for as long as he did was a wise choice. Yet, it’s hard when you give up 135 points to a team that was coming in at 1-4. That should be a win, point-blank.
Grade: C+
Limited Minutes: Jericho Sims
DNP-CD: Andre Jackson Jr., Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Gary Harris
Inactive: Kevin Porter Jr., Mark Sears, Pete Nance, Alex Antetokounmpo
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel conducted the Pool Report interview with crew chief Mitchell Ervin to talk about several of the controversial calls that were or weren’t made tonight. Here is a full transcript of the report:
- Doc Rivers, when asked about the officiating, said that it wasn’t the reason they lost. Here are the rest of his remarks:
“The refs had nothing to do with why we lost this game. I’m sure there’s fouls from the other side they can point to. It’s a human game, it’s a hard game to officate, but we allowed them to have that impact. I don’t know how many years I’ve coached, but I’m going to go on a limb and say, I don’t think I’ve ever lost a game where my team shot almost 60% and shot 47% from the three. You gotta try hard to lose that game and I thought we did.”
- Before today’s game, Doc made a statement on the impending suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP) due to the ongoing government shutdown, saying that it’s unfair to punish the children who will be going hungry. I transcribed the rest of what he said here:
- Giannis shot 61.5% from the field, marking his fifth straight game with 20+ points on at least 60% shooting. According to Bucks PR, it’s the third-longest such streak of his career and the longest streak in the NBA this season.
- Sporting a black eye, Giannis gave quite a story on how he thinks it happened at a local grocery store:
“I was at Pick and Save, and while I was checking out my groceries, there was this guy who was about to snatch a purse from a lady. So, I was like, ‘Hey, man! What are you doing? Stop!’ So, I went and grabbed him, and he kind of turned and elbowed me in the eye, but then I grabbed him and put him on the floor. I took the purse and gave it to the lady, and then the lady was safe. I paid for her groceries too, because she was in shock. You know, the police came and took the guy in custody, so after that I went back home, did some treatment, and took a nap.”
- With the Indiana Pacers next on the schedule, Turner was asked about his return to Indy:
“At this point, anything I say will be used against me in a court of law. So at this point, I’m just looking forward to coming back to a place that I’ve been for 10 years and hoping for a raucous environment, as it’s been in the past few years that Indiana and the Bucks have played each other.”
Up Next
It’ll be an emotional day for the Bucks next game on Monday. They’ll be back in Indianapolis for Myles Turner’s first game against the Indiana Pacers since he left them for the Bucks in free agency. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Central and will be available to watch on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
