Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers highlighted his team’s offensive execution after a 112-110 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday at State Farm Arena. “Yeah, I thought it was great execution. We had a bad defense two of them really, you know, helping on Daniels leaving, but offensively we ran exactly what we wanted to run and we got exactly what we were looking for,” Rivers said.
Despite blowing a 23-point lead, Rivers credited his squad for adjusting late in the fourth quarter. “We had that stretch, you know, mid fourth, where we couldn’t score. I didn’t think we went away from what we were doing and then when we went right back to it, we got everything we wanted,” he explained.
Rivers emphasized the importance of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the team’s pick-and-roll strategy. He added that the play involving Kevin Porter Jr. was designed to give the him a clear path to the basket, with corner shooters ready if contested.
On the balance between adapting to opponents’ defense and long-term consistency, Rivers admitted, “I think that’s a long-term change. I don’t know… can we do it four or five times in a row? One night. Yeah, we’re going to do it again. But, you know, we haven’t had any consistency to say that anything’s long-term.”
Discussing his son Austin Rivers’ role as a broadcaster, Doc said, “I love the first part the most that he’s doing the game that I’m doing. I told him to make sure when he’s in the headline for something he says it’s really good… he’s actually really working at it and loves it. So, I’m very happy for him. Makes a dad proud.”
Giannis led the Bucks with 21 points and 17 rebounds, while six teammates also reached double figures. AJ Green and Bobby Portis hit back-to-back three-pointers late, allowing Milwaukee to retake control. Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 32 points, and Jalen Johnson added 28 points with 16 rebounds, but the Hawks dropped their fourth consecutive game.
Milwaukee improves to 18-24 and will return home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, while Atlanta, now 20-25, travels to Memphis.
