The frustration was clear in the voice of Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Milwaukee Bucks dropped a 112-105 road game to the Miami Heat on Thursday night at Kaseya Center.
Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, but the Bucks could not execute late as Miami extended its winning streak to seven games behind 28 points from Pelle Larsson and a strong fourth quarter from Bam Adebayo.
After the game, Antetokounmpo pointed directly to Milwaukee’s stagnant offense in the final minutes.
“I felt like the ball was sticking,” Antetokounmpo said. “Down the stretch you got to move the ball side to side, make sure everybody touches the ball and get the best available shot. I don’t think our mindset was that.”
Milwaukee struggled to generate quality looks in the closing possessions, and Antetokounmpo said the Heat’s physical defense exposed that lack of movement.
“Against a team like Miami, they have great defensive players,” he said. “They’re going to load, they’re going to make it tough, they’re going to be physical. You got to make them move their feet and move the ball side to side.”
Antetokounmpo had a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer with 52 seconds remaining but missed the attempt. Larsson answered with a three on the next possession to push Miami’s lead to six.
The two-time MVP said he doesn’t regret the shot.
“I don’t regret any shot that I take,” Antetokounmpo said. “Most of the time I try to do the right thing or take good shots. I just didn’t make it.”
Still, he admitted he was frustrated with his own passiveness earlier in the game.
“I regret when I’m passive,” Antetokounmpo said. “Maybe if I shot those early ones in the first half when I was open, maybe I would feel a little bit better.”
Defensively, Milwaukee also struggled to slow Miami late as the Heat closed the game on a decisive run.
“Larsson was relocating and making shots,” Antetokounmpo said. “Bam was being Bam. You’ve got to do a better job boxing him out. They executed and knocked down big shots.”
Despite the loss — Milwaukee’s seventh defeat in its last eight games — Antetokounmpo emphasized that the team’s struggles must become a learning opportunity.
“If you don’t develop bad habits from this stretch, you’re going to be fine,” he said. “But if you develop bad habits, you won’t have growth.”
The Bucks, now 27-38 and outside the Eastern Conference play-in picture, have also battled constant lineup instability. Antetokounmpo noted that Thursday marked only the second time the team had its full roster available.
“For me personally, it’s been a tough season,” he said. “But I’m grateful I’m out here competing. We’ve just got to keep watching film, keep practicing, keep trusting one another and figure out ways to win games.”
As Milwaukee approaches the final stretch of the season, Antetokounmpo says the approach is simple.
“I don’t care how it happens,” he said. “Ugly, pretty, whatever it is — you’ve just got to keep figuring out ways to win.”
