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Eric WoodyardESPN
The mood inside the Milwaukee Bucks locker room was “kind of quiet”, according to newcomer Bobby Portis, after a 124-113 loss to visiting Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.
But while current MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo acknowledged some frustration after Bucks’ fourth straight loss, he said there was no reason for the team not to remain focused and calm.
“I have a feeling that everyone is panicking, which should not be the case,” said Antetokounmpo, who had 34 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 steals in defeat. “We must continue to improve, we must continue to play good basketball, we must watch the film and, at the end of the day, we have to go out and compete. When you come here, nothing can be easy.”
Once again, the Bucks’ Achilles heel proved to be the fourth time, when they were defeated by 12-4 in the last five minutes.
They are now 0-9 when they lose after three quarters this season, and went into the night with the second lowest win rate in games that got worse this season, 22%, according to the ESPN Stats & Information poll. Only the Detroit Pistons (20%) is worse.
The clutch time is defined as any time when the score is within five points in the final five minutes and can be at any point during that period.
“At the end of the day, we lost four in a row; we are not going home,” said Antetokounmpo. “We are still here. It is not the playoffs. Obviously, it is frustrating. We want to win, especially a game like this. A great game, the guys playing hard.
“You want to go out and win the game, but it doesn’t always go your way. But always, you have to see the bright side of it. You still have another opportunity on Thursday. So keep improving, watch the movie, get better, keep everyone in the right place, and it’s not the end of the world now.
Milwaukee was playing without Jrue Holiday for the fifth consecutive game, as he remains out under health and safety protocols. Antetokounmpo said the Bucks are losing Holiday’s presence on the court.
“We have to be better. Obviously, one of our best team players and game makers and best team defenders is not playing with us,” he said. “Obviously, it’s not an excuse. I’m not a guy who makes excuses. But he’s a big part of who we are and we need him.”
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet set Bucks on fire with 33 points, 7 assists and 4 bags in his fifth game of 30 points this season. Toronto’s Kyle Lowry finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 22 minutes, despite leaving during the third quarter with a pain in his left ankle.
Milwaukee (16-12) has not lost four consecutive games since the 2019 Eastern Conference final against the Raptors, who were the NBA champion that season.
These teams will meet again on Thursday at the Fiserv Forum, where Bucks will seek to make changes.
“Nobody is happy with the result, nobody feels good about it, but your process and how you approach it, you have to go back and look at things and see where you can improve,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer.
Earlier in the day, Bucks also announced during a news conference that it would take a gradual approach to welcoming fans in its next three games, which would be open to families of players and guests only. They started with 250 fans on Tuesday and will increase to 500 in the game on Thursday and 750 on Friday, before opening the games to the general public starting on Sunday, when about 1,800 fans will be allowed.
Even with the fans back, they couldn’t help the last defeat.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse, who has fought Milwaukee on several occasions, including the postseason, said he did not see the Bucks fight continuing.
“In a normal year, I would probably be a little surprised. But I think there are all kinds of things going on with several, several teams around the league, and there are so many teams some games over 0.500 and some under, like probably more than half of the league, “said the nurse. “I really don’t look at it closely. So I think they certainly have all the pieces and they have depth and they have experience and they have everything; and I think they have a group of teams that will continue to play better in the second half. and get ready for a long walk in the playoffs. They have all the tools they need ”.