The Milwaukee Bucks played a total of five games in the last eight days and to head coach Doc Rivers, that’s the main reason why they got beaten up by the visiting the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Bucks went down to 8-6 in the standings after falling to the Lakers who took control of the game right in the first quarter. Through the lead of current league topscorer Luka Doncic, they entered the second half with a 65-34 lead.
Head coach JJ Redick previously bemoaned their poor third quarters and that occurred again on the Saturday game when Giannis Antetokounmpo led the team to a 15-0 run and closed in to a 13-point deficit.
The hosts, who were still without Lebron James, tried their might but in the end, they ran out of gas. Rivers thought the five games in eight days took a toll on them. Lakers win by 42 points by taking back the fourth quarter battle.
Doc Rivers: “Honestly, we were just tired tonight. I think you watched last night’s game. It was an overtime game played at an amazing pace, so I think we’ll keep getting better maybe. Keep getting in better shape on them, but we had nothing tonight.”
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) November 16, 2025
Doncic led everyone with his 41 points, 9 rebounds, and six assists. Antetokounmpo finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. He needs one more time to record such stat to match the most 30/10/5 in history owned by two Bucks great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson.
Most 30/10/5 games in NBA history:
157 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
157 — Oscar Robertson
156 — Giannis Antetokounmpo pic.twitter.com/QGvBewJd4I— Real Sports (@realapp) November 16, 2025
Giannis disagrees with Doc Rivers
The Bucks are tired but Antetokounmpo does not want to use that as an excuse as he said every NBA team will go through it.
“Doesn’t matter. I think everybody that plays in the NBA knows that the back-to-back is part of the game and it’s part of the NBA season,” he said as reported by The Athletic’s Eric Nehm.
“You gotta get ready for that. You gotta prep mentally for the load over a back-to-back. You gotta exercise in the offseason, so you’re able to play back-to-backs. So it’s not an excuse. Were the Lakers on a back-to-back too? So, yeah, that’s not an excuse. We didn’t play well. We gotta be better.”
The eight-day, five-game stretch is just the first half of the challenging November Bucks are facing as they set to meet five East conference contenders in the next two weeks.
For the latest Basketball Content
Make sure you are always updated on your favorite basketball players and teams. Follow us @HardwoodHeroics for the latest and trending news about NBA, college basketball, and more. Stay updated by reading more of our NBA articles by clicking here and college basketball by clicking here!
