Rivers blasts Bucks' effort and teamwork after a gut-wrenching loss.
The Milwaukee Bucks were looking to get their season back on track with a three-game winning streak at home, but instead they walked away with a gut-wrenching 114-113 loss to the Washington Wizards on New Year's Eve.
Head coach Doc Rivers did not hold back after the game and made it clear that he thought his team simply did not do enough to earn a win.
Rivers Takes Aim at Effort and Teamwork
The Bucks had a three-point lead with just 33 seconds left in the game after Giannis Antetokounmpo knocked down two free throws, but they could not close it out.
CJ McCollum hit a go-ahead pull-up jumper with just one second remaining to steal the victory for Washington, and Rivers was not in the mood to talk about the final sequence.
"Listen, I don't care about the end of the game," Rivers said in his postgame press conference, cutting off a reporter who began to ask about the blown lead. "We deserved to lose the game. We didn't play hard enough. We didn't play well enough together."
Rivers pointed to the overall lack of ball movement and defensive breakdowns as the main issues that cost his team the game.
"We didn't pass the ball to each other, and we didn't guard the ball. And so when you play like that, you lose the game," he added.
Giannis Leads But It's Not Enough
Antetokounmpo did his part with 33 points on 12-of-21 shooting along with 15 rebounds, but he also finished with five turnovers that hurt Milwaukee down the stretch.
The star forward had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but could not convert on a 13-foot jumper after Alex Sarr blocked his putback attempt just seconds before the final shot.
The loss drops the Bucks to 14-20 on the season, which keeps them stuck in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings and well outside of the playoff picture as it stands right now.
Milwaukee has struggled with injuries and consistency all year long after Antetokounmpo missed time with a calf strain and the roster has gone through major changes including the departure of Damian Lillard.
Wizards Snap Their Losing Ways
For the Wizards, the win was a nice way to end 2025 even as they sit at just 8-24 on the season.
McCollum finished with 18 points while Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington each scored 20 points for Washington in the road victory.
The Wizards are in full rebuild mode with young talent like Sarr and rookie Tre Johnson getting plenty of run, but they showed they can still compete on any given night when things go their way.
The Bucks will now look to bounce back when they host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, while Rivers and his coaching staff will try to figure out how to get this team playing more connected basketball before the trade deadline arrives in February.