Giannis, Ryan Rollins and Doc Rivers speak on Bucks’ win over Knicks
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ryan Rollins and Doc Rivers speak on Bucks’ 121-111 win over Knicks on Oct. 28, 2025 at Fiserv Forum.
Three games into the season, the Milwaukee Bucks were down one starter in Kevin Porter Jr. and two of their top bench players in Kyle Kuzma and Cole Anthony when playing Cleveland. After the game, a tough loss to the Cavaliers, Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted the team to take no solace in the shorthanded defeat.
“That’s not who we are going to be this year,” Antetokounmpo said after the game on Oct. 26, adding that he wanted his team to make every night a bar fight.
“It’s going to be a fight every, every, every single night. It doesn’t matter who plays. If I don’t play, you gotta have the same mentality. Maybe last year, or two years ago, ‘Kuz,’ ‘(Porter),’ Cole not playing and maybe if they were playing maybe we’ll be – we’re done with that. It doesn’t matter.”
That was put to the test, truly, on Oct. 30 against the fully healthy Golden State Warriors as Antetokounmpo was a late scratch with a knee injury and starting point guard Kevin Porter Jr. remained out with a sprained left ankle.
The Bucks responded, beating a fully healthy Warriors team led by Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III and closing it out in convincing fashion for a 120-110 victory to improve to 4-1 on the year. Ryan Rollins, who set a career high on Oct. 28 with 25 points vs. New York, scored 32 points.
“I was just being aggressive,” Rollins said. “I think the shots just presented themselves. I wasn’t hesitating, I was just shooting my shots. All the shots I shot today I work on so it’s not like I was shooting new shots. I know my ability and the shots that I can make. It was just falling tonight. The ball was in my hands so I was just trying to make plays and believe in my shot.”
BOX SCORE: Bucks 120, Warriors 110
Rollins closed with 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a dagger 2-point shot over Al Horford and a step-back 3-pointer over Butler to give the Bucks their final points. Myles Turner and AJ Green also hit massive threes in the final 3 minutes, 28 seconds to stretch a two-possession lead into double digits.
“Literally everybody on the court was not afraid or hesitant to take the shot,” Rollins said of the Bucks’ clutch play down the stretch. “Which is, I think, the biggest thing. Being able to make the shots is shooting ‘em first and not be hesitant.
“Literally everyone one the court was willing. If we had an open shot, we shot it. Everybody’s confident, everybody’s willing to play the right way to come out and get the dub’ so we did that tonight.”
Turner scored 17 points and had two blocked shots and six other Bucks reached double figures in scoring. Curry scored 27 points but was 8 of 19 from the floor and 4 of 10 from behind the 3-point line. Butler scored 23 points and had 11 rebounds. Jonathan Kuminga added 24 points for the Warriors, who fell to 4-2 on the year.
Giannis Antetokounmpo a late scratch with a knee injury
About an hour before tip, the Bucks learned they would be playing without their star player. He came into the game with soreness in his left knee. It was the first game of the season he had missed. The Bucks turned to Kyle Kuzma to start at forward, and he scored 10 points, pulled down eight rebounds and had four assists.
“We didn’t blink,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “I didn’t mention (Antetokounmpo’s injury). I walked in and just said, ‘Kuz, you’re at the four.’ I didn’t mention it. You could see ‘Kuz’ (Rivers widened his eyes). As a matter of fact, we’re just gonna play, just keep playing. I hate mentioning when guys out because they start thinking about it. I told our coaches when we were going over the game plan, just go over the game plan, didn’t change anything. And I thought that helped them, just come out and play.”
Antetokounmpo has averaged 36.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists through his first four games.
Bucks bench shines again
Down two starters in point guard Porter and Antetokounmpo, Rollins and Kuzma were elevated off the Bucks’ second unit and into the starting lineup against Golden State.
That didn’t keep Rivers from using an all-bench unit as usual, as he called on veteran guard Gary Harris for a few minutes to backfill that group and they scored 38 points.
“It’s amazing that we went with an all-bench group when we had two starters out and we’re deep enough to go with five more guys,” Rivers said. “That’s just huge for this team, to have that many guys that you can play. And kudos to my assistants and skill developers because not only, Amir (Coffey) is in-and-out, Gary, they were ready to play. So, to get those guys to stay ready is hard to do so and guys are doing that.”
This after the second group outscored New York’s bench 34-18 on Oct. 28 to help key that comeback victory. Milwaukee’s second unit isn’t setting the scoreboard on fire by any means – the Bucks entered the game 17th in league in bench scoring at 36.5 points per game – but they’ve outscored their opponents in victories over Washington (plus-1) and Toronto (plus-20).
The group built a couple of 10-point leads in the first half on the Warriors, and then when they rotated in late in the third quarter (with Rollins with them) they went on a 12-0 run to flip a four-point deficit into a eight-point lead. It was an advantage the Bucks played with until deep into the game.
“We just rely on our depth,” Bobby Portis Jr. said. “I think guys put too much emphasis on all-NBA guys, superstar guys, all-star guys. Obviously we don’t have that on our team, but we’ve got a good group, a collective of guys that fight for each other.
“It’s fun playing basketball. We sacrifice. Some of our roles changed this year so some guys are not playing as many minutes as they did, but it’s about winning. So we are just locked in on getting ‘dubs’ and playing the right way. I think we had eight guys in double figures so the ball was hopping, everybody was sharing the ball, shooting their shots with confidence and getting wins. Our biggest mindset is how can we stack wins, stack wins and keep getting better throughout the season.”
Unfortunately for the Bucks, Anthony fouled out early in the fourth quarter in 21 minutes of action. He was 7 of 15 from the floor for 16 points. He also had two assists. Portis (16) and Taurean Prince (10) also reached double figures off the bench.
“As a team we’ve got to remain positive and be just as happy in a game where if you take two shots compared to a game where you take 15 shots,” Anthony said of the mindset Rivers has instilled in the secondary groups. “As long as your team is winning, end of the day, that’s all that really matters. So, just as a unit, I think we’ve done a great job just supporting each other and holding each other accountable but at the same time just knowing that we’re all on the same team and we want to see that person next to us succeed.”
Bucks have found their pace
During training camp, Rivers said that while his team would increase its pace of play they would find out what that meant for them. He pushed back on the thought that they would just outright “copy,” say, the Indiana Pacers team that ran them out of the playoffs two straight seasons.
Rivers continually mentioned the Golden State Warriors as a team that developed its own style (and transformed basketball) with the way they moved and shot 3-pointers, but Rivers noted no other team could ever truly match that. After all, there is only one Stephen Curry.
So, around Antetokounmpo, the Bucks are finding their pace – and it’s not just about running for the sake of running.
Heading into the game against the Warriors, the Bucks were just 16th in the NBA in transition scoring (25.5), 17th in points off turnovers (18.0) and 19th in fast break points per game (14.5).
But, they are No. 10 in pace with 102.88 possessions per 100 minutes of play. Milwaukee also began the day No. 8 in offensive rating by scoring 119 points per 100 possessions as well as No. 8 in scoring at 122.3 points per game.
While Antetokounmpo leads the league in individual transition points per game with 11.0 (far outpacing Donovan Mitchell in second with 9.8), the Bucks’ star is also scoring at a high rate off movement in the half court with the fifth-most points in the NBA off cuts (4.3).
And around him, Bucks players are not just filling space but are ready to catch-and-shoot.
Gary Trent Jr. and Myles Turner averaged 6.0 catch-and-shoot attempts in their first four games. By comparison, Brook Lopez led all Bucks in that category with 5.1 catch-and-shoot looks per game a year ago. Bobby Portis Jr. (4.8), AJ Green (4.0) and Taurean Prince (2.8) are also shooting immediately off the catch more often.
Heading into the game on Oct. 30, nearly half of Portis’ shots have been off the catch, compared to 38% las season. Prince is up to 58% this season, compared to 53% last season. Green is a tick down (63% this year compared to 65% last year) but his shot volume has increased by nearly a full shot per game.
Rivers noted that in the win against New York, the Knicks’ pace got the Bucks on their heels. But, by the end of the game, it was Knicks players tugging on their shorts as the Bucks finished strong in a comeback victory.
The head coach felt that showed itself in the win over the Warriors as well.
“I felt like, and I told our guys, that the only way we can win is just with extreme pace,” Rivers said after the game. “We wanted to out-pace them, was what I thought before the game. Every time they score, get it back up, keep attacking, keep attacking, keep attacking. Our belief was that maybe we can get them tired. And I thought that’s what actually happened in some places.
Before the game against the Warriors, Prince said there are no benchmarks the team needs to hit to create its pace – i.e. shooting within the first few seconds of the shot clock, or crossing halfcourt at a specific second to set up the offense – but rather recognizing and then dictating game flow.
“I think it’s depending on makes or misses, time and score of the game, I think that’s a big factor,” Prince said of what goes into the team’s movement. “But for the most part just getting the ball out fast not really letting one play affect the next, just getting on to the next thing.”
“Coach mentioned it (at shootaround): Bobby had a quick outlet and I think we were laying the ball up within five, six seconds. If we can do that more often I think it’ll put guys in the mentality of next play and not let somebody scoring on us get us down or affect our mood in any way and get on to the next play and get going. Then obviously just keeping us focused.”
Did you notice?
In the fourth quarter Warriors’ Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga hit Bucks guard Ryan Rollins hard on consecutive offensive possessions, sending Rollins to the court each time. The second time raised the ire of the Bucks bench, as the entire team got up and gathered on the corner of the boundary, shouting at the Warriors players. It was a message of sorts to Rollins, who was playing very physical defense on Stephen Curry.
“Everybody has everybody’s back, which they did the same,” Rollins said of the series of plays. “I think I bumped Steph so that’s why Draymond did what he did. So, I didn’t expect nothing different. I kind of liked it. Just turned me up a little bit more. It was fun, though. It was fun.”
Five numbers
1: Challenges won by Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, calling for one less than five minutes into the game when AJ Green was called for a charge on Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski. The Bucks won the challenge, and Green made 1 of 2 free throws.
4: Minutes for guard Gary Harris. The free agent acquisition came into the game having played just 1 minute, 42 seconds in the Bucks’ victory over Washington on Oct. 22.
6: Fouls for Cole Anthony. The Bucks guard fouled out with 7:34 to go in the game.
16: More free throws the Warriors made than the Bucks. Golden State attempted 26 while Milwaukee shot 13.
1,006: Career points for AJ Green. He began his career in the 2022-23 season as an undrafted free agent. He came into the game with 996 points and was 3 of 6 from behind the 3-point line and 1 of 2 from the free throw line.
Is Giannis playing?
No. The 7-foot superstar was listed as probable to play with soreness in his left knee after he collided with a New York player late in the game during the Bucks win over the Knicks on Oct. 28. Head coach Doc Rivers seemed optimistic in his pregame news conference that Antetokounmpo would play against the Warriors, but about a hour before the game, the team ruled Antetokounmpo out.
Is Stephen Curry playing?
Yes. Curry is not listed on the Warriors injury report. The future Hall of Famer scored 38 points in his last trip to Milwaukee, which was a Golden State victory on Feb. 10.
Is Jimmy Butler playing?
Marquette University alumnus Jimmy Butler is suiting up tonight for the Warriors, as he is not listed on the injury report.
What channel are the Bucks on?
The game will be broadcast locally at 7 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.
Kevin Porter Jr., out (left ankle sprain)Giannis Antetokounmpo, out (left knee soreness)Bucks starting lineupGuards: Ryan Rollins, Gary Trent Jr., AJ GreenForward: Kyle KuzmaCenter: Myles TurnerBucks vs. Warriors odds, over/under
Golden State is a 2.5-point favorite to beat Milwaukee, and the over/under for the game is set at 230.5 points per BetMGM.