Giannis Antetokounmpo speaks on his frustration in Bucks loss to Hawks
Giannis Antetokounmpo speaks on his frustration in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 131-113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on March 4, 2026.
The Milwaukee Bucks face a steepening climb to reach the play-in tournament, as they lost their fourth game in a row 131-113 to the Atlanta Hawks March 4 at Fiserv Forum. The Hawks are one of two teams directly ahead of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings, the loss only set the home squad further back.
With only 21 regular season games remaining, the Bucks (26-35) must make up four games in the loss column to Atlanta (32-31) and Charlotte (32-31). The Bucks already own the season tiebreaker with the Hornets, however, and play one additional game against the Hawks on March 14. Beating Atlanta then is critical for Milwaukee.
“I feel like we have the answers,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like the team is extremely talented. We have guys that can put the ball on the floor. Guys can put the ball in the basket. At the end of the day it’s like, where’s your spirit? What are you playing for? And that’s what we gotta decide. Like, are we going to wave the white flag or are we gonna come together in the last 21 games and try to play hard and try to make a push here?
“And it started tonight. I think Atlanta was the team above us and a game like this counts for two and I feel like we came out and we set the tone, we were shooting 60% from the field, but after that we just fell flat.”
As for the game on March 14, the Bucks shot out of the gates offensively and took a 16-point lead early in the second quarter as they were shooting over 70% overall and over 60% from behind the 3-point line in the early going. But, the warning sign was that the Hawks just plodded along shooting well over 50% overall and 40% from behind the 3-point line, so once the Bucks shooting went cold they were easily reeled in.
BOX SCORE: Hawks 131, Bucks 113
Atlanta totally wiped the deficit out late in the second quarter, and though the Bucks took a 71-66 lead into halftime they were one hiccup away from blowing the game entirely.
That happened coming out of halftime, as they missed their first six shots as the Hawks went on a 10-0 run. In a game-defining 15-2 run for Atlanta that gave the Hawks a 81-73 lead, Milwaukee went 1-for-10 overall, 0-for-7 from behind the 3-point line, 0-for-2 from the free throw line and turned it over once.
“More importantly, they scored every time,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said of that stretch. “That’s what frustrates me. I can live with us struggling offensively, but you gotta get stops. And in that stretch when we didn’t score they scored every time and that’s when the game changed.”
The Hawks never looked back after that.
“We may have to play different guys,” Rivers said of how the team can improve its defense. “We may have to go bigger. ‘Cause right now, we’re just, we’re giving up too many points, too easy. We’ve changed schemes five different times and the change may be going bigger and taking more offense off the floor.”
Antetokounmpo (24 points), Kyle Kuzma (16), Ousmane Dieng (14), Ryan Rollins (13) and Bobby Portis (13) all reached double figures in scoring for Milwaukee. Rolins had nine first half assists but finished with 12. Jericho Sims had 11 rebounds off the bench.
Jalen Johnson scored 20 points and had nine assists for the Hawks. All five Atlanta starters reached double figures.
When the regulars were in the game, the Bucks turned the ball over 14 times when the, leading to 26 Hawks points. Atlanta also scored 11 second chance points off 11 offensive rebounds and shot eight more times than Milwaukee.
After scoring 71 first half points, the Bucks scored just 18 in the third quarter and 24 in the fourth. During their current losing streak, opponents have gone on huge runs against the Bucks and the team hasn’t been able to battle back.
Rollins acknowledged that giving up extended runs to opponents can have a damaging affect on the psyche of the team.
“Yeah, I mean you could probably say that it doesn’t but unconsciously it probably does,” the Bucks guard said. “So, yeah, I think that’s the name of the game. People go on runs and if you don’t make a run, as the opposing team it kind of is deflating and tough. But you gotta keep playing, man, keep competing and when the other team goes on a run or something we just gotta find a way to make our run back and stop them and the flow of their offense.”
Frustrated Giannis Antetokounmpo throws ball
With 4 minutes, 20 seconds to go in the game, Antetokounmpo took the ball from Rollins and fired it at the base of the stanchion following another easy Hawks layup that put Atlanta 18 points.
Of course, he was hit with a technical foul coming out of a Bucks timeout.
“Just I was a little bit frustrated,” Antetokounmpo said. “I felt like when you’re down 11 or 12, you just gotta play smarter, try to get the best shot possible, be at the right spot. At the end of the day we all need to be on the same page of what we try to get. And, I was just frustrated. That’s it. I felt like we wasn’t doing that.”
It was emphatic display of frustration with the way the game went for Milwaukee, which led by 16 early and played with the fire of a desperate team before they eventually were blown out yet again.
“Well, I’d rather have the emotions than none, you know?” Rivers said. “I’m not going to overdo a guy throwing a ball off a stanchion as the boiling point of the game, you know what I mean? He was frustrated, you know? Everybody was frustrated. We scored 18 points in the third quarter. It seems like every game we have that quarter right now.”
In terms of how he played, though, the game was promising for Antetokounmpo. Two days after acknowledging he played a physical deficit for most of the season due to injuries, Antetokounmpo scored 24 points on 10 of 15 shooting in about 26 minutes. But it’s what those baskets looked like that had to be encouraging for the Bucks star, as he attacked single defenders off the dribble and split double and triple teams for ferocious dunks.
Antetokounmpo said the nearly five-and-half week rehab from his last calf strain on Jan. 23 gave him confidence to play with a fuller tank, and without reservation. He showed all of that on the offensive end.
New starters, same results for Bucks
Kevin Porter Jr. was ruled out for the game after the Bucks’ afternoon shootaround with swelling in his surgically repaired right knee, bringing Rollins back into the new-look starting lineup that included Dieng, Antetokounmpo, AJ Green and Myles Turner.
It was the Bucks’ 22nd different starting lineup, as Dieng opened the game for the second time following Antetokounmpo’s return to action.
The group set an early tone with a powerful, fast-paced offense that scored 20 points in just under six minutes. But, they also allowed 18 points.
Unfortunately, that would be the theme of the night.
The starters returned together for the final 5:25 of the half with a 56-52 lead and the Hawks would briefly take a lead before Rollins helped his team to a 71-66 advantage at the break thanks to a closing 57 seconds where he hit a 3-pointer, forced a turnover and assisted on 3-pointer by Turner.
For the half, Antetokounmpo scored 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting, Dieng had 10 points, Rollins had nine assists and eight points while Turner added eight. Green scored five. Overall, the Bucks assisted on 17 of their 28 baskets and shot over 60% from the floor.
The group then started the second half 0-for-6 from the floor (0-for-5 from behind the 3-point line) and the Hawks took control of the game with a 10-0 run. Dieng had a dunk off an Antetokounmpo assist for the group’s only basket, and the Hawks eventually led 81-73 thanks to a 15-2 run before reserves started shuffling in.
Without a defensive presence by the starters, the cold snap on offense – whether the looks were good or not – doomed the Bucks yet again.
“Yeah, I think probably communication, if we want to switch one through four, one through five, we gotta have better communication on the screens and on everything,” Dieng said. “I think that’s a big part.”
When presented the idea that perhaps that communication was difficult because of the new lineups, the 22-year-old forward wasn’t having it.
“No. I don’t think so,” he said. “I think it’s communication is the main part, if we’re switching or if we’re not. We always gotta communicate. And play hard. Play hard on defense.”
Trailing 104-97 in the fourth quarter, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers staggered in the starters beginning at the 9-minute, 23-second mark, but they were not able to pull out a victory.
“Like, you cannot come back to the game with one possession if you’re down 10,” Antetokounmpo said. “The most points you can get in one possession is probably four points, if you’re lucky and you get fouled on a three. But, it’s gotta be possession after possession after possession, you gotta get stops, come back, get a good shot. You’re gonna make two shots, come back, you’re gonna miss a shot, get a stop, go, miss a shot, then you gotta come back. You just gotta keep on chipping away.”
On the night, each of the five were a total “minus,” meaning the Bucks were outscored when each of them were on the court regardless of who they played with.
“I thought we stopped moving, stopped playing the way we were playing offensively,” Rivers said. “I thought we got stagnant. Not just one person, all of us. And then that led to the next guy, that led to the next guy and each guy. How many times in the third quarter did we have late clock situations? But we didn’t have any of that to start the game.”
Of all those different starting lineups for Milwaukee this season, 11 of them lasted just one game.
The most-started group was Rollins, Porter, Green, Antetokounmpo and Turner, which went 7-5 in the games they began together.
Jalen Johnson returns to Milwaukee as an all-star
The last time Hawks played the Bucks, they lost by two points on Jan. 19 in Atlanta, and Jalen Johnson scored 28 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and had six assists for his team. It was one of many big nights in the first half of the season that led the 24-year-old to earn his first all-star berth in February.
“It’s kind of tough to really, fully dive in to how you’re feeling especially ‘cause it is midseason,” Johnson told the Journal Sentinel. “But initially I extremely excited, just grateful, blessed to be placed in that position to make that game. I was representing so many people, not only myself there.”
The all-star nod was a crowning of sorts for Johnson, as the Hawks had already traded four-time all-star Trae Young to Washington, effectively handing the keys of the franchise to the Wausau native.
Johnson, who prepped at Sun Prairie and Nicolet High Schools, had signed a 5-year, $150 million extension in 2024, has not disappointed in that regard. He came into the game against the Bucks averaging 22.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game.
“Not to sound arrogant or anything but this is like, what I expected of myself,” he said. “The work that I put in, I didn’t come into this league just to be average, a guy that said they made it. I wanted to make an impact. That’s the mentality I carry into every offseason, while I’m playing and all that. I just want to continue to go out there and continue to expand my game, continue to keep growing, just knowing I’ll never be complacent with where I’m at. I don’t care how many accomplishments and accolades I get, the work still has to remain the same because that’s what got me to this point.”
He’s also keeping Atlanta square in the play-in mix despite the fact the team moved on from Young and prized offseason acquisition Kristaps Porziņģis.
It’s a leadership role Johnson is relishing.
“It’s been extremely exciting,” he said. “It’s exciting because I wasn’t put in that position for no reason. Obviously the organization believes in me and everybody else believes in me as well, and having that confidence and trust from everybody around you – I’m ready for it. It’s something I’ve always prepared myself for. Obviously I know what to expect but at the end of the day I just gotta continue keep being professional every day, continue to lead these guys. Obviously I want to make some noise in the playoffs as well.”
5 numbers
1.5: Percent chance the Bucks had at earning a playoff spot (top six) heading into the game, per ESPN analytics.
3.0: Percent chance the Bucks had at winning the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft lottery heading into the game, per the lottery-tracking web site www.tankathon.com. Unfortunately, the Bucks would not be able to make that selection as it would undoubtedly be swapped to New Orleans as a remnant of the 2020 Jrue Holiday trade. Then, Atlanta would make that pick, because the Pelicans traded their rights to it to the Hawks.
9.0: Percent chance the Pelicans would win the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft heading into the game, per the lottery-tracking web site www.tankathon.com. That would allow the Bucks to keep their own pick in the first round.
10.4: Percent chance the Bucks had at earning a play-in spot heading into the game, per ESPN analytics.
13.9: Percent chance the Bucks had at winning a top four pick in the NBA draft lottery heading into the game, per the lottery-tracking web site www.tankathon.com.
Kyle Kuzma back in Bucks rotation after benching
Kyle Kuzma received his first “DNP-CD” of the season on March 2 against Boston, and head coach Doc Rivers did not elaborate as to why he decided against playing the forward against the Celtics.
But he said before the Hawks game the 30-year-old would not only be back on the court against the Hawks, but back to a playmaking role.
“He’ll play, most likely in different spots,” Rivers said. “We did like the way the game started the other night so we like that group, we’re just going to put him in a different place. Actually, probably the ball in his hands a little bit more. We wanted to work on it today (in shootaround). Especially now. We were doing that before but then (Porter) goes down, so it kind of played in our hands.”
Kevin Porter Jr. to undergo testing on right knee
Following the Bucks shootaround in the afternoon on March 4, the team ruled out starting point guard Kevin Porter Jr. with swelling in his right knee. He had surgery on the knee in November after he damaged the meniscus during a late October workout as he was rehabbing an ankle sprain.
Before the game against the Hawks, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers was asked if there was a chance it was a reinjury.
“We’re hoping not,” he said. “Just leave it there. You know, they’re going to do more stuff tomorrow to check. But it’s a lot of swelling and they have concern.”
Rivers wasn’t sure if Porter suffered a new injury in a recent game, but said it had been bothering the guard over the last couple weeks.
“It just hadn’t swollen up like the way it has,” Rivers said. “So there’s some concern there.”
Is Giannis playing?
Yes.
The Bucks’ star returned from a right calf strain on March 2, playing just under 26 minutes and scoring 19 points on 7 of 18 shooting. He had missed the previous 15 games with the injury.
He is, however, on a minute restriction. After breaking down his substitution pattern following the game against Boston, Antetokounmpo said, “I just gotta trust the coaching staff, trust the training staff and slowly, slowly get back in rhythm and get back to where I want to be.”
What time is the Bucks game?
Tip off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT. Wednesday, March 4.
Turner on the late start: “It’s tough, it doesn’t really happen very much throughout the year but again, we’re professional athletes, our job is to adjust. Nothing a little coffee can’t fix.”
What channel is the Bucks game on?
The game will be simulcast. ESPN, with Ryan Ruocco, Jay Bilas and Vanessa Richardson on the call, will carry the game nationally. The game will also be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Wesley Matthews and Melanie Ricks on the call.
Milwaukee Bucks injury report
Bucks starting lineup
- Guards: Ryan Rollins, AJ Green
- Forwards: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ousmane Dieng
- Center: Myles Turner
NBA playoff standings
The Bucks are out of the postseason picture entirely. Here are the play-in standings in the Eastern Conference heading into game play on March 4:
No. 7: Orlando (32-28): The Bucks and Magic have split the season series 1-1. The Bucks host the Magic on March 8.
No. 8: Miami (33-29): The Bucks and Magic have split the season series 1-1. Milwaukee travels to Miami on March 12.
No. 9: Charlotte (31-31): The Bucks own the tiebreaker over the Hornets having won the season series 3-1.
No. 10: Atlanta (31-31): The Bucks lead the season series 1-0. The Bucks host the Hawks on March 4 and then travel to Atlanta on March 14.
No. 11: Milwaukee (26-34): The Bucks have had better luck against the play-in teams to date, as they are just 5-14 against the top six seeds in the conference.
Bucks vs. Hawks odds
Atlanta is a 1.5-point favorite over Milwaukee, with the over/under set at 231.5 points per BetMGM.
