The Milwaukee Bucks drop to 0-2 under Doc Rivers, lose to the Portland Trail Blazers

Milwaukee dropped to 0-2 since Rivers came on board to replace Adrian Griffin, who was fired after 43 games and a 30-13 record. The Bucks dropped to 32-16, but they are still good for second place in the Eastern Conference.

Portland shows some love for Dame

Lillard got a warm welcome in his first game in Portland, where he played for 11 years before getting traded to Milwaukee in the offseason. With the win, Portland avenged its 102-108 loss to Milwaukee in their first meeting on November 26th.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 27 points and eight rebounds, and Damian Lillard scored 25, but the Bucks could not recover from a 107-113 defeat to the Denver Nuggets. Milwaukee is now 0-2 in its current five-game road trip.

A lengthy standing ovation greeted Lillard prior to tip-off, but Anfernee Simons and company gave the former Blazers star a rude ending with a strong endgame showing. The Blazers lost a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, but Simons saved the day for Portland with a crucial basket down the stretch.

The comeback bid fell short

After falling into a 91-101 hole at the 10:09 mark of the fourth, the Bucks charged back, and a huge defensive stop late in the game allowed them to wrest the lead. Down by a point, 114-115, Milwaukee forced Simons to commit a turnover in the backcourt, leading to an alley-oop dunk by Giannis off a pass by Dame that gave them a one-point lead with 37.9 seconds left.

Simons was quick to atone himself for the miscue as he hit a critical floater that gave the lead back to Portland, 117-116, with 17.6 seconds to go.

Though they were only down by a single point, Brook Lopez opted for a three-point shot that missed, and Jerami Grant gave the Blazers a three-point lead by hitting two free throws with 4.6 seconds left.

In a bid to prevent a potential game-tying three-point shot, Grant deliberately fouled Antetokounmpo with 2.8 ticks remaining. Giannis missed both free throws and the Blazers escaped with only their 15th win after 48 games.

Simons led the Blazers with 24 points, while Deandre Ayton added 20 points and 11 rebounds.